HALF  A  CENTURY  OF  FRENCH  POLITICAL  HISTORY. 


THE     LIFE 


LOUIS  ADOLPHE  THIERS. 

BY  FRANCOIS  LE  GOFF,  DOCTEUR-ES-LETTRES, 

Author  of  "A  History  of  the  Government  of  National  Defense  in  the  Provinces"  etc. 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  AUTHOR'S   UNPUBLISHED  MANUSCRIPT,  BY 

THEODORE  STANTON,  A.M. 


Octavo,  -with  Portrait,  cloth  extra,  $2.OO. 


This  book  is  written  especially  for  the  American  public  by  M.  FRANCOIS 
LE  GOPP,  of  Paris,  a  French  publicist  of  the  Conservative-Republican 
school,  who  knew  THIERS  personally,  and  who  is  thoroughly  conversant 
with  the  history  and  politics  of  France.  Besides  the  biographical  narrative, 
which  is  enlivened  by  many  fresh  anecdotes,  the  writer  attempts  to  present 
a  connected  view  of  French  political  history  for  the  last  fifty  years.  The 
work  will  also  be  interesting  as  an  able  defence  of  the  unity  of  TIIIERS' 
political  life — a  position  rarely  assumed  by  even  the  most  ardent  friends  of 
the  great  statesman.  It  is  illustrated  by  &fac-simile  of  his  handwriting  and 
autograph,  a  view  of  his  home,  etc. 


"  A  Rood  and  interesting  account  of  THIERS'  Life.  *  *  *  The  work  may  be 
most  heartily  commended ;  it  furnishes,  in  moderate  compass,  a  pretty  complete 
political  and  constitutional  history  of  France  from  the  time  of  Napoleon  to  the 
establishment  of  the  existing  Republic,  and  no  work  which  is  readily  accessible  to 
most  readers  does  this  more  satisfactorily.''—^.  Y.  Evening  Post. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK. 


T  HE     LIFE 

OF 

THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE 

WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE, 

M.P.,  D.C.L.,  &o. 


taken  in  Ma,  1679 


THE    LIFE 


OF 


THE   BIGHT   HONOURABLE 


M.P.,  D.C.L.,   &c. 


BY 

GEORGE     BARNETT     SMITH, 

AUTHOR    OP    "silKr.LEY  :    A    CRITICAL    I!H)G  UAl'Il  Y,"    "  1'OKTS    AM)    XOVKI.IS  TS,"    tid 


NFAV  VOIJK 

G.     P.     ITT  NAM'S     SONS 
1880 


Dfl 


PEEFACE. 


THE  leading  purpose  of  this  work  is  of  a  biographical  and 
historical,  rather  than  of  a  polemical  character.  It  has  been  my 
object  to  place  before  the  reader  the  story  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  life 
— and  his  relations  to  the  great  movements  of  his  time — through 
the  medium  of  his  writings  and  speeches.  In  the  Parliamentary 
portion  of  the  work,  I  have  been  sparing  of  comment,  for  two 
reasons  :  first,  to  have  discussed  at  length  the  manifold  political 
acts  of  this  eminent  statesman  would  have  expanded  this 
biography  greatly  beyond  its  present  dimensions  ;  and,  secondly, 
the  period  has  not  yet  arrived  when  it  is  possible  to  estimate 
(even  were  I  competent  to  do  so)  the  full  effect  and  influence 
of  those  great  legislative  measures  with  which  Mr.  Gladstone's 
name  is  associated.  In  a  work  of  this  kind  it  would  be 
impossible  for  the  author  to  conceal  the  nature  of  his  political 
sentiments ;  neither  have  I  the  wish  to  do  so ;  but  a  high 
admiration  for  the  subject  of  this  biography  is  not  incompatible 
with  an  impartial  recognition  of  certain  errors  of  judgment. 
Nor,  in  sometimes  strongly  condemning  the  action  of  his  oppo- 
nents, have  I  endeavoured  unduly  to  asperse  them.  Amongst 
such  opponents,  during  the  last  forty  years,  have  been  men 
entitled  to  the  respect  and  gratitude  of  the  country;  and 
England  is  proud  of  all  her  sons  who  have  rendered  her  distin- 
guished service,  be  their  party  name  Whig  or  Tory,  Liberal  or 
Conservative. 

There  are  few,  I  believe — even  amongst  those  who  most  differ 
from  him  — who  would  deny  to  Mr.  Gladstone  the  title  of  a  great 
statesman.  With  regard  to  his  course  on  recent  Foreign  policy,  my 
conviction  is  that '  time  is  on  his  side,'  and  is  even  now  working 
out  his  justification;  but  be  this  course  approved  or  disapproved, 
nothing  can  blot  out  the  memory  of  his  past  achievements.  In 
many  respects,  the  long  roll  of  English  statesmen  bears  no  name 
more  illustrious  than  his.  The  purity  of  his  motives  and  the 


vi  PEEFACE. 

disinterestedness  of  his  character  stand  confessed;  and  it  may 
be  said  of  him,  as  was  said  of  Burke,  that '  he  brought  to  politics 
a  horror  of  crime,  a  deep  humanity,  a  keen  sensibility,  and  a 
singular  vivacity  and  sincerity  of  conscience.'  The  most 
conspicuous  figure,  perhaps,  in  the  public  life  of  our  times, 
and  universally  esteemed  for  his  talents,  his  eloquence,  his  high 
and  pure  feeling,  and  his  personal  worth,  I  commit  to  the 
reader,  without  further  apology,  this  record  of  his  career. 

G.  B.  S. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

CHAPTER    I.—  BIRTH  AND  ANCESTRY      .......      1 

,,  II.  —  AT  ETON  AND  OXFORD      .                                                         13 

„  III.  —  MEMBER  FOR  NEWARK     .......    32 

„  IV.  —  EARLY  SPEECHES  IN  PARLIAMENT    .                                  .    42 

„  V.  —  MR.  GLADSTONE  ON  CHURCH  AND  STATE        .        .        .65 

„  VI.  —  A  MEMORABLE  DECADE  —  1841-50     .....     77 

„  VII.  —  THE  NEAPOLITAN  PRISONS        ......   120 

„  VIII.  —  MR.  GLADSTONE'S  FIRST  BUDGET    .        .         .        .        .133 

„  IX.—  THE  CRIMEAN  WAR           .......  150 

„  X.  —  THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  (continued)        .....  1G7 

„  XI.  —  THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  (concluded)        .        .        .        .        .  184 

„  XII.  —  DOMESTIC  AND  FOREIGN  POLICY  —  1856-58      .        .        .190 

„  XIII.  —  HOMERIC  STUDIES    ........  ~225 

„        XIV.  —  THE   SESSION    OF    1859—  THE    BUDGET    OF    18CO    AND 

THE  FRENCH  TREATY        ......  244 

„         XV.  —  FINANCIAL  STATEMENTS  OF  18G1-C3        ....  273 
„        XVI.  —  ADVANCING  OPINIONS  AND  FISCAL  REFORMS          .        .  309 


„      XVII.  —  MR.  GLADSTONES  REACTION  AT  OXFORD—  THIC 

BILL  OF  1866  ........  322 

„     XVIII.—  THE  REFORM  AND  IRISH  CHURCH  QUESTIONS        .        .  350 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAOR 

CHAPTER  XIX. — THE  GCK.DEN  AGE  OF  LIBERALISM      .        .        .        .374 
„  XX. — THE  GOLDEN  AGE  OF  LIBERALISM  (concluded)    .        .  400 

,,  XXI. — THE    ALABAMA  CLAIMS— THE    BALLOT — IRISH    UNI- 

VEESITY  EDUCATION 425 

„  XXII. — FALL  OF  MR.  GLADSTONE'S  MINISTRY        .        .        .  451 

„  XXIII. — SPEECHES  ON  PUBLIC  WORSHIP  AND  EDUCATION        .  464 

„  XXIV. — EESIONATION  OF  THE  LIBERAL  LEADERSHIP        .        .  483 

„          XXV.— RITUALISM  AND  VATICANISM 490 

„  XXVI. — MR.  GLADSTONE'S  FINANCIAL  POLICT.        .        .        .  503 

„       XXVII.— THE  EASTERN  QUESTION 512 

„      XXVIII.— FOREIGN  POLICY— 1878-79 522 

„  XXIX. — Mu.  GLADSTONE'S  MISCELLANEOUS  WRITINGS,  ETC.      .  555 
XXX. —PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS — CONCLUSION.                  .  57! 


THE      LIFE 

OF 
THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE 


M.P.,  D.C.L.,  &c. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

BIRTH   AND  ANCESTRY. 

The  Gladstones  and  the  Middle  Class — Sir  John  Gladstone— His  Characteristics — 
Origin  of  his  Family — Its  Settlement  in  Scotland  for  several  Centuries — Its 
Ramifications — John  Gladstone,  the  future  Premier's  Father,  born  at  Leith — 
Removes  to  Liverpool — His  Business  Aptitude — Anecdote  Illustrating  his 
Enterprise — A  Merchant  Prince — His  Relations  with  Canning— Philanthropic 
Efforts — A  Member  of  the  House  of  Commons— Created  a"  Baronet  by  Sir 
Robert  Peel— William  Ewart  Gladstone's  Scotch  Descent— Illustrious  Pedigree 
claimed  by  Burke — The  Early  Training  of  Mr.  Gladstone— Surrounded  by 
Conservative  Influences  —  His  Genius  and  Endowments  —  His  Career  an 
Interesting  Study. 

WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE — statesman,  orator,  and  man  of 
letters-  -sprang  from  the  ranks  of  that  poAverful  order  which  has 
justly  been  regarded  as  the  backbone  of  England — namely,  the 
middle  class.  This  class  has  not  only  given  stability  to  the 
country  in  the  midst  of  social  and  political  convulsions,  but  has 
contributed  more  than  any  other  to  the  intellectual  growth  and 
eminence  of  the  English-speaking  race.  The  adventitious  cir- 
cumstances surrounding  an  aristocracy  tend  to  produce  habits 
of  lethargy  and  indulgence,  though  there  are  illustrious  examples 
in  statesmanship,  art,  and  letters,  where  the  temptations  to  a 
life  of  ignoble  ease  have  been  successfully  overcome — while,  if  we 
descend  to  the  lowest  grade  in  the  social  scale,  we  shall  find  that 
the  evils  of  poverty  have  arrested  the  development  of  many  men 
of  original  talent,  who  might  have  risen  to  be  a  power  in  and 
an  ornament  to  the  state.  The  middle  class  have  been  subjected 
neither  to  the  temptations  of  the  aristocracy  nor  the  priva- 

B 


2  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

tions  of  the  order  beneath  them ;  and  it  is  to  these  we  owe,  in  a 
large  measure,  the  prosperity  and  greatness  of  the  empire.  They 
are  men  of  shrewd,  penetrating,  and  active  minds,  men  who 
have  acquired  a  stake  in  the  country  by  their  own  indomitable 
energy  and  foresight,  and  they  have  ever  been  the  most  ardent 
defenders  of  individual  and  national  liberty — a  check  upon  the 
power  of  kings  and  nobles,  and  a  breakwater  against  the  threaten- 
ing tide  of  democracy. 

Typical  of  this  race  was  Sir  John  Gladstone,  father  of  the  future 
Literal  Premier.  Amongst  all  the  merchant  princes  of  Liverpool 
— and  the  records  of  the  town  are  full  of  striking  examples  of 
self-made  men — there  are  few  whose  career  was  so  remarkable  as 
that  of  the  man  who,  originally  the  son  of  a  corn  merchant  or  corn 
dealer  at  Leith,  near  Edinburgh,  ultimately  became  one  of  the 
most  eminent  merchants  and  shipowners  in  Lancashire.  We 
shall  the  better  approach  to  some  understanding  of  the  states- 
man's complex  character  by  briefly  tracing  the  history  of  his 
father.  In  him  were  developed  those  practical  qualities  which 
have  since  been  reflected  in  the  son — tenacity  of  purpose, 
strength  of  will,  the  power  to  grapple  with  opposing  circum 
stances,  and  a  breadth  of  mind  which  grasped  the  various  aspects 
of  a  difficult  problem  at  a  glance.  4  Diligent  in  business '  was 
Sir  John  Gladstone's  motto,  and  his  distinguished  son,  so  far 
from  being  ashamed  of  the  means  by  which  his  family  rose  to 
opulence,  not  long  ago,  in  frank  and  manly  words,  and  words 
worth  remembering,  recounted  his  obligations  to  trade  and  com- 
merce. In  an  address  delivered  at  the  Liverpool  Collegiate 
Institute  on  the  21st  of  December  1872,  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  '  I 
know  not  why  commerce  in  England  should  not  have  its  old 
families,  rejoicing  to  be  connected  with  commerce  from  genera- 
tion to  generation.  It  has  been  so  in  other  countries ;  I  trust  it 
will  be  so  in  this  country.  I  think  it  a  subject  of  sorrow,  and 
almost  of  scandal,  when  those  families  who  have  either  acquired 
or  recovered  station  and  wealth  through  commerce,  turn  their 
backs  upon  it,  and  seem  to  be  ashamed  of  it.  It  certainly  is  not 
so  with  my  brother  or  with  me.  His  sons  are  treading  in  his 
steps,  and  one  of  my  sons,  I  rejoice  to  say,  is  treading  in  the  steps 
of  my  father  and  my  brother.' 

Before  alluding  further  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  father,  it  will  be  con- 
venient here  to  cite  certain  interesting  facts  as  to  the  ramifications 
of  the  family.  The  chief  stock  of  the  Gladstanes  or  Gladstones— 
for  the  latter  orthography  is  of  recent  adoption — were  originally 
settled  in  the  parish  of  Liberton,  in  the  upper  ward  of 
Clydesdale ;  but  many  generations  subsequently  a  branch  of  the 
stock  effected  a  settlement  in  the  town  of  Biggar,  in  Lanarkshire 


BIRTH    AND    ANCESTRY.  3 

Through  the  name  of  Gladstones  or  Gledstanes  has  been  traced 
a  custom  in  connection  with  the  tenure  of  land,  prevalent 
centuries  ago  in  certain  Scotch  counties.  It  may  also  be  noted 
that  Gled  is  Lowland  Scottish  for  a  hawk,  and  that  stanes 
signifies  rocks.  The  estates  of  Arthurshiel  and  of  Gladstones, 
in  Clydesdale,  were  held  by  a  branch  of  the  family  of  the 
Gladstones  through  whom  the  subject  of  our  biography  traces 
his  descent.  Evidence  exists  of  the  former  estate  being  held  by 
William  Gladstanes  early  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  there 
are  references  to  descendants  of  his  in  legal  documents  executed 
in  1623  and  1641  respectively.  Some  time  before  the  year 
1680  the  estate  of  Arthurshiel  was  sold  by  John  Gladstanes  to 
James  Brown,  of  Edmonstoun.  At  Biggar,  William  Gladstanes, 
son  of  the  laird  just  named,  pursued  the  business  of  a  maltster, 
and  died  in  1728.  He  left  three  sons  and  one  daughter.  Of  the 
sons,  John,  born  in  1693  or  1694,  followed  the  occupation  of  his 
father  in  the  town  of  Biggar.  He  was  an  active  man  in  the 
district,  and  a  kirk  elder.  Being  successful  in  business,  he 
acquired  a  small  property,  to  which  he  retired,  dying  in  the 
year.1756.  This  John  Gladstanes  had  a  large  family,  consisting 
of  five  sons  and  six  daughters.  The  third  son,  John,  took  the 
patrimony  of  Mid  Toftcombs,  and,  marrying,  received  with  his 
wife,  Christian  Taverner,  a  dowry  amounting  to  seven  thousand 
merks — a  not  inconsiderable  sum  at  that  period.  The  fourth 
son  of  this  marriage  was  Thomas  Gladstone — grandfather  of  the 
statesman — who  was  born  at  Mid  Toftcombs  on  the  3rd  of  June, 
1732,  and  lived  until  the  year  of  William  Ewart  Gladstone's 
birth,  dying  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-seven.  Thomas  Glad- 
stone, having  early  left  the  parental  roof,  became  a  corn- 
merchant  in  Leith,  and  married  Helen,  the  daughter  of  Walter 
Neilson,  of  Springfield.  Their  union  was  very  prolific,  and  of 
sixteen  children  born  to  them  no  fewer  than  twelve  grew  up  to 
maturity.  Thomas  Gladstone's  aptitude  for  business  was  so 
great,  and  he  was  so  enterprising,  that — notwithstanding  the 
numerous  claims  upon  him — he  was  able  to  make  some  provision 
for  all  his  sons  in  the  adoption  of  their  various  trades  or  callings. 
John  Gladstone,  the  eldest  son,  was  bom  at  Leith,  in  the  year 
1763.  He  entered  his  fathers  business,  and  on  attaining  his 
majority  an  incident  occurred  which  proved  the  turning-point 
in  his  career.  Being  commissioned  by  his  father  to  go  to  Liver- 
pool, in  order  to  sell  a  cargo  of  grain  which  had  arrived  at  that 
port,  his  demeanour  and  business  capabilities  so  won  upon  the 
mind  of  one  of  the  leading  Liverpool  corn-merchants,  Mr.  Corrie, 
that  he  desired  his  father  to  allow  young  Gladstone  to  settle  at 
that  port.  For  some  time,  accordingly,  John  Gladstone  became 


4  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

assistant  in  the  house  of  Corrie  and  Co.  He  was  not  long  here, 
however,  before  his  tact  and  shrewdness  manifested  themselves, 
and,  by-and-by,  the  firm  of  Corrie  and  Co.  became  transformed 
into  that  of  Corrie,  Gladstone,  and  Bradshaw.  An  anecdote  is 
related  which  illustrates  not  only  the  harassing  nature  of  the 
crises  through  which  merchants  in  English  ports  are  sometimes 
called  upon  to  pass,  but  also  the  prudence  and  determination  by 
which  such  crises  are  frequently  met.  To  the  conduct  of  John 
Gladstone  was  due,  upon  one  occasion,  the  preservation  and  safety 
of  the  firm  of  which  he  was  soon  the  most  prominent  member. 
The  utter  failure  of  the  European  com  crops  was  regarded  as  an 
excellent  opportunity  for  doing  a  great  stroke  of  business  by  Mr. 
Corrie,  who  sent  Mr.  Gladstone  to  the  United  States  to  buy 
grain.  But  America,  too,  had  suffered  in  her  crops,  and  no 
corn  was  to  be  had.  While  in  a  condition  of  great  perplexity, 
Mr.  Gladstone  received  advices  from  Liverpool  to  the  effect  that 
twenty-four  vessels  had  been  engaged  to  convey  to  Europe  the 
grain  he  was  despatched  to  purchase,  but  which  he  had  not  been 
successful  in  procuring.  The  disastrous  news  soon  became 
known  that  there  were  no  cargoes  of  grain,  and  that  the  vessels, 
instead  of  being  loaded  with  a  rich  freight,  must  return  to 
Liverpool  in  ballast  only.  The  prospect  was  ruinous,  and  the 
stability  of  the  house  of  Corrie  and  Co.  was  considered  irretrievably 
shattered.  But  Liverpool  merchants  had  reckoned  without  their 
host.  Now  was  the  time  for  John  Gladstone  to  demonstrate 
his  business  capacity  and  enterprise,  by  which  he  was  able 
to  save  the  fortunes  of  the  firm.  While  many  would 
have  been  helplessly  casting  about  for  means  of  recorery, 
young  Gladstone  was  up  and  doing.  The  ships  must  not  return 
empty.  He  made  a  thorough  examination  of  the  American 
markets,  ascertained  what  stocks  there  were  which  would  be 
likely  to  prove  acceptable  in  Liverpool,  and,  by  dint  of 
sleepless  energy  and  activity,  he  managed  to  stock  the  holds  of 
all  the  vessels.  The  result  was  that  the  house  was  saved  at  a 
very  trifling  loss.  For  many  years  after  this  the  name  of  John 
Gladstone  was  a  synonym  for  push  and  integrity,  first  on  the 
Liverpool  Exchange,  and  subsequently  in  other  large  towns,  as 
well  as  in  the  metropolis. 

The  partnership  of  Corrie,  Gladstone,  and  Bradshaw  existed 
for  some  sixteen  years,  and  during  a  portion  of  this  period  the 
firm  acted  as  the  Government  agents  at  Liverpool.  Upon  the 
dissolution  of  the  concern  Gladstone  was  the  only  one  who 
remained  in  business,  and  he  took  into  partnership  his  brother 
Robert.  Their  operations  became  very  extensive,  and  besides 
opening  up  a  large  trade  with  Russia,  they  had  large  connections 


BIRTH    AND    ANCESTEY.  5 

as  West  India  merchants  and  sugar  importers.  Mr.  Gladstone 
afterwards  became  chairman  of  the  West  India  Association,  and 
took  great  interest  in  the  proposals  for  increasing  the  dock 
accommodation  of  Liverpool.  In  coarse  of  time  all  the  seven 
sons  of  Thomas  Gladstone  of  Leith  had  settled  down  in 
Liverpool.  The  capacity  to  look  ahead  has  been  one  of  the 
principal  traits  of  the  Gladstones  as  merchants,  and  when  the 
East  India  and  China  trades  were  thrown  open  beyond  the  old 
limits  of  the  East  India  Company's  monopoly,  in  1814,  the 
Liverpool  firm  of  John  Gladstone  and  Co.  was  the  first  to 
despatch  a  private  vessel  to  Calcutta. 

The  first  ten  years  of  the  present  century  formed  a  period  of 
great  trial  and  depression  for  Liverpool,  and,  indeed,  for  every 
important  port  of  the  United  Kingdom.  In  the  year  1806, 
Napoleon,  anxious  to  cripple  England,  issued  a  decree  declaring 
all  the  ports  of  Great  Britain  in  a  state  of  blockade,  and 
prohibiting  the  importation  into  any  port  under  his  control  of 
the  productions  of  either  Great  Britain  or  her  colonies.  Alarmed 
by  this  bold  decree,  the  British  Government  replied  by  issuing 
orders  declaring  all  the  ports,  either  of  France  or  her  allies,  or 
from  which  the  British  flag  was  excluded,  in  a  state  of  actual 
blockade,  and  condemning  all  vessels  trading  to  them  as  good 
and  lawful  prize — unless  they  had  previously  touched  at  a  British 
port,  and  paid  customs  duties  to  the  British  Crown.  Napoleon 
retorted,  in  his  Milan  decree,  by  declaring  any  neutral  vessel 
which  had  paid  tax  to  the  British  Government  denationalised. 
The  result  of  this  policy  of  mutual  recrimination  was  most 
disastrous,  especially  as  affecting  English  trade  with  America. 
Indeed,  the  posture  of  affairs  is  perhaps  unexampled  in  modern 
warfare.  The  decrees  of  the  British  Government  were  much 
more  objectionable  and  embarrassing  to  the  Americans  than 
those  of  Napoleon,  which  were  practically  inoperative.  England 
enjoyed  the  empire  of  the  sea,  while  Napoleon  had  little  or  no 
power  to  carry  his  edicts  into  execution.  Diplomacy  set  to 
work,  but  the  breach  between  the  United  States  and  England 
could  not  be  healed.  These  disputes  with  America,  combined 
with  the  harassed  condition  of  the  commercial  relations  between 
the  two  countries,  led  to  great  popular  discontent  in  1807.  As 
one  effect  of  the  policy  ot  the  British  Government,  it  may  be 
stated  that  in  the  course  of  twelve  months  the  commerce  of 
Liverpool  declined  to  the  amount  of  140,000  tons,  nearly  one- 
fourth  of  the  entire  trade,  and  there  was  a  decrease  of  no  less  than 
£22,000  in  the  dock  dues.  Liverpool  merchants  trading  with 
America  of  course  felt  the  strain  severely,  and  John  Gladstone 
was  amongst  those  who  signed  a  requisition  demanding  a  public 


«  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

meeting  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning  Parliament  against  the 
Orders  in  Council.  Liverpool  was  divided  in  opinion,  but  a 
petition  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons,  emanating 
from  the  town,  and  praying  for  a  conciliatory  policy  towards 
hostile  and  neutral  states,  and  especially  in  reference  to  the 
United  States  of  America.  In  the  year  1812 — that  is,  after 
trade  had  been  seriously  crippled,  and  we  had  been  pecipitated 
into  a  war  with  America — the  obnoxious  orders  were  rescinded, 
on  the  advice  of  Lord  Castlereagh. 

Mr.  John  Gladstone's  earnestness  was  conspicuous  in  every- 
thing he  undertook.  He  was  an  ardent  and  yet  practical 
politician.  At  first  a  professor  of  Whig  principles,  he  subse- 
quently modified  his  views,  and  became  an  energetic  supporter 
of  Mr.  Canning.  His  principles  later  in  life  were  those  which 
we  usually  associate  with  the  name  of  Liberal  Conservative.  He 
presided  over  a  meeting  called  in  Liverpool  in  1812  for  the  purpose 
of  inviting  Canning  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  borough.  The 
election  which  ensued  was  a  most  exciting  one,  and  is  amongst 
the  most  remarkable  of  political  contests  ever  held  out  of  the 
metropolis.  William  Roscoe  having  retired  from  the  represen- 
tation in  October,  Canning  signified  his  willingness  to  stand. 
At  an  open  air  meeting  held  in  Castle  street,  Mr.  Gladstone 
delivered  an  address,  in  the  course  of  which  he  reviewed  the 
commercial  state  of  the  country,  and  described  in  the  most 
flattering  and  glowing  terms  Canning's  public  and  private 
character.  Mr.  Gladstone  agreed  to  support  Henry  Brougham  aa 
the  colleague  of  Canning,  and  was  most  anxious  for  the  return 
of  these  celebrated  men.  The  other  candidates  were  General 
Gascoyne — who  belonged  to  a  family  of  large  property  near  the 
town — and  a  Mr.  Creevey,  a  Radical  of  an  advanced  type. 
Unfortunately,  by  one  of  those  fits  of  perversity  which  some- 
times characterised  Brougham,  the  great  advocate  threw  in  his 
lot  with  Creevey.  ID  Brougham's  Memoirs  it  is  naively 
recorded  in  connection  with  this  election,  that  'two  or  three 
men  were  killed,  but  the  town  was  quiet ' — a  striking  commen- 
tary, on  the  general  characte"  of  the  elections  of  the  period. 
The  alliance  between  Brougham  and  Creevey  threw  Mr.  Glad- 
stone into  the  arms  of  the  acknowledged  Conservatives,  and  he 
now  supported  Canning  and  Gascoyne.  Brougham  and  Creevey 
were  defeated.  After  the  election  the  successful  candidates  were 
chaired  and  carried  in  procession  through  the  streets.  The 
procession  finally  halted  at  Mr.  Gladstone's  house,  in  Rodney 
street,  from  the  balcony  of  which  Mr.  Canning  addressed  the 
populace.  This  election  laid  the  foundation  of  a  deep  and 
lasting  friendship  betw*?n  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr.  Gladstone.  At 


BIRTH    AND    ANCESTRY.  7 

this  time  the  son  of  the  latter  was  but  three  years  of  age. 
Shortly  afterwards — that  is,  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  understand 
anything  of  public  men  and  public  movements  and  events — the 
name  of  Canning  began  to  exercise  that  strange  fascination  over 
the  mind  of  William  Ewart  Gladstone  which  has  never  wholly 
passed  away. 

In  all  the  affairs  of  Liverpool  Mr.  John  Gladstone  took  a 
warm  interest,  and  to  his  efforts  much  of  its  increased  prosperity 
was  due.  His  public  appearances  were  numerous,  but  with 
municipal  matters  he  persistently  declined  to  meddle,  as  he  was 
a  strong  opponent  of  the  self-elected  municipal  corporation  of 
the  ante  Reform  Bill  times.  Whenever  any  movement,  however, 
for  the  good  of  the  town  required  his  support,  it  was  always 
ungrudgingly  given.  On  the  28th  of  April,  1818,  he  addressed 
a  meeting  called  'to  consider  the  propriety  of  petitioning 
Parliament  to  take  into  consideration  the  progressive  and 
alarming  increase  in  the  crimes  of  forging  and  uttering  forged 
Bank  of  England  notes.'  Although  the  punishments  inflicted 
for  these  crimes  were  so  heavy,  they  spread  at  an  enormous  rate. 
The  Liverpool  meeting  passed  resolutions  recommending  the 
revision  and  amendment  of  the  Criminal  Law.  So  late  as  the 
year  1823  the  navigation  between  Liverpool  and  Dublin  was  in 
a  lamentable  condition.  Human  life  was  recklessly  imperilled,  and 
no  one  seemed  willing  to  intervene.  One  example  illustrating 
the  dangers  which  vessels  ran  may  be  cited.  A  sloop,  the  Alert, 
was  wrecked  off  the  Welsh  coast.  She  had  on  board  between 
100  and  140  souls,  of  whom  only  seventeen  were  saved.  For  the 
rescue  of  every  person  on  board  the  public  packet-boat,  there 
only  existed  one  small  shallop  twelve  feet  long.  Mr.  Gladstone 
— impressed  with  the  terrible  nature  of  the  existing  evil— 
obtained  the  introduction  into  the  Steamboat  Act  of  an  impera- 
tive provision  requiring  a  sufficient  number  of  boats  for  the 
total  number  of  passengers  every  vessel  was  licensed  to  carry. 
By  this  humane  provision  thousands  of  lives  were  doubtless  saved 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  lost,  the  victims  of  reckless 
seamanship.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  also  a  warm  advocate  of 
Greek  independence.  On  the  14th  of  February  1824,  a  public 
meeting  was  held  in  the  Liverpool  Town  Hall,  'for  the  purpose 
of  considering  the  best  means  of  assisting  the  Greeks  in  their 
present  important  struggle  for  independence.'  Mr.  Gladstone 
spoke  impressively  in  favour  of  that  cause  which  bad  already 
evoked  great  enthusiasm  amongst  the  people,  and  enlisted  the 
sympathies  and  support  of  Lord  Byron  and  other  distinguished 
friends  of  freedom. 

In  August  1822,  Mr.  Gladstone  presided  at  a  farewell  dinner 


8  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

given  to  Mr.  Canning  by  the  Liverpool  Canning  Club.  Mr. 
Canning  bad  been  selected  by  the  East  India  Company  for  the 
appointment  of  Governor-General  of  India.  After  the  dinner  an 
address  was  presented  to  the  distinguished  statesman  at  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's house.  But  although  Canning  retired  from  the  represen- 
tation of  Liverpool,  he  did  not  leave  the  country.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  death  of  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry  by  his  own 
hand,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  was  invited  to  take  office  under 
the  Crown.  On  this  accession  of  Mr.  Canning  to  office  in  1827 
a  crowded  meeting  of  his  former  constituents  was  held  to 
celebrate  the  event.  Mr.  John  Gladstone  moved  an  address  to 
his  Majesty,  congratulating  the  Sovereign  upon  the  formation 
of  the  Canning  Ministry. 

On  the  Reform  question  Mr.  Gladstone  held  peculiar  views. 
While  not  opposed  to  a  greater  enfranchisement  of  the  people, 
he  desired  to  see  any  measure  of  reform  which  should  be  intro- 
duced take  the  shape  which  should  best  consult  all  interests. 
He  was  the  principal  speaker  at  a  meeting  called  in  November 
1831  to  discuss  this  subject.  He  made  no  scruple  in  expressing 
his  views  that  he  considered  the  projected  reform  was  going  too 
far  ;  that  due  regard  was  not  paid  to  the  influence  of  property ; 
and  he  maintained  that  the  qualifications  for  the  franchise 
ought  to  differ  in  differing  circumstances. 

That  such  a  man  should  make  a  mark  in  the  town  in  which  a 
great  portion  of  his  life  was  spent  is  but  natural.  Mr.  John 
Gladstone  was  esteemed  by  his  fellow-townsmen,  irrespective  of 
class  and  of  political  opinion.  The  spirit  of  the  man  impressed 
itself  upon  all  with  whom  he  came  into  contact.  His  energy, 
his  conscientiousness,  and  his  philanthropic  efforts  in  a  variety 
of  directions,  all  tended  to  endow  him  with  great  popularity. 
The  high  position  he  held  in  the  public  esteem  was  abundantly 
manifested  by  certain  very  interesting  proceedings  which  took 
place  in  Liverpool  on  the  18th  of  October,  1824.  On  this  day, 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  presented  with  a  magnificent  service  of  plate, 
consisting  of  twenty-eight  pieces,  and  bearing  the  following 
inscription : — c  To  John  Gladstone,  Esq.,  M.P.,  this  service  of 
plate  was  presented  MDCCCXXIV.  by  his  fellow-townsmen  and 
friends,  to  mark  their  high  sense  of  his  successful  exertions  for 
the  promotion  of  Trade  and  Commerce,  and  in  acknowledgment 
of  his  most  important  services  rendered  to  the  town  of 
Liverpool.'  * 

Whether  mingling  in  the  strife  of  politics  had  excited  in  Mr. 
John  Gladstone  an  ambition  for  parliamentary  life,  or  whether 

*  For  some  of  tlicso  details  respecting  Sir  John  Gladstone,  the  author  is  indebted 
to  Mr.  J.  A.  I'icton's  very  interesting  Memorials  of  Liverpool. 


BIRTH    AND    ANCESTRY.  9 

it  v?as  due  to  the  influence  of  Mr.  Canning  — who  early  perceived 
the  many  sterling  qualities  of  his  influential  supporter — matters 
little,  but  he  at  length  came  forward  for  Woodstock,  a  pocket 
borough  of  the  Maryborough  family.  After  having  sat  for  this 
borough,  he  represented  Lancaster  and  other  constituencies, 
being,  altogether,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  nine 
years.  He  was  in  the  House  at  the  same  time  as  his  son,  and 
listened  to  many  of  his  earlier  efforts  in  parliamentary  oratory. 
Mr.  John  Gladstone  never  offered  himself  for  Liverpool,  although 
he  possessed  great  influence  in  the  borough.  This  was 
probably  due  to  an  opinion  that  so  large  a  constituency  as 
Liverpool  had  special  claims  upon  its  members,  and  demanded 
from  them  more  important  services  in  the  House  of  Commons 
than  he  could  render.  Sir  Robert  Peel  created  Mr.  John 
Gladstone  a  baronet  in  1845.  He  lived  to  enjoy  his  justly- 
acquired  honours  for  a  short  time  only,  dying  in  1851  at  the 
patriarchal  age  of  eighty-eight. 

Sir  John  Gladstone  was  not  devoid  of  literary  talent.  When 
the  Slavery  question  came  to  the  front,  he  entered  into  a  corres- 
pondence upon  the  subject  with  Mr.  John  Cropper,  and  wrote  a 
pamphlet  '  On  the  Present  Steite  of  Slavery  in  the  British  West 
Indies  and  in  the  United  States  of  America;  and  on  the 
Importation  of  Sugar  from  the  British  Settlements  in  India.' 
In  the  year  1830  he  published  '  A  Statement  of  Facts  connected 
with  the  Present  State  of  Slavery  in  the  British  Sugar  and 
Coffee  Colonies,  and  in  the  United  States  of  America ;  together 
with  a  View  of  the  Situation  of  the  Lower  Classes  in  the  United 
Kingdom :  in  a  Letter  addressed  to  Sir  Robert  Peel.'  He  also 
wrote  and  issued  in  1846  a  pamphlet  entitled  'Plain  Facts 
intimately  connected  with  the  intended  Repeal  of  the  Corn 
Laws ;  or,  Probable '  Effects  on  the  Public  Revenue  and  the 
Prosperity  of  this  Country.' 

On  both  sides  the  subject  of  our  biography  is  of  Scotch 
descent.  He  alluded  to  this  fact  in  mature  life,  and  when 
receiving  an  address  in  November  1865,  from  the  Parliamentary 
Reform  Union,  in  the  Glasgow  Trade  Hall.  He  thanked  those 
who  had  signed  the  address  for  reminding  him  of  his  connection 
with  Sc'otland  at  large,  and  of  Glasgow,  through  the  county  of 
Lanark.  '  If  Scotland  is  not  ashamed  of  her  sons,'  he  said,  '  her 
sons  are  not  ashamed  of  Scotland;  and  the  memory  of  the 
parents  to  whom  I  owe  my  being  combines  with  various  other 
considerations  to  make  me  glad  and  thankful  to  remember  that 
the  blood  which  runs  in  my  veins  is  exclusively  Scottish.'  Sir 
John  Gladstone — who  had  no  issue  by  his  first  marriage — 
married  as  his  second  wife  Ann  Robertfcon,  daughter  of  Mr. 


10  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Andrei  Robertson,  of  Stornoway,  and  sometime  Provost  of  Ding- 
wall.  She  has  been  described  by  one  who  knew  her  intimately 
as  'a  lady  of  very  great  accomplishments ;  of  fascinating 
manners,  of  commanding  presence  and  high  intellect ;  one  to 
grace  any  home  and  endear  any  heart.'  Her  children  were  six 
in  number — four  sons  and  two  daughters.  Of  the  sons  two  only 
survive,  viz.,  Sir  Thomas  Gladstone,  Bart.,  of  Fasque,  and 
William  Ewart  Gladstone.  Captain  John  Neilson  Gladstone, 
sometime  M.P.  for  Portarlington,  died  in  1863,  and  Mr. 
Robertson  Gladstone,  a  prominent  merchant  and  citizen  of 
Liverpool,  died  in  1875.  Of  the  daughters  one,  Ann  McKenzie, 
died  unmarried,  and  Miss  Helen  Jane  Gladstone  still  survives. 
The  enormous  wealth  of  Sir  John  Gladstone  enabled  him  to 
make  handsome  provision  for  each  of  his  children  during  his 
lifetime — a  fortunate  circumstance  for  the  future  statesman,  and 
one  which  left  him  at  liberty  to  devote  his  energies  to  the 
public  service,  undistracted  by  the  necessity  for  business  or 
professional  occupation.  The  Gladstone  family  belongs, 
as  we  have  said,  essentially  to  the  middle  class — and  Mr. 
Gladstone  himself  would  claim  for  it  no  other  honour — but 
the  zealous  Burke  connects  the  marriage  of  Sir  John  Gladstone 
with  Miss  Robertson  to  a  royal  descent  from  Henry  III.  of 
England,  and  Robert  Bruce,  King  of  Scotland.  This  alleged 
illustrious  pedigree  is  thus  traced — Lady  Jane  Beaufort,  who 
was  a  descendant  of  Henry  III.,  married  James  I.  of  Scotland, 
who  was  a  descendant  of  Bruce.  From  this  alliance  it  is  said 
that  the  steps  can  be  followed  clearly  down  to  the  father  of  Miss 
Robertson.  A  Scotch  writer  upon  genealogy,  also  referring  to 
this  matter,  states  that  Mr.  Gladstone  is  descended  on  the 
mother's  side  from  the  ancient  Mackenzie  of  Kintail,  through 
whom  is  introduced  the  blood  of  the  Bruce,  of  the  ancient  Kings 
of  Man,  and  of  the  Lords  of  the  Isles  and  Earls  of  Ross ;  also 
from  the  Munros  of  Fowlis,  and  the  Robertsons  of  Strowan  and 
Athole.  What  was  of  more  consequence  to  the  Gladstones  of 
recent  generations,  however,  than  royal  blood,  was  the  fact  that 
by  their  own  energy  and  honourable  enterprise  they  carved  their 
own  fortunes,  and  rose  to  positions  of  public  esteem  and 
eminence. 

England  was  distracted  by  troubles  at  home  and  abroad  when 
he  who  was  to  be  the  greatest  Liberal  statesman  of  his  time  first 
saw  the  light  at  Liverpool,  on  the  29th  of  December  1809. 
Commerce  was  paralysed  in  many  of  its  centres  ;  men  had  not 
forgotten  the  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution  ;  and  Napoleon 
still  bestrode  Europe  like  a  Colossus.  The  time  was  one  to 
make  all  men  pause,  and  there  is  scarcely  room  for  worder  that 


BIRTH    AND    ANCESTEY.  11 

men  of  property,  merchants,  and  others,  who  had  never  hitherto 
been  suspected  of  Tory  proclivities,  should  acquire  a  strong 
(Conservative  bias.  Probably  this  had  something  to  do  with  the 
gravitation  of  Mr.  John  Gladstone  towards  the  principles  of  Mr. 
Canning.  At  any  rate,  in  following  the  public  career  of  his  son, 
these  influences  must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  His  politics  and  his 
strength  of  will  he  imbibed  from  his  father ;  his  sensitiveness, 
and  his  power  of  receiving  and  susceptibility  to  impressions, 
were  doubtless  acquired  from  his  mother,  Ann  Kobertsori. 
Having  his  father  for  his  teacher,  and  being  constantly  reminded 
of,  and  indoctrinated  in,  the  principles  of  Canning,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  Mr.  Gladstone  began  life  as  a  Tory. 

There  has  rarely,  if  ever,  been  witnessed  in  statesmanship  so 
singular  a  combination  of  qualities  and  faculties.  Without  being 
possessed  of  that  highest  of  all  gifts,  an  absolutely  informing 
genius,  he  has,  perhaps,  every  endowment  save  that.  Liverpool 
gave  him  his  financial  talent  and  business  aptitude,  Eton  his 
classical  attainments,  Oxford  his  moral  fervour  and  religious 
spirit.  He  has  thrown  round  the  science  of  finance  a  halo  with 
which  it  seemed  impossible  to  invest  it ;  and  he  has  diffused  a 
light  upon  all  great  questions  in  which  he  has  become  interested, 
-which  has  revealed  them  to,  and  brought  them  clearly  within,  the 
popular  apprehension  and  understanding.  Into  every  work  that 
he  has  undertaken,  he  has  imported  an  earnestness  described  as 
enthusiasm  by  his  friends  and  fanaticism  by  his  opponents. 
Neither  the  world  of  commerce,  the  world  of  politics,  nor  the 
world  of  letters  has  held  him  entirely  for  its  own  ;  yet  he  has 
trodden  every  stage  with  success.  As  a  recent  writer  *  well 
observes,  *  He  cares  even  more  than  trades-unions  for  the  welfare 
of  the  working  men ;  more  than  the  manufacturers  for  the 
interests  of  capital ;  more  for  the  cause  of  retrenchment  than 
the  most  jealous  and  avowed  foes  of  Government  expenditure  ; 
more  for  the  spread  of  education  than  the  advocates  of  a  compul- 
sory national  system  ;  more  for  careful  constitutional  precedent 
than  the  Whigs ;  and  more  for  the  spiritual  independence  of 
the  Church  than  the  highest  Tories.  He  unites  cotton  with 
culture,  Manchester  with  Oxford,  the  deep  classical  joy  over  the 
Italian  resurrection  and  Greek  independence  with  the  deep 
English  interest  on  the  amount  of  the  duty  on  Zante  raisins 
and  Italian  rags.  The  great  railway  boards  and  the  bkhops  are 
about  equally  interested  in  Mr.  Gladstone.'  And  again,  from 
the  intellectual  point  of  view,  *  Mr.  Gladstone's  mind  mediates 
between  the  moral  and  material  interests  of  the  age,  and  rests 

*  Sketches  in  Parliament,  bv  R.  H.  Button. 


12  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

in  neither.     He  moralises  finance  and  commerce,  and  (if  we  may 
be  allowed  the  barbarism)  institutionalises  ethics  and  faith.' 

The  acts  and  speeches  of  such  a  man  are  his  best  biography. 
It  is  through  these  that  we  shall  trace  his  career.  Differing 
largely  as  he  does  from  all  other  public  men,  he  must  be  his  own 
interpreter.  We  do  not  approach  the  subject  from  the  merely 
apologetic  or  panegyrical  point  of  view  ;  our  purpose  is  to  nar- 
rate the  life  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  to  pass  in  review  his  literary 
and  political  labours.  From  the  youthful  politician  of  1832  to 
the  statesman  of  1870  there  are  many  startling  changes  and 
revolutions  of  thought ;  but  it  may  not  be  impossible  to  trace 
in  these  a  natural  sequence.  He  who  began  public  life  as  '  the 
rising  hope  of  the  stern  and  unbending  Tories,'  in  course  of  time 
became  the  most  popular  leader  of  the  Liberal  party.  Every 
vaticination  made  in  his  youth  he  has  defeated,  while  to  many 
of  the  most  daring  hopes  of  Liberal  politicians  he  has  given  a 
complete  and  a  splendid  realisation.  From  every  standpoint  his 
extraordinary  career  is  worthy  of  study  ;  it  possesses  passages  of 
enduring  interest,  alike  for  those  who  are  most  strongly  in 
political  antagonism  with  him  as  for  those  who  are  his 
fervent  supporters. 


CHAPTER  II. 

AT    ETON  AND   OXFORD. 

Mr.  Gladstone  entered  at  Eton — Character  of  the  School  Fifty  Years  ago — Education 
and  Discipline — Eton  described  by  Etonians — Periodicals  established  by  Dis- 
tinguished Students — Mr.  Gladstone's  Contributions  to  the  Eton  Miscellbny — • 
Eulogy  of  Canning — Ho  leaves  Eton  in  1827 — Private  Tuition — Becomes  a  Student 
of  Christ  Church,  Oxford — Character  of  the  University — High  Church  and  Con- 
servative Proclivities — Life  and  Study  at  Oxford — The  Union  Debating  Society 
— Memorable  Debates — Presidents  of  the  Society — Effect  upon  Mr.  Gladstone  of 
Oxford  Training — Close  of  his  University  Career — Continental  Travels — Ascent 
of  Mount  Etna — Extracts  from  Mr.  Gladstone's  Diary — Graphic  Description  of  an 
Eruption. 

MR.  JOHN  GLADSTONE — who  early  discovered  the  keen  intellec- 
tual powers  of  his  son — wisely  determined  upon  sending  him  to 
Eton.     Immersed  in  the  cares  of  business,  and  with  numberless 
claims  upon  him  of  a  public  and  private  nature,. he  found  himself 
unable  longer  to  direct  the  developing  faculties  of  the  youth  who 
already  gave  promise  of  distinction.     He  likewise  probably  felt 
that  even  where  it  is  feasible,  it  is  yet  not  advisable  for  parents  to 
take  entire  charge  of  the  education  of  their  children.     They  can 
never  impart  to  them  that  most  valuable  of  all  knowledge — 
experience,  which  is  gained  by  mingling  with  the  world  alone. 
Private  tuition  also  necessarily  fails  in  this  respect,  else  had  Mr. 
Gladstone  all  that  could  be  desired  in  his  early  years.     The  Ven. 
Archdeacon  Jones,  his  earliest  preceptor,  was  a  man  of  the  most 
solid  acquirements  and  sterling  uprightness  of  character  ;  but, 
whether  in  youth  or  manhood,  it  is  contact  with  others  that  best 
stimulates  the  mind  and  urges  it  to  the  full  and  free  exercise  of 
its  powers.     It  is  said  that  when  his  son  was  but  twelve  years  of 
age,  Mr.  Gladstone  would  discuss  with  him  the  public  questions 
of  the  day,  teaching  him  to  think  for  himself  and  to  examine  well 
the  bases  of  the -opinions  which  he  might  have  formed  upon  political 
and  other  subjects.   Precocity  is  not  always  the  happiest  augury  in 
a  youth ;  it  too  frequently  betokens  one  of  two  things — either  that 
the  flame  of  genius  which  burns   so  brightly  will   be  quickly 
extinguished  for  the  lack  of  physical  fuel,  or  that  the  quickness 
and  intelligence  of  childhood  will  degenerate  into  mediocrity  as 
manhood  approaches.     Mr.  Gladstone  was  an  exception  to  this 


14  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

rule,  in  so  far  as  that  solidity  of  judgment  appears  to  have 
accompanied  perceptive  and  retentive  powers  of  an  unusual  order. 
His  genius  was  not  of  the  purely  conceptive  and  imaginative 
type,  but  he  possessed  an  intellectual  aptitude  of  a  high  order, 
and  was  favoured  in  addition  with  an  exceptional  amount  of 
vital  energy. 

He  was  entered  at  Eton  in  September,  1821,  and  left  there  in 
1827.  This  celebrated  foundation  has  recently  been  the  subject 
of  many  virulent  attacks,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that,  in 
proportion  to  other  schools,  there  are  comparatively  few  Eton 
boys  who  go  to  the  Universities.  The  system  of  education  and 
discipline  pursued  has  undergone  some  modifications  in  recent 
years — notably  during  the  provostship  of  the  Rev.  Francis 
Ho"dgson — but  radical  defects  are  still  alleged  against  it.  It  is 
not  a  little  remarkable,  however,  that  every  Eton  boy  becomes 
deeply  attached  to  the  school,  notwithstanding  the  apprenticeship 
to  hardships  he  may  have  been  compelled  to  undergo.  In  order 
to  afford  a  view  of  the  inner  workings  of  Eton,  we  will  reproduce 
the  chief  points  of  an  indictment  framed  against  it,  shortly  after 
young  Gladstone  left  its  time-honoured  precincts.*  Eton  College 
is  divided  into  two  schools,  the  upper  and  lower.  The  former 
consists  of  four  classes,  viz.,  the  6th  and  5th  forms,  the  remove, 
and  the  4th  form.  But  there  is  another  distinction  besides  that 
of  schools.  Seventy  King's  scholars,  or  collegers,  are  maintained 
on  the  foundation  gratuitously,  and  sleep  in  the  college.  They 
are  also  distinguished  in  their  dress  from  the  great  majority  of 
Eton  boys,  who  are  called  oppidans.  These  live  in  the  town, 
and  a  feeling  of  hostility  has  always  prevailed  between  the  two 
classes.  King's  College  at  Cambridge  having  been  founded  in 
connection  with  Eton,  to  receive  as  fellows  the  students  upon 
the  foundation — as  vacancies  occur  at  King's  College,  the  King's 
scholars  at  Eton  are  nominated  to  them  according  to  seniority. 
The  evil  here  is  apparent — long  residence  and  not  merit  deter- 
mines the  nomination  to  the  fellowships.  These  scholars,  who  may 
have  been  backward  at  Eton,  have  no  inducement  to  work  well 
at  Cambridge,  seeing  that  they  are  exempted  from  the  ordinary 
university  examination.  As  regards  education  at  Eton,  'no 
instruction  is  given  in  any  branch  of  mathematical,  physical, 
metaphysical,  or  moral  science,  nor  in  the  evidences  of 
Christianity.  The  only  subjects  which  it  is  professed  to  teach  are 
the  Greek  and  Latin  languages ;  as  much  divinity  as  can  be  gained 
from  construing  the  Greek  Testament,  and  reading  a  portion  of 

*  The  following  facts,  together  with  others  not  so  material,  were  stated  in  an 
article  published  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  for  April,  1830,  and  entitled  '  Public 
Schools  of  England— Eton.' 


AT    ETON    AND    OXFORD.  15 

Tomline  on  the  Thirty-nine  Articles ;  and  a  little  ancient  and 
modern  geography.'  Touching  the  hours  of  tuition,  they  are 
by  no  means  burdensome.  In  every  week  there  is  one  whole 
holiday,  when  no  work  is  done,  one  half-holiday,  and  on  Saturday 
there  are  three  school-times  and  one  chapel.  On  each  of  the 
other  three  days  there  are  four  school-times,  three  of  which  last 
respectively  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  the  fourth  for  one- 
quarter  of  an  hour.  Altogether,  school  studies  give  a  total  of 
about  eleven  hours  per  week.  The  manner  of  study  is  also 
objected  to.  The  scholar  is  not  allowed  to  accustom  himself  to 
the  style  of  an  author,  whereby  the  study  of  the  remainder 
might  be  facilitated ;  he  is  '  hurried  from  Herodotus  to 
Thucydides,  from  Thucydides  to  Xenophon,  from  Xenophon  tp 
Lucian,  without  being  habituated  to  the  style  of  any  one 
author  —  without  gaining  an  interest  in  the  history,  or 
even  catching  the  thread  of  the  narrative ;  and  when  the 
whole  book  is  finished  he  has  probably  collected  only  a  few 
vague  ideas  about  Darius  crying  over  a  great  army  at  Abydos, 
and  Nicias  and  Demosthenes  being  routed  with  a  great 
army  near  Syracuse,  mixed  up  with  a  recollection  of  the  death 
of  Cyrus  and  Socrates,  some  moral  precepts  of  Isocrates,  and 
some  jokes  against  false  philosophers  and  heathen  Gods.'  With 
this  kind  of  preparation,  the  Etonian  who  goes  to  Cambridge  or 
Oxford  finds  he  has  nothing  but  a  little  desultory  reading, 
and  that  he  must  begin  again.  But  the  same  writer  who  lays 
this  gravamen  not  only  complains  that  the  Eton  system  of 
education  fails  in  every  point — he  calls  in  question  the  moral 
discipline  of  the  school.  The  number  of  scholars  is  so  great 
that  proper  supervision  cannot  be  given  to  them ;  hence 
there  is  laxity  as  regards  the  older  boys,  while  the  smaller  and 
weaker  are  exposed,  without  hope  of  redress,  to  the  tyranny  of 
their  superiors  in  years  and  strength.  The  system  of  fagging  is 
the  result.  '  The  right  of  fagging  depends  upon  the  place  in 
the  school;  all  boys  in  the  sixth  and  fifth  forms  have  the  power 
of  ordering — all  below  the  latter  form  are  bound  to  obey.'  In 
1820 — the  year  before  Mr.  Gladstone  entered — there  were  at 
Eton  280  upper  boys,  and  248  lower — total,  528  ;  the  year  after 
he  left  there  were  293  upper  boys  and  319  lower— total,  612. 
The  system  of  fagging  has  a  very  injurious  effect  upon  many 
boys  ;  it  finds  them  slaves  and  leaves  them  despots.  A  boy  who 
has  suffered  himself,  insensibly  learns  to  see  no  harm  in  making 
others  suffer  in  their  turn.  The  whole  thing  is  wrong  in 
principle,  and  engenders  passions  which  should  be  stifled,  and 
not  encouraged.  The  punishments  at  Eton  are,  moreover, 
objected  to  —that  of  flogging  (performed  by  the  Head  Master) 


16  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

being  especially  degrading  in  its  results.  For  tne  first  two  or 
three  times  a  boy  feels  the  shame  attaching  to  this  kind  of 
punishment,  but  he  soon  becomes  callous,  and  the  flogging  has 
no  effect,  save  a  pernicious  one  upon  the  minds  of  others. 

So  much  for  the  Eton  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  period.  But  the 
account  differs  little  from  that  given  by  one  who  attended  the 
school  twenty  years  later.*  He  does  not  complain  much  of  the 
course  of  instruction  until  the  boys  reached  the  fifth  form,  but 
then  began  '  some  of  the  greatest  anomalies  and  absurdities  of 
the  then  existing  Etonian  system.'  He  was  now  safe  from  any 
examination  ordeal ;  and  the  confession  is  made  that  the  highest 
form — the  sixth — consisting  of  the  ten  senior  collegers  and  ten 
senior  oppidans — included  some  of  the  very  worst  scholars  of 
both  orders  in  its  bosom.  '  A  boy's  place  on  the  general  roll 
was  no  more  a  criterion  of  his  acquirements  and  his  industry  than 
would  be  the  "  year  "  of  a  young  man  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge.' 
One  reform  has  been  instituted,  however,  in  connection  with  the 
collegers,  or  boys  upon  the  foundation,  viz.,  they  are  required  to 
pass  some  kind  of  examination  in  accordance  with  which  their 
seniority  on  the  list  for  King's  is  fixed.  With  regard  to  the 
hours  of  study,  nevertheless,  at  this  later  period  in  consequence 
of  the  regular  holidays  and  saints'  days,  two  whole  holidays  in 
a  week  and  two  half-holidays  were  a  matter  of  common 
occurrence.  Not  only  as  regards  time,  but  looking  at  the  nature 
of  the  studies  themselves,  it  appears  almost  to  have  been  a 
system  of  playing  at  school.  In  1845  the  time  devoted  to 
study  did  not  amount  to  eleven  hours  per  week.  The  same 
writer — an  old  Etonian — thus  speaks  of  the  nature  of  the  studies 
pursued  : — 

'  The  books  used  in  the  fifth  form — besides  the  Iliad,  the  JEneid,  Horace,  and  I 
think  some  scraps  of  Ovid  for  repetition  merely — consisted  of  three  "  Selections," 
or  "Readers" — Foette  Greed,  which  contained  some  picked  passages  from  Homer's 
Odyssey,  Calli  inachus,  Theocritus,  &c. ;  together  with  Scriptores  Graci  and  Swijtores 
Romani,  which  were  similarly  made  up  of  tit-bits  from  the  best  Greek  and  Latin 
prose  writers.  A  lad  would  go  on  grinding  at  the  above  scanty  provender  from 
the  age  it  might  be  of  twelve  to  that  of  twenty,  with  little  or  no  change.  Plant  us, 
Terence,  Lucretius,  Persius,  Juvenal,  Livy,  Tacitus,  Cicero,  Demosthenes,  the 
tragedians  (except  in  the  Head  Master's  division),  Aristophanes,  Pindar,  Herodotus, 
Thucydiiles — in  short,  all  but  four  of  the  great  authors  of  Greece  and  Koine,  and 
those  four  poets,  were  entirely  unknown  to  us,  except  it  might  be  through  the 
medium  of  certain  fragments  in  the  "  Selections"  aforesaid,  where  I  believe  that 
the  majority  of  them  were  wholly  unrepresented.  It  seems  almost  incredible  that, 
a  young  man  could  go  up  to  the  University  from  the  upper  fifth  form  of  the  first 
classical  school  in  England,  ignorant  almost  of  the  very  names  of  these  authors. 
Yet  such  was  the  case  sometimes.  It  was  very  much  my  own  case.' 

Lord  Morley,  being  examined  before  the  Public  Schools 
Commission,  was  asked  whether  a  boy  would  be  looked  down 

*  We  now  quote  from  an  article  by  Mr.  John  Delaware  Lewis,  '  Eton  Thirty 
Years  Since,'  which  appeared  in  Macmillan's  Magazine  for  May,  1875. 


AT    ETON    AND    OXFORD.  17 

upon  at  Eton  for  being  industrious  in  school-work.  His  lordship 
replied,  '  Not  if  he  could  do  something  else  well.'  In  this  answer 
breathes  the  spirit  of  the  Eton  boy,  who  has  always  been  ready 
to  condone  lack  of  scholarship  when  his  companion  has  excelled 
in  river  or  field  sports.  Some  curious  stories  are  told  of  the 
flogging  which  has  always  been  a  characteristic  feature  of  Eton. 
It  extended,  as  we  have  said,  to  even  the  biggest  boys  in  the 
school.  Mr.  Lewis  relates  how  a  young  man  of  twenty — just 
upon  the  point  of  leaving  school,  and  engaged  to  be  married 
to  a  young-  lady  at  Windsor — was  well  and  soundly  whipped  by 
Dr.  Goodford,  for  arriving  one  evening  at  his  tutor's  house 
beyond  the  specified  time.  Other  anecdotes  are  told  not  a 
whit  more  creditable.  Yet  boys  are  greatly  enamoured  of  the 
school,  and  the  life  of  a  '  big  fellow  '  there  has  been  described  as 
the  happiest  in  the  world. 

When  all  that  is  possible  has  been  said  against  Eton — and  we 
should  remember  that  reforms  are  of  slow  growth — and  whatever 
may  be  the  precise  character  of  the  school  now,  it  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  many  of  the  finest  men  of  the  century  have  been 
educated  there.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  truth  in  the 
argument  that  most  of  these  men  would  have  distinguished 
themselves  anywhere.  They  cannot,  perhaps,  be  legitimately 
claimed  as  the  product  of  Eton,  though  their  development 
received  an  impetus  there.  The  advantages  derived  from  the 
school  are  social  rather  than  scholastic.  Whether  it  has  fallen 
behind  other  schools  and  deteriorated  in  this  age  of  education,  is 
another  question.  The  reason,  probably,  why  we  do  not  hear 
so  much  of  its  successes  is  that  other  schools  have  recently  come 
to  the  front.  For  a  youth  to  whom  time  is  not  money,  and  who 
can  afford  to  spend  his  teens  in  an  agreeable  if  not  the  most 
profitable  way,  Eton  is  still  one  of  the  best  schools  to  which 
he  can  be  sent.  Those  who  have  known  the  class  of  men 
produced  at  Eton  will  admit  that  they  have  generally  been  *  fine 
manly  fellows,  with  an  excellent  tone.'  The  curriculum  at  Eton 
now  is  still  strictly  classical,  though  some  secondary  subjects 
are  taught,  as  French,  German,  and  mathematics.  Of  recent 
vears  the  collegers  have  done  remarkably  good  work,  and  carried 
off  many  distinctions  at  Cambridge. 

In  Mr.  Gladstone's  time,  however,  there  were  few  inducements 
to  excel  in  scholarship,  and  he  who  did  so  must  not  only 
have  possessed  the  love  of  it,  but  must  have  applied  himself 
diligently  to  study  out  of  school  hours.  The  annals  of  Eton 
furnish  many  illustrious  examples  of  this  kind,  men  distin- 
guished for  the  depth  and  solidity  of  their  attainments  ;  and  in 
this  number  must  be  included  the  subject  of  the  present  work. 

0 


18  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

\ 

He  had  no  prize  at  Eton,  except  what  was  called  being  sent  up 
for  good,  on  account  of  verses ;  and  it  fell  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  lot 
to  be  thus  honoured  on  several  occasions.  At  various  periods 
within  a  century  past  the  more  intellectual  of  Eton  boys  have 
established  periodicals  for  the  purpose  of  ventilating  their 
opinions.  For  example,  in  1786,  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr. 
Hookham  Frere  projected  the  Microcosm,  whose  essays  and 
jeux  d1  esprit,  while  referring  primarily  to  Eton,  demonstrated 
that  the  writers  were  not  insensible  to  what  was  going  on  in 
the  outer  world.  Canning  wrote  to  this  periodical  an  '  Essay  on 
the  Epic  of  the  Queen  of  Hearts,'  which  has  been  awarded  a  high 
place  in  English  literature  as  a  classical  specimen  of  burlesque 
criticism.  Amongst  other  contributors  to  the  Microcosm  were 
Lord  Henry  Spencer,  Hookham  Frere,  Capel  LofFt,  and  Mr. 
Mellish.  It  was  just  before  this  period  that  eighty  boys  were 
flogged  at  Eton  for  having  been  '  barred  out,'  amongst  them  being 
Mr.  Arthur  Wellesley,  afterwards  the  Great  Duke.  Coming  to  a 
later  period,  W.  Mackworth  Praed  set  on  foot,  in  the  year 
1820,  a  manuscript  journal  entitled  Apis  Matina.  This  was 
succeeded  by  the  Etonian,  which  received  some  of  Praed's  most 
brilliant  contributions.  Amongst  other  writers  may  be  named 
John  Moultrie,  Henry  Nelson  Coleridge,  Walter  Blunt,  and 
Chauncey  Hare  Townshend.  The  Etonian  exhibited  a  degree 
of  quite  exceptional  excellence,  and  may  even  now  be  turned  to 
with  no  ordinary  feelings  of  interest. 

Seven  years  later  than  the  date  of  Praed's  venture — that  is, 
in  1827 — Mr.  Gladstone  was  mainly  instrumental  in  launching 
the  Eton  Miscellany.  The  contributions  extended  over  two 
volumes,  dated  June — July,  and  October — November  respectively. 
The  Miscellany  professed  to  be  edited  by  Bartholomew  Bouverie, 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  was  its  most  voluminous  contributor.  Many 
of  the  papers  are  entertaining,  as  showing  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
the  literary  bias  of  the  writer.  In  the  latter  portion  of  the 
introduction,  and  that  which  was  written  by  '  William  Ewart 
Gladstone,'  appears  this  singular  paragraph,  which  (it  may  be 
assumed)  fairly  sets  forth  the  hopes  and  fears  that  beset 
statesmen  in  maturer  years,  as  well  as  Eton  boys  in  their 
youth : — 

'In  my  present  undertaking  there  is  one  gulf  in  which  I  fear  to  sink,  and  that 
gulf  is  Lethe.  There  is  one  stream  which  I  ch  ead  my  inability  to  stem,  it  is  the 
tide  of  Popular  Opinion.  I  have  ventured,  and  no  doubt  rashly  ventured — 

"  Like  little  wanton  boys  that  swim  on  bladders, 
To  try  my  fortune  in  a  sea  of  glory, 
But  far  beyond  my  depth." 

At  present  it  is  hope  alone  that  buoys  me  up ;  for  more  substantial  support  I  must 
be  indebted  to  my  own  exertions,  well  knowing  that  in  this  land  of  literature 


AT    ETON   AND    OXFOED.  1? 

merit  never  wants  its  reward.  That  such  merit  is  mine  I  dare  not  presume  to  think ; 
but  still  there  is  something  within  me  that  bids  me  hope  that  I  may  be  able  to 
glide  prosperously  down  the  stream  of  public  estimation;  or,  in  the  words  of 
Virgil— 

" Celerare  viam  rumore  secundo." ' 

Little  could  the  writer  of  these  words  imagine — forecasting  the 
future  even  by  the  aid  of  youth's  most  ardent  desires — that  he 
would  live  to  fill  the  most  exalted  office  it  was  in  the  power  of 
his  Sovereign  to  bestow. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  contributions  to  the  first  volume  of  the 
Miscellany  were  thirteen  in  number ;  there  were  ten  also  by  his 
friend  G.  A.  (afterwards  Bishop)  Selwyn.  We  may  pause  here, 
for  a  moment,  to  quote  from  a  tribute  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
recently  paid  to  his  old  college  companion  Selwyn — a  passage 
interesting  both  for  its  reference  to  Bishop  Selwyn  and  to  the 
Eton  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  time : — '  Connected  as  tutor  with  families 
of  rank  and  influence,  universally  popular  from  his  frank, 
manly,  and  engaging  character, — and  scarcely  less  so  from  his 
extraordinary  vigour  as  an  athlete, — he  was  attached  to  Eton, 
where  he  resided,  with  a  love  surpassing  the  love  of  Etonians. 
Tn  himself  he  formed  a  large  part  of  the  life  of  Eton,  and  Eton 
formed  a  large  part  of  his  life.  To  him  is  due  no  small  share  of 
the  beneficial  movement  in  the  direction  of  religious  earnestness 
which  marked  the  Eton  of  forty  years  back,  and  which  was  not 
in  my  opinion  sensibly  affected  by  any  influence  extraneous  to 
the  place  itself.  At  a  moment's  notice,  upon  the  call  of  duty, 
he  tore  up  the  singularly  deep  roots  which  his  life  had  struck 
into  the  soil  of  England.'  Both  Gladstone  and  Selwyn  contri- 
buted humorous  letters  to  '  The  Postman,'  the  correspondence 
department  of  the  Eton  Miscellany.  Amongst  Mr.  Gladstone's 
effusions  was  a  vigorous  rendering  of  a  chorus  from  the  Hecuba, 
of  Euripides.  Under  the  name  of  i  Philophantasm,'  moreover,  he 
wrote  a  letter  detailing  an  encounter  he  had  bad  with  Virgil. 
Tliis  letter  has  considerable  point,  and  no  small  share  of  sarcas- 
tic power.  The  great  poet  appeared  to  the  writer,  muttering 
something  which  the  latter  supposed  to  be  Latin,  '  but  it 
certainly  was  very  different  in  sound  and  quantities  from  that  we 
work  at  here.'  The  poet  proposed  drastic  remedies  for  curing 
the  wrongs  from  which  he  suffered  in  the  Upper  World ;  and 
presenting  his  compliments  to  Mr.  Bouverie,  asked  to  be  quoted 
as  well  as  Horace  now  and  then.  '  I  know  the  Eton  boys  hate 
me,'  added  Virgil, '  because  I  am  difficult  to  learn.' 

Besides  a  humorous  epilogue  in  quindecasyllabics,  spoken  by 
David  ap  Rice,  which  appeared  in  the  fourth  number  of  the 
Miscellany,  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  in  the  same  volume  a  'View 
of  Lethe,'  in  prose,  and  *  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,'  an  effor;  in 

02 


20  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

verse.  This  poem  consists  of  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  lines, 
and  the  following  passage  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  sample  of  the 
whole: — 

Who  foremost  now  the  deadly  spear  to  dart, 
And  strike  the  javelin  to  the  Moslem's  heart  ? 
Who  foremost  now  to  climb  the  leagured  wall, 
The  first  to  triumph,  or  tl.e  first  to  fall  ? 
Lo,  where  the  Moslems  rushing  to  the  fight, 
Back  bear  their  squadrons  in  inglorious  flight. 
With  plumed  helmet,  and  with  glittering  lance, 
Tis  Richard  bids  his  steel-clad  bands  advance ; 
'Tig  Richard  stalks  along  the  blood-dyed  plain, 
And  views  unmoved  the  slaying  and  the  slain ; 
Tis  Richard  bathes  his  hands  in  Moslem  blood, 
And  tinges  Jordan  with  the  purple  flood. 
Yet  where  the  timbrels  ring,  the  trumpets  sound, 
And  tramp  of  horsemen  shakes  the  solid  ground, 
Though  'mid  the  dendly  charge  and  rush  of  fight, 
No  thought  be  theirs  of  terror  or  of  flight, — 
Ofttimes  a  sigh  will  rise,  a  tear  will  flow, 
And  youthful  bosoms  melt  in  silent  woe; 
For  who  of  iron  frame  and  harder  heart 
Can  bid  the  mem'ry  of  his  home  depart  ? 
Tread  the  dark  desert  and  the  thirsty  sand, 
Nor  give  one  thought  to  England's  smiling  land? 
To  scenes  of  bliss,  and  days  of  other  years — 
The  Vale  of  Gladness  and  the  Vale  of  Tears ; 
That,  passed  and  vanish'd  from  their  loving  sight, 
This  neath  their  view,  and  wrapt  in  shades  of  night? 

F.  H.  (now  Sir  Francis  Hastings)  Doyle  and  Arthur  Henry 
Hallam  contributed  somewhat  extensively  to  the  volume  from 
which  we  have  just  been  quoting.  In  the  '  View  of  Lethe,'  a 
contribution  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  to  which  reference  has  already 
been  made,  the  writer  describes  the  destruction  which 
overtakes  mundane  things  with  a  strong  touch  of  humour. 
Here  is  a  short  extract  from  the  essay  : — 

•  I  was  surprised  even  to  see  some  works  with  the  names  of  Shakespeare  and  Milton 
on  them  sharing  the  common  destiny ;  but  on  examination  I  found  that  those  of 
the  latter  were  some  political  rhapsodies  which  richly  deserved  their  fate ;  and 
that  the  former  consisted  of  some  editions  of  his  works  which  had  been  burdened 
with  notes  and  mangled  with  emendations  by  his  merciless  commentators.  In 
other  places  I  perceived  authors  worked  up  into  fren/.y  by  seeing  their  own  com- 
positions descending  like  the  rest.  Often  did  the  infuriated  scribes  extend  their 
hands,  and  make  a  plunge  to  endeavour  to  save  their  beloved  offspring,  but  in 
vain.  I  pitied  the  anguish  of  their  disappointment,  but  with  feelings  of  the  same 
commiseration  as  that  which  one  feels  for  a  malefactor  on  beholding  his  death, 
being  at  the  same  time  fully  conscious  how  well  he  has  deserved  it.' 

Novels  were  engulfed,  we  are  told,  and  an  immense  number 
of  political  pamphlets,  a  very  prolific  form  of  literature  from 
1820  to  1832  ;  newspapers  in  abundance  were  also  buried  in 
oblivion ;  and  even  as  they  went  down  they  were  seen  to  be  in 
mortal  combat  with  each  other. 

To  the  second  volume  of  the  Eton  Miscellany^  William 
Ewart  Gladstone  contributed  even  more  largely  than  to  the 
first.  In  fact,  his  devotion  to  letters  during  the  last  year  of  hi? 


AT    ETON    AtfD    OXFORD.  2i 

stay  at  Eton  must  have  left  him  little  leisure  for  the  ordinary 
sports  of  Eton  boys.  Besides  the  introductions  to  the  various 
numbers  comprising  the  second  volume,  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  no 
fewer  than  seventeen  other  contributions.  '  Guatirnozin's  Death 
Song'  has  something  in  it  to  remind  one  of  Byron.  There  is  a'so 
an  '  Ode  to  the  Shade  of  Wat  Tyler,'  which  may  be  read  with 
curiosity.  In  the  same  volume  Arthur  Henry  Hallarn  wrote 
1  The  Battle  of  the  Boyne,'  a  parody  upon  Campbell's  '  Hohen- 
linden.'  Among  other  contributors  were  Doyle,  Jelf,  Selwyn,  and 
Shadwell.  A  paper  on  '  Eloquence,'  written  by  Mr.  Gladstone, 
shows  how,  even  at  this  early  period,  the  mind  of  the  young- 
student  had  been  impressed  by  the  fame  attaching  to  successful 
parliamentary  oratory.  He  proceeds  to  show  how  the  vision  of 
the  most  ardent  and  aspiring  minds  is  usually  directed  towards 
St.  Stephen's.  Visions  of  joy  and  honour  open  on  the 
enraptured  sight  of  those  given  to  oratorical  pursuits,  and  whose 
minds  are  directed  to  the  House  of  Commons.  '  A  successful 
debut,  an  offer  from  the  Minister,  a  Secretaryship  of  State  and 
even  the  Premiership  itself,  are  the  objects  which  form  the  vista 
along  which  a  young  visionary  loves  to  look.'  But  then  he 
reminds  his  readers  there  is  a  barrier  to  pass,  an  ordeal  to 
endure.  There  are  roars  ot  coughing,  as  well  as  roars  of 
cheering,  and  maiden  speeches  sometimes  act  more  forcibly  on 
the  lungs  of  hearers  than  the  most  violent  or  most  cutting  of  all 
the  breezes  which  ^Eolus  can  boast.  But  the  writer  draws 
encouragement  from  the  fact  that  among  the  most  distinguished 
young  speakers  in  the  House  of  Commons  at  that  very  time  were 
Lord  Morpeth,  Mr.  Edward  Geoffrey  Stanley,  and  Lord  Castle- 
reagh,  all  of  whom  were  once  members  of  the  Eton  College 
Debating  Society.  Within  a  very  few  years  from  penning  these 
lines  the  writer  himself  had  successfully  passed  the  parliamentary 
ordeal  so  much  dreaded,  and  had  been  invited  to  fill  an  honour- 
able post  in  the  Ministry  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  high  admiration  for,  and  indebtedness  to, 
Canning  have  been  subject  of  frequent  comment,  and  it  will  not 
be  without  interest  that  we  quote  a  passage  illustrating  this 
from  a  paper  entitled  '  Ancient  and  Modern  Genius  Compared,' 
written  by  the  younger  Etonian.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
meritorious  of  all  its  writer's  youthful  productions.  After 
taking  the  part  of  the  moderns  as  against  the  ancients — though 
he  by  no  means  depreciates  the  genius  of  the  latter — the 
essayist,  in  concluding  his  paper,  thus  eloquently  apostrophises 
Canning  : — 

'  It  is  for  those  who  revered  him  in  the  plenitude  of  his  meridian  glory  to  mourn 
over  him  in  the  darkness  of  liis  premature  extinction  :  to  mourn  over  the  hopes 


22  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

that  are  buried  in  his  grave,  and  the  evils  that  arise  from  his  withdrawing  from 
the  scene  of  life.  Surely  if  eloquence  never  excelled  and  seldom  equalled — if  an 
expanded  mind  and  judgment  whose  vigour  was  paralleled  only  by  its  soundness — 
if  brilliant  wit — if  a  glowing  imagination — if  a  warm  heart,  and  an  unbending 
firmness — could  have  strengthened  the  frail  tenure,  and  prolonged  the  momentary 
duration  of  human  existence,  that  man  had  been  immortal !  But  nature  could 
endure  no  longer.  Thus  has  Providence  ordained  that  inasmuch  as  the  intellect  is 
more  brilliant,  it  shall  be  more  short-lived ;  as  its  sphere  is  more  expanded,  more 
swiftly  is  it  summoned  away.  Lest  we  should  give  to  man  the  honour  due  to  God 
— lest  we  should  exalt  the  object  of  our  admiration  into  a  divinity  for  our  worship 
— He  who  calls  the  weary  and  the  mourner  to  eternal  rest  hath  been  pleased  to 
remove  him  from  our  eyes.' 

Then,  after  comparing  the  death  of  the  object  of  his  early 
hero-worship  with  the  death  of  Pitt,  he  says  finally, (  The 
degrees  of  inscrutable  wisdom  are  unknown  to  us ;  but  if  ever 
there  was  a  man  for  whose  sake  it  was  meet  to  indulge  the 
kindly  though  frail  feelings  of  our  nature — for  whom  the  tear  of 
sorrow  was  to  us  both  prompted  by  affection  and  dictated  by 
duty — that  man  was  George  Canning.' 

Leaving  Eton  in  1827 — having  established  a  reputation 
amongst  his  contemporaries  for  erudition  and  ability — Mr. 
Gladstone  became  the  private  pupil  of  Dr.  Turner,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Calcutta.  Two  years  later  he  went  to  Christ  Church, 
Oxford,  where  he  was  made  a  student  on  the  foundation.  In 
the  year  1831  he  went  up  for  his  examination,  and  completed 
his  academical  education  by  attaining  the  highest  honours  of  the 
University—  graduating  double  first-class.  He  had  no  prizes  at 
Oxford  of  the  highest  description,  unless  honours  in  the  schools 
be  so  called — and  in  this  respect  he  achieved  a  success  which 
falls  to  the  lot  of  but  few  students.  The  University  life  in 
which  he  now  mingled  was  well  calculated  to  foster  and 
strengthen  those  Conservative  principles  to  whose  early  manifes- 
tation allusion  has  already  been  made.  Those  who  regard  Mr. 
Gladstone's  career  from  a  Liberal  standpoint  may  naturally  urge 
that  his  life  at  Oxford  had  the  effect  of  retarding  for  many  years 
his  political  development.  It  would  be  curious  to  speculate 
upon  the  nature  of  the  result  had  the  distinguished  young 
student  been  thrown  into  a  totally  different  atmosphere.  When 
we  endeavour  to  trace  the  progress  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  political 
convictions,  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that,  while  early  battling 
with  Liberal  tendencies,  every  single  influence  which  surrounded 
him  exercised  a  restraining  effect  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Moreover,  the  time  at  which  he  went  to  Oxford  was  one  in 
which  party  feeling  raged  fiercely.  Conservatives  had 
deliberately  come  to  the  conclusion  that  unless  they  banded 
themselves  together  for  the  safety  of  the  country,  the  country 
would  inevitably  be  ruined.  Events  in  France  had  reacted 
injuriously  upon  politics  in  England.  Timid  politicians  became 


AT    ETON    AND    OXFORD.  23 

alarmed  at  the  ventilation  of  Liberal  opinions,  and  many  of 
these  opinions  were  viewed  with  feelings  akin  to  horror.  In 
Oxford  this  reactionary  sentiment  focussed  itself,  as  it  were,  and 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  amongst  those  who,  for  a  time,  opposed  with 
genuine  earnestness  the  demands  for  Keform.  Our  statesmen 
had  not,  as  yet,  acquired  that  confidence  in  the  people  which 
subsequently  grew  with  surprising  rapidity.  Canning,  too,  had 
some  years  before  given  an  impetus  to  this  feeling  of  appre- 
hension and  distrust,  by  expressing  his  fear  lest  the  country 
should  become  swayed  by  the  popular  will.  In  the  record  of  the 
debates  of  the  Oxford  Union,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  the  name 
of  William  Ewart  Gladstone  is  found  among  the  opponents  of 
the  Keform  projects  of  the  day ;  but  the  speaker  himself, 
accounting  for  this  at  a  later  stage  of  his  history,  explained  that 
being  as  a  young  man  an  ardent  admirer  of  Canning,  he  had 
been  carried  away  by  his  well-known  hostility  to  Keform. 

A  glimpse  of  life  and  study  at  Oxford  is  afforded  by  one  who 
was  cotemporary  there  with  Mr  Gladstone.*  He  points  out  how 
that  in  the  University  a  greater  stress  was  laid  upon  a  know- 
ledge of  the  Bible  and  of  the  evidences  of  Christianity  than 
upon  classical  literature ;  some  proficiency  was  required  also 
either  in  mathematics  or  the  science  of  reasoning.  While  the 
system  of  education  in  vogue  accommodated  itself  to  the  wants 
and  capacities  of  the  greater  number  of  students,  the  man  of 
talent  was  at  no  loss  for  a  field  for  his  exertions,  or  a  reward  for 
his  industry.  The  honours  of  the  University  were  all  before 
him.  For  the  cultivation  of  taste  and  general  information 
Oxford  afforded  every  advantage,  though  it  was  matter  for  regret 
that  amongst  all  its  teachers  there  was  no  public  professor  of 
modern  languages. 

Describing  Christ  Church — then,  as  now,  the  most  aristocratic 
of  the  colleges —the  same  writer  observed  that  there  was  no 
other  college  where  a  man  had  so  great  a  choice  of  society,  or  a 
more  entire  freedom  in  choosing  it.  It  was  nowhere  so  easy  to 
observe  others  and  live  quite  independently  of  them,  without  the 
certainty  of  being  observed  in  return.  Touching  the  Debating 
Society,  or  the  Oxford  Union,  we  read,  '  We  could  hardly  name 
any  institution  in  Oxford  which  has  been  more  useful  in 
encouraging  a  taste  for  study  and  for  general  reading  than  this 
juvenile  club.  It  has  not  only  supplied  a  school  for  speaking 
for  those  who  intend  to  pursue  the  professions  of  the  Law  and 
the  Church,  or  to  embrace  political  life ;  but  by  furnishing  a 
theatre  for  the  display  of  miscellaneous  knowledge,  and  by 
bringing  together  most  of  the  distinguished  young  men  in  the 
*  We  quote  from  an  article  in  the  Oxford  University  Magazine  for  1834. 


24  WILLIAM  EWA&T  GLADSTONE. 

University,  it  has  had  a  great  effect  upon  the  general  tone  of 
society.'  Debates  were  held  once  a  week,  and  there  were 
provided  in  connection  with  the  Union  a  respectable  library  and 
a  well-furnished  reading-room.  It  was  also  claimed  that  in  this 
Society  the  undergraduate  might  learn  for  the  first  time  to 
think  upon  political  subjects,  and  could  improve  his 
acquaintance  with  modern  history — especially  that  of  his  own 
country.  The  sharp  encounter  of  rival  Avits  was  useful  in 
expanding  the  mind,  and  in  enlarging  the  scope  of  its  impres- 
sions. Further,  it  was  remarked  that  unless  a  student  was  so 
perverse  as  to  set  himself  entirely  against  the  prevailing  tone  of 
feeling  which  pervaded  all  classes  in  Oxford,  he  would  probably 
acquire  from  conviction,  as  well  as  prejudice,  a  spirit  of  devoted 
loyalty,  of  warm  attachment  to  the  liberties  and  ancient  institu- 
tions of  his  country,  a  dislike  and  dread  of  rash  innovation,  and 
an  admiration  approachng  to  reverence  for  the  orthodox  and 
apostolic  English  Church.  All  this  '  leads  by  an  easy  and 
natural  step  to  serious  meditation  upon  the  vital  matter  of 
religion,  and  this  contributes  more  than  anything  to  strengthen 
the  good  resolutions,  and  to  settle  the  character,  of  a  high- 
minded  young  man.  He  becomes  distinguished  for  polish  of 
manners,  steadiness  of  morals,  and  strictness  of  reading.'  The 
opponents  of  Oxford  culture  affirmed,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
its  tendency  was  towards  intolerance  and  bigotry,  both  in 
religion  and  politics.  Mr.  Gladstone  cast  in  his  lot  for  the 
time  with  the  Tories  and  the  High  Churchmen.  An  excellent 
observation  has  been  made  by  a  living  writer  on  the  religious 
aspect  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  nature  as  developed  at  Oxford.  He 
notes  how  the  Oxford  of  his  University  life-  the  Oxford  before 
i  the  movement  of  1833' — the  'Oxford  which  made  the 
Aristotelian  dogma  that  virtue  is  the  half-way  house  between 
two  opposite  vices  its  ethical  rule,  and  which  took  the  Church  as 
it  was  as  the  true  starting-point  in  religion — the  '  Oxford  which 
had  not  yet  begun  to  dig  after  the  roots  of  principle — tended  to 
turn  Mr.  Gladstone's  acutely  discriminating  powers  towards 
consequences  rather  than  first  principles.'  It  was  not  until  after 
the  lapse  of  a  generation  that  the  Christ  Church  student  was  to 
demonstrate  that  he  could  regard  Church  questions  from  a  broad, 
comprehensive,  and  fundamental  point  of  view. 

The  Oxford  Union  has  lately  had  a  chronicler  who  speaks  with 
authority  upon  the  brilliant  debates  of  that  Society.*  The 
Union  came  into  existence  in  the  spring  of  1823,  and  fifty  years 
later  it  celebrated  its  jubilee  by  a  banquet,  at  which  Lord 

*  Mr.  E.  B.  Nicholson,  late  Librarian  to  the  Union,  from  whose  paper  on  the 
subject  tlit  author  has  extracted  information  upon  the  Society. 


AT    ETON    AND    OXFOBD.  25 

Selborne  took  the  chair.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Ministry  included  no  fewer  than  seven  of  the  early 
presidents  of  the  society,  viz.,  the  ex-Premier  himself,  Lord 
Selborne,  Mr.  Lowe,  Mr.  Cardwell,  the  Attorney-General,  Mr. 
Goschen,  and  Mr.  Knatchbull-Hugessen.  Although  the  Union 
owed  its  origin  to  a  few  Balliol  men,  three-fifths  of  the  members 
of  the  United  Debating  Society  came  from  Christ  Church  and 
Oriel.  The  Wilberforces  attained  great  distinction  in  the 
society.  In  the  latter  part  of  1825  the  United  Debating 
Society,  as  such,  was  dissolved,  and  the  members  reorganised 
themselves — 'leaving  out  their  black  sheep' — as  the  Oxford 
Union  Society,  thus  imitating  the  name  of  the  older  society  in 
connection  with  Cambridge  University.  In  the  matter  of  a 
library  the  members  appear  to  have  been  very  eclectic,  for  Mr. 
Nicholson  states  that  up  to  the  year  1836  proposals  to  buy  the 
Waverley  Novels  and  other  works  of  fiction  were  thrown  out. 

From  1829  to  1834  is  described  as  the  most  active  and  most 
brilliant  period  in  the  history  of  the  Union.  In  the  course  of 
these  five  years  the  presidency  was  held  by  (amongst  others) 
Mr.  Gladstone,  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 
Lord  Selborne,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  Mr.  Lowe. 
Mr.  Gladstone  made  his  first  speech  on  the  llth  of  February, 
1830,  and  was  the  same  night  elected  a  member  of  the 
committee.  The  following  year  he  succeeded  Mr.  Milnes 
Gaskell  in  the  office  of  secretary.  '  His  minutes  are  neat ;  proper 
names  are  underlined  and  half  printed.  As  secretary  he  opposed 
a  motion  for  the  removal  of  Jewish  disabilities.  He  also  moved 
that  the  Wellington  Administration  was  undeserving  of  the 
country's  confidence:  Gaskell,  Lyall,  and  Lord  Lincoln 
supported ;  Sidney  Herbert  and  the  Marquis  (now  Duke)  of 
Abercorn  opposed  him.  The  motion  was  carried  by  57  to  56, 
and  the  natural  exultation  of  the  mover  betrayed  itself  in  such 
irregular  entries  as  "  tremendous  cheers,"  "  repeated  cheering." 
The  following  week  he  was  elected  president.'  Mr.  Gladstone 
spoke  in  three  other  debates  upon  important  public  questions. 
In  common  with  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  he  defended  the 
results  of  Catholic  relief,  and  on  the  occasion  of  a  vote  of 
want  of  confidence  in  Earl  Grey's  Government  being  proposed,  he 
moved  the  following  rider : — '  That  the  ministry  has  unwisely 
introduced,  and  most  unscrupulously  forwarded,  a  measure  which 
threatens  not  only  to  change  our  form  of  Government,  but 
ultimately  to  break  up  the  very  foundation  of  social  order,  as 
well  as  materially  to  forward  the  views  of  those  who  are 
pursuing  this  project  throughout  the  civilised  world.'  These 
terrible  prognostications  have  been  defeated,  but  the  terror 


26  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

engendered  in  the  University  by  national  progress  led  94  out 
of  130  undergraduates  to  endorse  the  prophecies   of  the  new 
Cassandra.    Mr.  Gladstone  closed  his  career  at  the  Oxford  Union 
by   proposing   an   amendment  to  a  motion  for  the  immediate 
emancipation  of  our  slaves  in  the  West  Indies.     This  was  on  the 
2nd  of  June   1831,  and  the  young  orator's  amendment  ran  as 
follows  :-  -'  That  legislative  enactments  ought  to  be  made,  and, 
if  necessary,   to   be   enforced — 1st.     For  better  guarding  the 
personal  and  civil  rights  of  the  negroes  in  our  West   Indian 
colonies.     2nd.   For  establishing  compulsory  manumission.    3rd. 
For  securing  universally  the  receiving  of  a  Christian  education, 
under  the  clergy  and   teachers,  independent  of  the  planters ;  a 
measure  of  which  total  but  gradual  emancipation  will  be  the 
natural  consequence,  as  it  was  of  a  similar  procedure  in  the  first 
ages  of  Christianity.'    We  have  not  now  the  arguments  by  which 
the  speaker  supported   and   enforced  these  propositions,  which 
require   much  more  elucidation   than  appears  from   a   surface 
reading    of    them.     The    question    of  West    Indian    slavery 
touched    Mr.    Gladstone    nearly,    and   some    years    after    this 
debate,  from  his  place  in  Parliament,  he  defended  his  father 
from  aspersions  which  had  been  cast  upon  hiin  respecting  the 
management  of  his  West  Indian  estates,  in  the  course  of  the 
heat  and  excitement  of  the  anti-Slavery  agitation.     One  more 
interesting  debate  which  took  place  at  the  Oxford  Union  must 
be  mentioned.     It  seems  that  on  the  26th  of  November  1829, 
the  Cambridge  Union  sent  a  deputation  to  the  sister  Union  of 
Oxford  with  the  object  of  persuading  the  latter  to    acknowledge 
the  superiority  of  Shelley  over  Byron.     Lord  Houghton,  one  of 
the  speakers  from  Cambridge,  long  afterwards  observed-  at  the 
inauguration    of  the  new   buildings   of  the  Cambridge   Union 
Society  in  1866— 'At   that   time  we   (the  Cambridge  under- 
graduates) were  all  full  of  Mr.  Shelley.     We  had  printed  his 
"  Adonais  "  for  the  first  time  in  England,  and  a  friend  of  ours 
suggested  that,  as  he  had  been  expelled  from  Oxford,  and  been 
very  badly  treated  in  that  University,  it  would  be  a  grand  thing 
for  us  to   defend   him   there.'      With   the  permission   of  the 
Cambridge  authorities  they  accordingly  *  went  to  Oxford — at  that 
time  a  long  dreary,  post-chaise  journey  of  ten  hours — and  were 
hospitably  entertained  by  a  young  student  of  the  name  of  Glad- 
stone ;  who,  by-the-by,  has  himself  been  since  expelled.'     Next 
day,  however,  one  of  the  newspapers  stated  that  the  members  of 
the  deputation  were   l  formally  received  by  Gladstone,  of  Christ 
Church,  and  Manning,  of  Oriel.'    Gladstone  did  not  speak  in  the 
debate,   which  was  opened  by  Sir  Francis  Doyle  on  behalf  of 
Shelley.     Only  one  Oxonian,  Archbishop  Manning,  opposed  the 


AT    ETON    AND    OXFORD.  27 

motion.  The  other  Cambridge  men  were  Sunderland,  Arthur 
Henry  Hallam,  and  Monckton  Mimes.  By  a  vote  of  ninety  to 
thirty-three  the  superiority  of  Shelley  over  Byron  was  affirmed. 

The  general  effect  of  his  Oxford  training  upon  Mr.  Gladstone 
he  has  himself  described,  together  with  what  now  appears  to  his 
maturer  mind  to  be  its  greatest  deficiency.  In  a  speech  delivered 
at  the  opening  of  the  Palmerston  Club,  Oxford,  in  the  month 
of  December,  1878,  he  said,  '  I  trace  in  the  education  of  Oxford 
of  my  own  time  one  great  defect.  Perhaps  it  was  my  own  fault ; 
but  I  must  admit  that  I  did  not  learn,  when  at  Oxford,  that 
which  I  have  learned  since,  viz.,  to  set  a  due  value  on  the 
imperishable  and  the  inestimable  principles  of  human  liberty. 
The  temper  which,  I  think,  too  much  prevailed  in  academic  circles 
was,  that  liberty  was  regarded  with  jealousy,  and  fear  could  not 
be  wholly  dispensed  with.'  We  have  already  seen  how  this 
sentiment  of  fear  pervaded  the  University,  and  was  not  confined 
merely  to  questions  of  political  reform.  Mr.  Gladstone  con- 
tinued : — 

'  I  think  that  the  principle  of  the  Conservative  party  is  jealousy  of  liberty  and 
of  the  people,  only  qualified  by  fear ;  but  I  think  the  policy  of  the  Liberal  party  is 
trust  in  the  people,  only  qualified  by  prudence.  I  can  only  assure  you,  gentlemen, 
that  now  I  am  in  front  of  extended  popular  privileges,  I  have  no  fear  of  those 
enlargements  of  the  Constitution  that  seem  to  be  approaching.  On  the  contrary, 
I  hail  them  with  desire.  I  am  not  in  the  least  degree  conscious  that  I  have  less 
reverence  for  antiquity,  for  the  beautiful,  and  good,  and  glorious  charges  that  our 
ancestors  have  handed  down  to  us  as  a  patrimony  to  our  race,  than  I  had  in  other 
days  when  I  held  other  political  opinions.  I  have  learnt  to  set  the  true  value  upon 
human  liberty,  and  in  whatever  I  have  changed,  there,  and  there  only,  has  been  the 
explanation  of  the  change.' 

That  is,  when  Mr.  Gladstone  entered  the  sphere  of  practical 
politics,  and  had-  studied  the  people  more  closely,  with  their  wants 
and  aspirations,  he  lost  the  fears  and  forebodings  which  were 
the  result  of  academic  prejudice.  This,  in  effect,  is  the 
substance  of  his  apology,  and  those  who  have  narrowly  watched 
his  public  course  will,  doubtless,  need  no  other  explanation  of 
changes  which  have  sometimes  been  uncharitably  described  as 
political  tergiversation. 

Closing  his  University  career  in  the  year  1831,  Mr.  Gladstone 
spent  some  time  in  continental  travel.  He  went  abroad  first  in 
1832,  spending  nearly  the  whole  of  the  months  from  January  to 
July  in  Italy.  Some  years  later — viz.,  from  August,  1838,  to 
January,  1839 — he  again  visited  Italy,  and  this  time  also 
explored  Sicily.  He  kept  a  journal  of  the  tour  through  Sicily, 
and  it  will  not  be  uninteresting,  we  trust,  to  cite  one  or  two 
passages  from  this  diary.  These  extracts  not  only  bear 
testimony  to  the  writer's  acute  powers  of  observation,  but  also  to 
the  variety  of  his  information,  and  his  facility  in  the  use  of  the 


28  WILLIAM    EWAKT    GLADSTONE. 

English  language,  at  this  comparatively  early  period.  Etna  has 
been  a  source  of  attraction  to  the  poets  from  the  most  ancient 
times  down  to  that  of  our  own  living  poet,  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold, 
whose  Empedocles  on  Etna,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  vigorous  of 
all  his  conceptions.  Mr.  Gladstone's  susceptible  imagination 
was  greatly  impressed  by  the  grandeur  of  this  eternal  abode  of 
fire.  Sicily  had  also  other  charms  for  him,  as  the  ensuing 
passage — which  is  expressed  with  something  of  the  true  poetic 
spirit — proves  : — 

'  After  Etna,  the  temples  are  certainly  the  great  charm  and  attraction  of  Sicily. 
I  do  not  know  whether  there  is  any  one  among  them  which,  taken  alone,  exceeds 
in  interest  and  beauty  that  of  Neptune  at  Psestum ;  but  they  have  the  advantage 
of  number  and  variety,  as  well  as  of  highly  interesting  positions.  At  Segesta  the 
temple  is  enthroned  in  a  perfect  mountain  solitude,  and  it.  is  like  a  beautiful  tomb 
of  its  religion,  so  stately,  so  entire ;  while  around,  but  for  one  solitary  house  of  the 
keeper,  there  is  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  to  disturb  the  apparent  reign  of 
Silence  and  of  Death.  At  Selinus,  the  huge  fragments  on  the  plain  seem  to  make 
an  eminence  themselves,  and  they  listen  to  the  ever  young  and  unwearied  waves 
which  almost  wash  their  base,  and  mock  their  desolation  by  the  image  of  perpetual 
life  and  motion  they  present,  while  the  tone  of  their  heavy  fall  upon  the  beach 
well  accords  with  the  solemnity  of  the  scene.  At  Gir°;enti  the  ridge  visible  to  the 
mariner  from  afar  is  still  crowned  by  a  long  line  of  fabrics,  presenting  to  the  eye 
a  considerable  mass  and  regularity  of  st  ructure,  and  the  town  is  near  and  visible  ; 
yet  that  town  is  so  entirely  the  mere  phantom  of  its  former  glory  within  its  now 
shrunken  limits,  that  instead  of  disturbing  the  effect  it  rather  seems  to  add  a  new 
image  and  enhance  it.  The  temples  enshrine  a  most  pure  and  salutary  principle 
of  art,  that  which  connects  grandeur  of  effect  with  simplicity  of  detail ;  and 
retaining  their  beauty  and  their  dignity  in  their  decay,  they  represent  the  great 
man  when  fallen,  as  types  of  that  almost  highest  of  human  qualities — silent,  yet 
not  sullen,  endurance.' 

Etna  has  surprising  sources  of  interest  for  all  classes  of 
scientific  men,  and  not  least  for  the  student  of  arboriculture. 
It  presents,  at  the  height  of  4,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
a  growth  which  is  reported  to  be  the  oldest  tree  in  the  world — 
the  venerable  chestnut,  '  the  father  of  the  forest.'  It  consists  not 
of  one  vast  trunk,  but  of  a  group  of  decayed  trees  or  portions  of 
trees  growing  in  a  circle,  each  with  a  hollow  trunk  of  venerable 
antiquity,  covered  with  ferns  or  ivy,  and  stretching  out  a  few 
gnarled  branches  with  scanty  foliage.  It  is  said  that  excavation 
showed  these  various  stems  to  be  united  at  a  very  small  depth 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Travellers  have  differed  in 
their  measurements  of  this  stupendous  growth,  Admiral  Smyth, 
who  takes  the  lowest  estimate,  giving  1 63  feet,  and  Brydone 
giving,  as  the  highest,  204  feet.  One  of  the  Queens  of  Arragon 
is  reported  to  have  taken  shelter  in  this  tree,  with  her  mounted 
suite  of  100  persons;  but  we  may,  perhaps,  gather  from  this 
that  mythology  is  not  confined  to  the  lower  latitudes.  Higher 
up  the  mountain  is  another  venerable  chestnut,  which,  with 
more  reason,  probably,  may  be  described,  without  fear  of 
contradiction,  as  the  largest  tree  in  the  world.  It  rises  from  one 


AT    ETON    AND    OXFOEI).  29 

solid  stem  to  a  considerable  height  before  it  branches.  At  a 
distance  of  two  feet  from  the  ground  its  girth  was  found  by 
Brydone  to  be  no  less  than  seventy-six  feet.  These  trees  are 
reputed  to  have  flourished  for  much  more  than  a  thousand 
summers  past.  Their  luxuriant  growth  is  attributed  partly  to 
the  humid  atmosphere  of  the  Bosco  elevated  above  the  scorching 
arid  region  of  the  coast,  and  in  part  to  the  wonderful  richness  of 
the  soil.  The  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  on  the  slopes  of  Etna 
attracts  the  attention  of  every  traveller ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
remarked  upon  this  point,  '  It  seems  as  if  the  finest  of  all  soils 
were  produced  from  the  most  agonising  throes  of  nature,  as  the 
hardiest  characters  are  often  reared  amidst  the  severest  circum- 
stances. The  aspect  of  this  side  of  Sicily  is  infinitely  more 
active,  and  the  country  is  cultivated  as  well  as  most  parts  of 
Italy.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  made  his  ascent  of  Etna  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  eruption  of  1838.  He  and  his  party,  starting  on  the 
30th  of  October,  found  the  path  nearly  uniform  from  Catania, 
but  the  country  bore  a  volcanic  aspect  at  every  step.  At 
Nicolosi,  rest  was  disturbed  by  the  distant  booming  of  the 
mountain.  From  this  point  to  the  Bosco  the  scenery  is 
described  as  a  dismal  tract.  The  Kegion  of  the  Wood  showed 
some  picturesque  spots,  resembling  an  English  park,  with  old 
oaks  and  abundant  fern.  '  Here  we  found  flocks  browsing  ;  they 
are  much  exposed  to  sheep-stealers,  who  do  not  touch  travellers, 
calculating  with  justice  that  men  do  not  carry  much  money  to 
the  summit  of  Etna.'  The  company  passed  the  Casa  degli 
Inglesi,  which  registered  a  temperature  of  31°,  and  then  set 
forth  on  foot  for  the  crater.  A  magnificent  view  of  sunrise  was 
obtained. 

'  Just  before  we  reached  the  lip  of  the  crater,  the  guide  exultingly  pointed  out 
what  he  declared  to  be  ordinarily  the  greatest  sight  of  the  mountain,  namely,  the 
shadow  of  the  cone  of  Etna,  drawn  with  the  utmost  delicacy  by  the  newly-risen 
sun,  but  of  gigantic  extent ;  its  point  at  this  moment  rested  on  the  mountains  of 
Palermo,  probably  100  miles  off,  and  the  entire  figure  was  visible,  the  atmosphere 
over  the  mountains  having  become  and  continuing  perfectly  and  beautifully  trans- 
parent, although  in  the  hundreds  of  valleys  which  were  beneath  us,  from  the  E.  to 
the  W.  of  Sicily,  and  from  the  mountains  of  Messina  down  to  Cape  Passaro,  there 
were  still  abundant  vapours  waiting  for  a  higher  sun  to  disperse  them;  but  we 
enjoyed  in  its  perfection  this  view  of  the  earliest  and  finest  work  of  the  greater 
light  of  heaven,  in  the  passage  of  his  beams  over  this  poi  tion  of  the  e;i i-th's  Mirface. 
During  the  hour  we  spent  on  the  summit,  the  vision  of  the  shadow  was  speedily 
contracting,  and  taught  us  how  rapid  is  the  real  rise  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens, 
althought  its  effect  is  diminished  to  the  eye  by  a  kind  of  foreshortening.' 

The  writer  next  describes,  in  vivid  and  powerful  language,  the 
scene  presented  to  the  view  at  the  very  mouth  of  the  crater.  A 
large  space,  one  mile  in  circumference,  which  a  few  days  before 
had  been  one  fathomless  pit,  from  which  issued  masses  of  smoke, 


30  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

was  now  absolutely  filled  up  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  brim  all 
round.  A  great  mass  of  lava,  a  portion  of  the  contents  of  this 
immense  pit,  was  seen  to  detach  itself  by  degrees  from  one 
behind.  '  It  opened  like  an  orange,  and  we  saw  the  red-hot 
fibres  stretch  in  a  broader  and  still  broader  vein,  until  the  mass 
had  found  a  support  on  the  new  ground  it  occupied  in  front ;  as 
we  came  back  on  our  way  down  this  had  grown  black.'  A  stick 
put  to  it  took  fire  immediately.  Within  a  few  yards  of  this 
lava  were  found  pieces  of  ice,  formed  on  the  outside  of  the  stones 
by  Frost,  '  which  here  disputes  every  inch  of  ground  with  his 
fierce  rival  Fire.'  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  fellow-travellers  were 
the  first  spectators  of  the  great  volcanic  action  of  this  year.* 
From  the  highest  peak  attainable  the  party  gazed  upon  the 
splendid  prospect  to  the  east  spread  out  before  them,  embracing 
the  Messina  Mountains  and  the  fine  kindred  .outline  of  the 
Calabrian  coast,  described  by  Virgil  in  the  third  book  of  the 
jEneid.  Mr.  Gladstone  graphically  describes  the  eruption  which 
took  place,  and  of  which  he  was  the  enraptured  witness.  Lava 
masses,  of  150  to  200  Ibs.  weight,  were  thrown  to  a  distance  of 
probably  a  mile  and  a  half;  smaller  ones  to  a  distance  even 
more  remote.  The  showers  were  most  copious ;  and  the  writer 
was  struck  by  the  closeness  of  the  descriptions  in  Virgil  with 
the  actual  reality  of  the  eruption  witnessed  by  himself.  On  this 
point  he  observes : — 

'  Now  how  faithfully  has  Virgil  (JE.  iii.,  571,  et  seqq.)  comprised  these  particulars, 
doubtless  not  without  exaggeration,  in  his  tine  description !  First,  the  thunder- 
clap, or  crack — 

"  Horrificis  juxta  tonat  ^Etna  minis." 

Secondly,  the  vibration  of  the  ground  to  the  report — 

"Et,  fessum  quoties  mutet  latus,  intremere  onmem 
Murmure  Trinacriam." 

Thirdly,  the  sheet  of  flame — 

"  Attolitque  globos  flammarum,  et  sidera  lambit." 
Fourthly,  the  smoke — 

"Et  ccelum  subtexere  fumo." 
Fifthly,  the  fire-shower— 

"  Fcopulos  uvulsaque  viscera  montls 
Erigit  eructans,  liqiiefaciaque  saxa  sub  auras 
Cum  gemitu  glomerat,  f  undoque  exxstuat  imo." 

Sixthly,  the  column  of  ash — 

"Atram  prornrnpit  ad  sethera  riubem. 
Turbine  fumantem  piceo  et  candente  favilla." 

And  this  is  within  the  limits  of  twelve  lines.  Modern  poetry  has  its  own  merits, 
but  the  conveyance  of  information  is  not,  genenillly  speaking,  one  of  them,  Wha* 

*  Fuller  details  of  this  ascent  of  Mount  Etna  may  be  found  in  Murray's  Hand' 
book  to  Sicily. 


AT    ETON    AND    OXFORD.  31 

would  Virgil  have  thought  of  authors  publishing  poems  with  explanatory  notes  (to 
illustrate  is  a  different  matter),  as  if  they  were  so  many  books  of  conundrums? 
Indeed,  this  vice  is  of  very  late  years.' 

The  whole  description  from  whence  this  extract  is  taken  is  very 
effective  and  animated.  It  gives  with  great  freshness  the  first 
impressions  of  a  mind  susceptible  to  the  grand  and  imposing 
aspects  of  nature. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MEMBER  FOR  NEWARK. 

England  in  1832 — Passing  of  the  Reform  Bill — Anticipated  Results  of  the  Measure 
— Mr.  Gladstone  a  Candidate  for  Newark — His  appearance  before  the  Electors — 
The  Youthful  Candidate  described — His  First  Election  Address — '  Heckling'  on 
the  Hustings — Mr.  Gladstone  returned  by  a  large  Majority — Local  Opinions  upon 
the  New  Member — A  Political  Prediction — The  Vituperation  of  Opponents — First 
Step  in  a  Parliamentary  Career. 

DURING  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  visit  to  Italy  in 
1832,  England  was  in  a  condition  of  feverish  political 
excitement  and  expectancy.  The  people  had  just  fought  and 
won  one  of  the  greatest  constitutional  battles  recorded  in  our 
Parliamentary  history.  After  a  prolonged  struggle,  a  defiance 
of  public  order,  and  riots  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  the 
Reform  Bill  had  become  law.  The  King  had  clearly  perceived 
the  wishes  of  the  people,  and — disregarding  the  advice  of  those 
members  of  the  aristocracy  who  recommended  him  to  brave  the 
national  will — had  signified  his  assent  to  the  measure  which 
could  no  longer  be  delayed  with  safety.  The  bill  became  law 
on  the  7th  of  June,  his  Majesty  being  represented  by 
Royal  Commissioners,  although  a  portion  of  the  press  loudly 
demanded  the  presence  of  the  King  himself  at  the  final 
stage  of  a  measure  which  transformed  the  whole  of  the  electoral 
arrangements  of  the  United  Kingdom,  it  was  alleged  that  the 
Sovereign  would  forfeit  the  confidence  of  all  true  patriots  if 
he  did  not  perform  this  ceremony  in  person,  and'exhibit  himself 
as  publicly  as  possible  in  testimony  of  the  subjugation  to  which 
his  crown  and  peers  had  been  reduced.  But  the  King,  pro- 
bably considering  that  he  had  already  made  sufficient  sacrifices 
to  the  popular  will,  declined  to  attend  the  ceremony  in  the 
House  of  Lords.  '  King  and  Queen  sat  sullenly  apart  in  their 
palace.  Peer  and  country  gentleman  moodily  awaited  the  ruin 
of  their  country  and  the  destruction  of  their  property.  Fanaticism 
still  raved  at  the  wickedness  of  a  people  ;  the  people, 
clamouring  for  work,  still  succumbed  before  the  mysterious 
disease  which  was  continually  claiming  more  and  more  victims. 
But  the  nation  cared  not  for  the  sullenness  of  the  Court,  the  fore- 


NEWARK:.  33 

bodings  of  the  landed  classes,  the  ravings  of  the  pulpit,  or  even 
the  mysterious  operations  of  a  new  plague.  The  deep  gloom 
which  had  overshadowed  the  land  had  been  relieved  by  one  single 
ray.  The  victory  had  been  won.  The  bill  had  become  law,'  * 

The  friends  of  Reform  now  looked  forward  to  a  realisation  of 
tiie  fruits  of  victory  ;  and  men  of  all  shades  of  opinion  forecast 
with  speculative  wonder — mingled  in  not  a  few  instances  with 
apprehension — the  composition  of  the  first  reformed  House  of 
Commons.  The  result  was  a  surprise  to  the  extreme 
politicians  of  both  parties.  The  Reformers  did  not  carry  every- 
thing before  them,  as  they  anticipated,  neither  were  the  Tories 
the  enormous  losers  which  they  expected  to  be.  Ministers 
preserved  their  power,  and  were  victorious  in  England,  and  still 
more  so  in  Scotland.  In  Ireland,  however,  they  sustained  very 
serious  defeats.  Special  constituencies,  also,  in  England  proved 
treacherous,  and  many  popular  men,  and  earnest  friends  of 
Reform,  went  to  the  wall.  In  addition-  to  many  counties,  Bristol, 
Norwich,  Stamford,  Hertford,  Newark,  and  other  boroughs, 
pronounced  against  the  Ministry.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle,  who 
had  propounded  the  memorable  political  maxim,  '  Have  I  not  a 
right  to  do  what  I  like  with  my  own  ?  '  once  more  regained  his 
ducal  influence,  which  had  been  rudely  curtailed  in  1831. 
During  this  time  of  revolution  the  Continent  was  greatly 
disturbed,  and  the  internal  condition  of  England  was  likewise 
one  to  be  deeply  deplored.  There  was  little  trade,  and  an 
unfavourable  revenue  ;  riots  occurred  in  the  provinces  and  in 
Ireland ;  the  working  classes  were  discontented ;  labour  was 
diminishing,  pauperism  was  increasing,  and  the  cholera  was 
claiming  its  victims  everywhere.  The  poor  looked  to  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Reform  Bill  as  the  first  Act  of  their  redemption, 
while  the  landed  gentry  regarded  it  as  the  first  sign  of  the 
declension  of  our  national  greatness.  Both  classes  were  dis- 
appointed ;  the  former  had  to  look  elsewhere  for  a  revival  of 
commercial  prosperity,  and  the  latter  discovered  that  the  ox  in 
the  stall,  and  the  soil  which  they  owned  and  tilled,  were  just  as 
safe  and  inviolate  as  they  were  before  the  passing  of  the  terrible 
Act. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  having  received  an  overture  from  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  (with  whose  son,  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  he  was  on  terms 
of  intimate  friendship)  to  contest  the  representation  of  Newai'k, 
hurried  back  from  the  Continent  for  that  purpose.  Before  the 
close  of  September,  1832,  he  was  actively  engaged  in  canvassing 
the  borough.  He  immediately  became  very  popular  in  the 

*  Walpole's  History  of  England  from  the  Conclusion  of  the  Great  War  in  1815. 

D 


84  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

town,  and  one  of  the  local  journals  remarked,  that  if  candour 
and  ability  had  any  influence  upon  the  electors,  there  would  soon 
be  a  change  in  the  representation.  A  week  later  came  accounts 
of '  glorious '  meetings,  with  the  assurance  that  Gladstone's  return 
might  be  fully  calculated  upon.  The  other  candidates  were  Mr. 
W.  F.  Handley  and  Mr.  Serjeant  Wilde,  The  last  named 
gentleman  was  an  advanced  Liberal,  who  had  unsuccessfully 
contested  the  borough  in  1829  and  1830.  After  the  latter 
contest  a  piece  of  plate  had  been  presented  to  him  *  by  his  ardent 
friends,  the  Blue  electors  of  the  borough — who,  by  their  exertions 
and  sufferings  in  the  cause  of  independence,  largely  conduced  to 
awaken  the  attention  of  the  nation  to  the  necessity  of  a  Keform 
in  Parliament.'  The  inscription  farther  went  on  to  state,  *  Upon 
this  humble  token  of  respect  (contributed  in  the  hour  of  defeat) 
the  Blue  electors  of  Newark  inscribe  their  sense  of  the  splendid 
ability,  unwearied  perseverance,  and  disinterested  public  spirit 
displayed  by  Serjeant  Wilde  in  maintaining  the  two  contests  of 
1829  and  1830,  in  order  to  emancipate  the  borough  from  poli- 
tical thraldom,  and  restore  to  its  inhabitants  the  free  exercise  of 
their  long-lost  rights.'  In  the  following  year,  1831,  when  the 
Eeform  fever  had  attained  its  height,  Serjeant  Wilde  was 
successful  in  defeating  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  nominee,  and 
became  member  for  the  borough.  The  election  which  now 
succeeded  upon  the  passing  of  the  Eeform  Bill  Avas  consequently 
looked  forward  to  with  unusual  interest,  and  it  was  early 
perceived  that  the  struggle  would  be  of  a  close  and  determined 
character. 

Serjeant  Wilde  had  the  advantage  of  being  already  known  in 
the  borough,  and  he  was  extremely  popular  with  a  portion  of  the 
constituency.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  a  complete  stranger  to  the 
electors  when  he  appeared  amongst  them  in  response  to  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle's  invitation — though,  as  we  have  seen,  he 
speedily  gained  favour.  His  age  was  twenty-two,  and  in 
appearance  he  was  somewhat  robust.*  There  were  in  his 
youthful  face  none  of  those  deep  lines  which  have  rendered  his 
countenance  so  striking  in  maturer  years ;  and  one  who 
remembers  him  well  at  this  period  describes  his  bright, 
thoughtful  look,  and  attractive  bearing.  He  was  considered  a 
handsome  man,  and  possessed  a  most  intelligent  and  expressive 
countenance.  This  description  is  amply  borne  out  by  an 
oil  painting  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  executed  only  a  few  years  later  for 
the  Newark  Conservative  Club,  on  the  walls  of  which  club  it 

*  Some  of  these  personal  details  concerning  Mr.  Gladstone  at  the  time  of  his 
first  election  for  Newark  have  been  courteously  supplied  to  the  author  by  Mr. 
Cornelius  Brown,  author  of  the  History  of  Newark. 


MEMBEE    FOR    NEWAEK.  S5 

hung  for  many  years.  A  few  engravings  still  exist  of  this 
picture  ;  and  a  casual  glance  at  the  portrait  will  scarcely  enable 
the  spectator  to  identify  the  plump  features,  the  full  face,  the 
large  dark  eyes,  and  eyebrows,  and  decidedly  robust  aspect  there 
presented  with  the  later  rugged  aspect  of  the  statesman's 
countenance,  and  his  general  appearance.  Yet  a  closer 
inspection  will  serve  to  bring  out  some  points  of  resemblance, 
for  even  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two  there  is  to  be  perceived 
the  same  broad  intellectual  forehead,  the  somewhat  massive  and 
prominent  nose,  the  same  anxious  eyes,  and  the  earnest 
expression  so  characteristic  of  the  man  upwards  of  a  generation 
later. 

But  while  the  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Gladstone — so 
youthful  and  yet  so  manly — told  in  his  favour,  it  was  not  long 
ere  he  made  a  still  more  favourable  impression  upon  the 
burgesses  by  his  orator}.  His  speeches  demonstrated  that  he 
lacked  neither  arguments  nor  words  wherewith  to  clothe  them. 
He  needed,  indeed,  to  call  into  requisition  all  his  ability  as  a 
speaker,  for,  as  already  observed,  the  contest  was  one  of  unusual 
vigour.  Serjeant  Wilde,  a  powerful  antagonist  in  other 
respects,  was  also  a  veteran  platform  orator.  He  was, 
moreover,  in  possession,  and  did  not  reflect  with  complacency 
upon  the  prospect  of  being  displaced  by  one  whom  he  regarded 
as  a  mere  political  stripling.  But  besides  having  the  weight  of 
the  ducal  influence  at  his  back,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  warmly 
supported  by  the  Ked  Club,  whose  members  were  alike  active 
and  influential.  The  young  Tory  candidate  and  his  supporters 
entered  upon  the  contest  with  enthusiasm,  and  worked  with 
unflagging  spirit  and  untiring  energy. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  first  election  address  was  dated  '  Clinton 
Arms,  Newark,  Oct.  9th,  1832,'  and  was  inscribed  '  To  the 
worthy  and  independent  electors  of  the  Borough  of  Newark.' 
This  document,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  has  more  than 
a  passing  interest,  and  is  distinguished  for  its  ingenious 
reasoning  upon  the  great  question  of  Slavery,  then  agitating 
the  public  mind.  We  append  it  in  full : — 

'  Having  now  completed  my  canvass,  I  think  it  my  duty  as  well  to  remind  you  of 
the  principles  on  which  I  have  solicited  your  votes,  us  freely  to  assure  my  friends 
that  its  result  has  placed  my  success  beyond  a  doubt. 

I  have  not  requested  your  favour  on  the  ground  of  adherence  to  the  opinions  of 
any  man  or  party,  further  than  such  adherence  can  be  fairly  understood  from  the 
conviction  I  have  not  hesitated  to  avow,  that  we  must  watch  and  resist  that  unon-" 
quiring  and  indiscrhninating  desire  for  change  amongst  us,  which  threatens  to 
produce,  along  with  partial  good,  a  melancholy  preponderance  of  mischief ;  Ttrhich, 
I  am  persuaded,  would  aggravate  beyond  computation  the  deep-seated  evils  of  our 
social  state,  and  the  heavy  burthens  of  our  industrial  classes ;  which,  by  disturbing 
our  peace,  destroys  confidence,  and  strikes  at  the  root  of  prosperity.  Thus  it  has 
done  already  ;  and  thus,  we  must  therefore  believe,  it  ivill  do. 

D2 


36  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

For  the  mitigation  of  those  evils,  we  must,  I  think,  look  not  only  to  particular 
measures,  but  to  the  restoration  of  sounder  general  principles.  I  mean  especially 
that  principle  on  which  alone  the  incorporation  of  Religion  with  the  State  in  our 
Constitution  can  be  defended;  that  the  duties  of  governors  are  strictly  and  pecu- 
liarly religious ;  and  that  legislatures,  like  individuals,  are  bound  to  carry  through- 
out their  acts  the  spirit  of  the  high  truths  they  have  acknowledged.  Principles 
are  now  arrayed  against  our  institutions  ;  and  not  by  truckling  nor  by  temporising 
— not  by  oppression  nor  corruption  —but  by  principles  they  must  be  met. 

Among  their  first  results  should  be  a  sedulous  and  special  attention  to  the  inter- 
ests of  tlie  poor,  founded  upon  the  rule  that  those  who  are  the  least  able  to  take 
care  of  themselves  should  be  most  regarded  by  others.  Particularly  it  is  a  duty  to 
endeavour,  by  every  means,  that  labour  may  receive  adequate  remuneration  ;  which, 
unhappily,  among  several  classes  of  our  fellow-countrymen  is  not  now  the  case. 
Whatever  measures,  therefore — whether  by  correction  of  the  poor  laws,  allotment  of 
cottage  grounds,  or  otherwise — tend  to  promote  this  object,  I  deem  entitled  to  the 
warmest  support;  with  all  such  as  are  calculated  to  secure  sound  moral  conduct 
in  any  class  of  society. 

I  proceed  to  the  momentous  question  of  Slavery,  which  I  have  found  entertained 
among  you  in  that  candid  and  temperate  spirit  which  alone  befits  its  nature, 
or  promises  to  remove  its  difficulties.  If  I  have  not  recognized  the  right  of  an 
irresponsible  society  to  interpose  between  me  and  the  electors,  it  has  not  been  from 
any  disrespect  to  its  members,  nor  from  unwillingness  to  answer  theirs  or  any  other 
questions  on  which  the  electors  may  desire  to  know  my  views.  To  the  esteemed 
secretary  of  the  society  I  submitted  my  reasons  for  silence  ;  and  I  made  a  point  of 
stating  these  views  to  him,  in  his  character  of  a  voter. 

As  regards  the  abstract  lawfulness  of  Slavery,  I  acknowledge  it  simply  as  import- 
ing the  right  of  one  man  to  the  labour  of  another ;  and  I  rest  it  upon  the  fact  that 
Scripture,  the  paramount  authority  upon  such  a  point,  gives  directions  to  persons 
standing  in  the  relation  of  master  to  slave,  for  their  conduct  in  that  relation ; 
whereas,  were  the  matter  absolutely  and  necessarily  sinful,  it  would  not  regulate 
the  manner.  Assuming  sin  as  the  cause  of  degradation,  it  strives,  and  strives  most 
effectually,  to  cure  the  latter  by  extirpating  the  former.  We  are  agreed,  that  both 
the  physical  and  the  moral  bondage  of  the  slave  are  to  be  abolished.  The  question 
is  as  to  the  order,  and  the  order  only ;  now  Scripture  attacks  the  moral  evil  before 
the  temporal  one,  and  the  temporal  through  the  moral  one,  and  I  am  content  with 
the  order  which  Scripture  has  established. 

To  this  end,  I  desire  to  see  immediately  set  on  foot,  by  impartial  and  sovereign 
authority,  an  universal  and  efficient  system  of  Christian  instruction,  not  intended  to 
resist  designs  of  individual  piety  and  wisdom  for  the  religious  improvement  of  the 
negroes,  but  to  do  thoroughly  what  they  can  only  do  partially. 

As  regards  immediate  emancipation,  whether  with  or  without  compensation,  there 
are  several  minor  reasons  against  it;  but  that  which  weighs  with  me  is,  that  it 
would,  I  much  fear,  exchange  the  evils  now  affecting  the  negro  for  others  which 
are  weightier — for  a  relapse  into  deeper  debasement,  if  not  for  bloodshed  and 
internal  war.  Let  fitness  be  made  a  condition  for  emancipation;  and  let  us  strive 
to  bring  him  to  that  fitness  by  the  shortest  possible  course.  Let  him  enjoy  the 
means  of  earning  his  freedom  through  honest  and  industrious  habits ;  thus  the  same 
instruments  which  attain  his  liberty  shall  likewise  render  him  competent  to  use  it; 
and  thus,  I  earnestly  trust,  without  risk  of  blood,  without  violation  of  property, 
with  unimpaired  benefit  to  the  negro,  and  with  the  utmost  speed  which  prudence 
will  admit,  we  shall  arrive  at  that  exceedingly  desirable  consummation,  the  utter 
extinction  of  slavery. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  as  regards  the  enthusiasm  with  which  you  have  rallied 
round  your  ancient  flag,  and  welcomed  the  humble  representative  of  those  prin- 
ciples whose  emblem  it  is,  I  trust  that  neither  the  lapse  of  time  nor  the  seductions 
of  prosperity  can  ever  efface  it  from  my  memory.  To  my  opponents,  my  acknow- 
ledgments are  due  for  the  good-humour  and  kindness  with  which  they  have 
received  me;  and  while  I  would  thank  my  friends  for  their  zealous  and  unwearied 
exertions  in  my  favour,  I  briefly  but  emphatically  assure  them,  that  if  promises  t» 
an  adequate  foundation  of  confidence,  or  experience  a  reasonable  ground  of  calcu- 
lation, our  victory  is  sure. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Gentlemen, 

Your  obliged  and  obedient  Servant, 

W.  E.  GLADSTONE.' 


MEMBEE    FOE    NEWAEK.  37 

The  Red  or  Conservative  Club  numbered  within  its  ranks 
upwards  of  650  voters,  every  one  of  whom  promised  their 
suffrages  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  thorough  Conservative  candidate. 
He  also  received  an  absolute  promise  of  support  from  about  240 
other  electors.  The  matter  was  thus  regarded  as  settled  by  a 
writer  in  a  periodical  of  the  day  entitled  Old  England.  The 
question  then  frequently  put,  '  Who  is  Mr,  Gladstone  ?  '  the  same 
writer  thus  answered : — '  He  is  the  son  of  the  friend  of  Mr. 
Canning,  the  great  Liverpool  more-bant.  He  is,  we  understand, 
not  more  than  four  or  five  and  twenty,*  but  he  has  won  golden 
opinions  from  all  sorts  of  people,  and  promises  to  be  an 
ornament  to  the  House  of  Commons.' 

The  nomination  was  held  on  the  llth  of  December,  the 
polling  being  fixed  for  tbe  two  following  days.  At  the  hustings 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  much 
hostile  questioning,  and  had  not  the  opportunity  of  doing  more 
than  making  a  brief  reply.  Scotch  elections  have  rendered  us 
familiar  with  the  practice  known  as  '  heckling,'  and  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  subjected  to  this  process  upon  his  first  appearance 
at  Newark.  From  the  reports  in  the  local  journals,  it  would 
appear  that  after  the  nomination  of  Mr.  W.  Farnworth  Handley, 
Mr.  Serjeant  Wilde,  and  Mr.  William  Ewart  Gladstone  respec- 
tively— 

Mr.  Gillson  enquired  of  Mr.  Gladstone  how  he  came  to  Newark  after  he  had 
neglected  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  electors  to  which  he  was  invited,  and  whether 
he  was  not  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  nominee? 

Mr.  Gladstone  wished  to  have  Mr.  Gillson's  definition  of  the  term  "  nominee," 
and  then  he  would  answer. 

Mr.  Gillson  said  he  meant  a  person  sent  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  to  be  pushed 
down  the  electors'  throats,  whether  they  would  or  not. 

Mr.  Gladstone  replied,  then  according  to  that  definition  he  was  not  a  nominee. 
He  came  to  Newark  by  the  invitation  of  the  Red  Club,  than  whom  none  were  more 
respectable  and  intelligent.  The  Club  sent  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  to  know  if  he 
could  recommend  a  candidate  to  them,  and  in  consequence  he  was  appealed  to, 
and  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Red  Club. 

Mr.  Kelk  asked  Mr.  Gladstone  what  he  thought  of  the  passage  in  Exodus  xxi.16 — 
'  He  that  stealeth  a  man  and  selloth  him,  or  if  he  be  found  in  his  hand,  he  shall 
surely  be  put  to  death ; '  and  whether  his  father  was  not  a  dealer  in  human  flesh? 

Mr.  Gladstone   was  aware  of   this  crime  of  man-stealing  being  condemned. 

Mr.  Kelk — What  state  of  things  did  he  wisli  to  return  to?  and  ought  a  man  to 
be  put  to  death  for  forging  a  £1  note  the  same  as  for  killing  his  fellow  creature? 

Mr.  Gladstone  said  he  had  in  view  the  time  when  our  forefathers  acted  upon 
manly  and  God-fearing  principles.  We  are  not  the  nation  we  were  two  hundred 
years  ago.  The  crime  of  forgery  was  difficult  to  decide  upon,  as  we  were  a  great 
commercial  nation.  The  question  put  by  Mr.  Kelk,  however,  was  easily  answered 
in  the  negative. 

Mr.  Andrews,  an  elector,  then  entered  upon  a  long  address  on  the  subject  of 
negro  slavery,  and  required  Mr.  Gladstone's  opinion  upon  the  subject. 

Mr.  Gladstone  gave  it  unequivocally,  that  ho  desired  the  emancipation  of  slaves 
upon  such  terms  as  would  preserve  them  and  the  colonies  from  destruction.  The 
slaves  ought  first  to  be  fully  prepared  for  emancipation. 

*  The  young  candidate  was  not  yet  twenty-three. 


38  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

A  long  discussion  for  and  against  the  results  of  emancipation 
in  St.  Domingo  and  Antigua  followed.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  now 
unfortunately  placed.  Being  the  third  in  order  of  the  three 
candidates  proposed,  his  address  to  the  electors  came  last. 
Serjeant  Wilde  exhausted  the  patience  of  the  people  by  his  very 
lengthy  speech,  and  the  Tory  candidate  was  condemned  to  follow 
amidst  a  scene  of  outrageous  noise  and  uproar.  The  mass  of 
people  in  front  of  the  hustings  had  already  stood  for  nearly  seven 
hours,  and  showed  a  disinclination  to  be  detained  with  another 
three  hours'  address,  which,  as  a  local  chronicler  naively  puts  it, 
'from  Mr.  Gladstone's  talents  we  were  far  from  thinking  not 
possible.'  Serjeant  Wilde's  policy  in  occupying  the  attention  of 
the  electors  for  an  inordinate  length  of  time  was  almost  univer- 
sally condemned.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  but  able  to  utter  a  few 
comments  upon  the  prominent  topic  of  slavery,  when  the  hooting 
and  hissing  drowned  his  voice,  and  he  found  it  impossible  to 
proceed.  A  show  of  hands  being  demanded,  it  was  declared  to 
be  in  favour  of  Mr.  Handley  and  Serjeant  Wilde.  For  Mr.  Glad- 
stone few  hands  were  held  up  beyond  those  of  his  supporters  on 
the  hustings.  A  poll  was  accordingly  demanded  on  his  behalf. 

Since  1832,  few  of  those  scenes  of  violence,  and  even  of  blood- 
shed, which  formerly  distinguished  Parliamentary  elections  in 
many  English  boroughs,  have  been  witnessed.  Some  of  these 
lawless  outbreaks  were  doubtless  due  to  the  unpopularity  of  the 
candidates  forced  upon  the  electors ;  but  even  in  the  larger  towns 
— where  territorial  influence  had  little  sway — riots  occurred  upon 
which  we  look  back  now  in  almost  doubtful  amazement.  Men 
holding  strong  political  views  have  ceased  to  enforce  those  views 
by  the  aid  of  brickbats  and  other  dangerous  missiles.  Yet  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  centuiy  such  arguments  were  very 
popular.  And  to  the  violence  which  prevailed  was  added  the 
most  unblushing  bribery.  Several  boroughs  long  notorious  for 
extensive  bribery  have  since  been  disfranchised.  The  practice, 
however,  extended  to  most  towns  in  the  kingdom,  though  it  was 
not  always  carried  on  in  the  same  open  manner.  By  a  long- 
established  custom,  a  voter  at  Hull  received  a  donation  of  two 
guineas,  or  four  for  a  plumper.  In  Liverpool  men  were  openly 
paid  for  their  votes  ;  and  Lord  Cochrane  stated  in  the  House  of 
Commons  that,  after  his  return  for  Honiton,  he  sent  the  town- 
crier  round  the  borough  to  tell  the  voters  to  go  to  the  chief  banker 
for  £10  10s.  each.  The  great  enlargement  of  the  constituencies, 
secured  by  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832,  did  much  to  put  an 
end  to  this  disgraceful  condition  of  things ;  but  to  a  wider 
political  enlightenment  also,  some  portion  of  the  credit  for  such 
a  result  must  be  attributed. 


MEMBER    FOE    NEWARK.  39 

The  election  for  Newark  was  of  an  exciting  character,  but 
devoid  of  those  objectionable  elements  just  alluded  to.  If  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  out  of  favour  at  the  hustings,  the  polling  told  a 
very  different  tale.  From  the  first  he  took  the  lead,  and  became 
M.P.  for  Newark  by  a  substantial  majority,  the  numbers  being 
—  Gladstone,  882;  Handley,  793;  Wilde,  719.  Commenting 
upon  this  result,  the  Newark  representative  of  the  Nottingham 
Journal  said  they  had  been  told  there  was  no  reaction  against 
the  Ministry,  no  reaction  in  favour  of  Conservative  principles. 
4  The  delusion  has  now  vanished,  and  made  room  for  sober  reason 
and  reflection.  The  shadow  satisfies  no  longer  ;  and  the  return 
of  Mr.  Gladstone — to  the  discomfiture  of  the  learned  Serjeant 
and  his  friends — has  restored  the  town  of  Newark  to  that  high 
rank  which  it  formerly  held  in  the  estimation  of  the  friends  of 
order  and  good  government.  We  venture  to  predict  that  the 
losing  candidate  in  this  contest  has  suffered  so  severely  that  he 
will  never  more  show  his  face  at  Newark  on  a  similar 
occasion.' 

A  few  days  after  the  election  Mr.  Gladstone  attended  a 
meeting  of  the  Constitutional  Club  at  Nottingham,  and  delivered 
a  lengthy  address.  Alluding  to  this  address  and  to  the  young 
member,  a  Conservative  journalist — who,  if  still  living,  may 
look  back  upon  his  words  as  the  first  prediction  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  great  political  future — observed,  '  He  is  a  gentleman 
of  amiable  manners  and  the  most  extraordinary  talent ;  and  we 
venture  to  predict,  without  the  slightest  exaggeration,  that  he 
will  be  one  day  classed  amongst  the  most  able  statesmen  in  the 
British  Senate.'  This  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled  strictly  to  the 
letter,  but  in  a  spirit  wholly  different  from  that  which  its 
utterer  expected.  Mr.  Gladstone  also  spoke  at  Newark,  in 
company  with  his  friend,  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  delivering  l  a 
manly,  eloquent  speech,  replete  with  sound  constitutional 
sentiments,  high  moral  feeling,  and  ability  of  the  most 
distinguished  order.'  Kemembering  what  Mr.  Gladstone  has 
since  done  for  the  press  of  this  country,  it  is  curious  to  find 
him  at  this  time  stating  that  he  could  not  support  the  abolition 
of  taxes  upon  knowledge.  He  gave  as  his  grounds  for  this 
policy,  that  the  taxes  not  only  assisted  the  revenue,  but  tended 
to  prevent  too  great  a  circulation  of  bad  matter. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that,  able  and  successful  as  Mr. 
Gladstone  was,  he  had  no  enemies.  On  the  contrary,  he  had 
many  political  opponents  who  were  deeply  envenomed  against 
him.  As  we  have  given  the  approving  language  of  his  friends, 
we  will  now  quote  the  opinion  of  his  foes  upon  the  fortunate 
candidate  and  his  election.  This  opinion  was  expressed  as 


40  WILLIAM    EWAKT    GLADSTONE. 

follows  in  the  Reflector  : — '  Mr.  Gladstone  is  the  son  of  Glad- 
stone of  Liverpool,  a  person  who  (we  are  speaking  of  the  father) 
had  amassed  a  large  fortune  by  West  India  dealings.  In  other 
words,  a  great  part  of  his  gold  has  sprung  from  the  blood  of 
black  slaves.  Respecting  the  youth  himself — a  person  fresh 
from  college,  and  whose  mind  is  as  much  like  a  sheet  of 
white  foolscap  as  possible — he  was  utterly  unknown.  He 
came  recommended  by  no  claim  in  the  world  except  the 
will  of  the  Duke.  The  Duke  nodded  unto  Newark,  and 
Newark  sent  back  the  man,  or  ralher  the  boy  of  his  choice. 
What!  Is  this  to  be,  now  that  the  Reform  Bill  has  done 
its  work  ?  Are  sixteen  hundred  men  still  to  bow  down  to  a 
wooden-headed  lord,  as  the  people  of  Egypt  used  to  do  to  their 
beasts,  to  their  reptiles,  and  their  ropes  of  onions  ?  There  must 
be  something  wrong — something  imperfect.  What  is  it  ?  What 
is  wanting  ?  Why,  the  Ballot !  If  there  be  a  doubt  of  this 
(and  we  believe  there  is  a  doubt  even  amongst  intelligent  men) 
the  tale  of  Newark  must  set  the  question  at  rest.  Serjeant 
Wilde  was  met  on  his  entry  into  the  town  by  almost  the  whole 
population.  He  was  greeted  everywhere,  cheered  everywhere. 
He  was  received  with  delight  by  his  friends,  and  with  good  and 
earnest  wishes  for  his  success  by  his  nominal  foes.  The  voters 
for  Gladstone  went  up  to  that  candidate's  booth  (the  slave-driver, 
as  they  called  him)  with  Wilde's  colours.  People  who  had  before 
voted  for  Wilde,  on  being  asked  to  give  their  suffrage  said,  "  We 
cannot,  we  dare  not.  We  have  lost  half  our  business,  and  shall 
lose  the  rest  if  we  go  against  the  Duke.  We  would  do  anything 
in  our  power  for  Serjeant  Wilde,  and  for  the  cause,  but  we 
cannot  starve  !  "  Now  what  say  ye,  our  merry  men,  touching 
the  Ballot  ? '  Such  were  the  hostile  reflections  passed  upon  the 
successful  candidate.  The  adage,  that '  all  is  fair  in  love  and 
war' — including,  we  presume,  political  warfare — was  transgressed 
on  this  and  other  occasions,  the  personal  criticisms  on  Mr. 
Gladstone  sometimes  passing  the  bounds  of  decorum.  But  to 
the  bitterness  of  their  defeat  must  be  attributed  much  of  the 
rancour  exhibited  by  the  losing  party;  they  had  counted 
confidently  upon  victory. 

In  the  ordeal  through  which  political  candidates  are  called 
upon  to  pass,  there  is  a  mingling  of  agreeable  and  objectionable 
elements  ;  and  if  Mr.  Gladstone  met  with  considerable  vitupera- 
tion at  the  hands  of  his  opponents,  he  had  the  solid  and 
satisfying  fact  to  fall  back  upon,  that,  in  the  contest  which  had 
just  been  waged,  he  had  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  poll. 
The  ambition  of  his  youthful  days  was  now  in  partial  process  of 
being  realised.  He  had  ardently  desired  to  become  a  member  of 


MEMBEB  FOB  NEVVALJK. 


41 


that  Senate  whose  glories  of  statesmanship  and  of  eloquence 
were  the  theme  of  the  civilised  world.  He  was  now  entitled  to 
cross  its  august  threshold ;  the  first  step  in  his  Parliamentary 
career  had  been  successfully  taken,  and  the  whilom  student  of 
Christ  Church  was  member  for  Newark. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EARLY  SPEECHES   IN  PARLIAMENT. 

The  First  Reformed  Parliament — Mr.  Gladstone's  Maiden  Speech — The  Slave  Trade — 
The  Member  for  Newark's  View  of  the  Question — Abolition  of  Colonial  Slavery — 
Bribery  in  Liverpool — A  Defence  of  the  Irish  Church — The  Universities  Admis- 
sion Bill — Demoralisation  of  the  Whigs — Dismissal  of  the  Melbourne  Ministry — 
Mr.  Gladstone  Junior  Lord  of  the  Treasury  under  Sir  Robert  Peel — Election 
Incidents  at  Newark — The  Premier  and  his  Policy — The  Under-Secretarysliip  for 
the  Colonies — Defeat  and  Resignation  of  the  Government — The  Affairs  of  Canada 
— Speech  by  Mr.  Gladstone  on  Church  Rates — Death  of  King  William  IV. — Mr. 
Gladstone  nominated  for  Manchester — Incidents  of  the  Contest — The  Session  of 
1838 — The  Slavery  Question  once  more — Powerful  Speech  by  Mr.  Gladstone — 
His  Appearance  in  the  House — Personal  Details — Character  of  his  Oratory — 
Debate  on  National  Education — The  War  with  China — Fall  of  the  Whig  Govern- 
ment— Sir  Robert  Peel  again  in  Office — Mr.  Gladstone  Vice-President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade--His  Marriage,  Family,  &c. 

THE  first  Parliament  summoned  after  the  passing  of  the  Reform 
Act  met  on  the  29th  of  January,  1833,  and  on  the  5th  of 
February  the  King  attended  and  delivered  the  Royal  speech  in 
person.  Of  that  celebrated  Parliament  but  few  members  now 
remain.  Who,  in  that  popular  House  of  Assembly,  could  have 
predicted  the  future  of  the  newly-elected  member  for  Newark  ? 
Even  the  member  himself — who  had  nothing  whatever  against 
him,  save,  as  Chatham  said,  *  the  atrocious  crime  of  being  a 
voung  man ' — sanguine  as  might  be  his  political  hopes,  could 
scarcely  have  ventured  to  anticipate  in  his  most  ambitious 
dreams  the  period  when  he  should  be  called  upon  to  fill  the 
position  once  held  by  the  illustrious  Canning.  The  new  House 
of  Commons — which  might  now  be  emphatically  called  the 
people's  House  of  Parliament — did  not  fulfil  all  the  expectations 
of  the  country,  though  the  labours  of  its  first  session  have  given 
it  an  indelible  place  in  history.  Had  the  session  of  1 833  been 
barren  of  all  other  measures,  it  would  still  be  entitled  to 
immortal  honour  for  wiping  away  a  discreditable  blot  that  had 
too  long  stained  the  escutcheon  of  England.  The  system  of 
slavery,  which  until  this  year  still  existed  in  the  British  colonies, 
was  abolished  at  a  cost  of  twenty  millions  sterling.  Besides  the 
passing  of  this  great  humanitarian  enactment,  during  the  same 
session  the  commercial  monopoly  of  the  East  India  Company 


EARLY   SPEECHES    IN    PARLIAMENT.  43 

was  abolished.  The  trade  to  the  East  was  thus  thrown  open  to 
all  merchants,  and  the  beneficial  effects  of  the  measure  were 
speedily  apparent. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  maiden  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons 
differed  completely  from  the  first  melodramatic  display  of  his 
great  rival.  From  the  first  the  young  member  for  Newark 
appears  to  have  favourably  impressed  the  House.  Modest  in 
demeanour,  earnest  in  manner,  and  fluent  of  speech,  he  at  once 
commanded  the  respect  and  attention  of  his  fellow-members. 
His  earliest  effort  was  in  connection  with  the  Slavery  question,  but 
the  speech  was  delivered  neither  in  the  course  of  a  great  debate, 
nor  upon  a  motion  on  the  one  topic  then  occupying  the  public 
mind.  During  the  debate  on  the  Ministerial  proposition  for  the 
emancipation  of  slaves,  which  was  brought  forward  on  the  14th 
of  May,  1833,  Lord  Howick,  ex-Under-Secretary  for  the 
Colonies,  had  referred  to  an  estate  in  Demerara  owned  by  Mr. 
Gladstone's  father,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  a  great 
destruction  of  human  life  had  taken  place  in  the  West  Indies, 
owing  to  the  manner  in  which  the  slaves  were  worked.  It  was 
in  reply  to  this  accusation  that  Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  his 
maiden  speech  on  the  17th  of  May,  the  occasion  being  the 
presentation  of  a  petition  from  Portarlington  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  He  challenged  the  noble  lord's  statement  respecting 
the  decrease  of  seventy-one  slaves  upon  the  estate  of  Vreeden 
Hoop,  which  had  been  attributed  to  the  increased  cultivation  of 
sugar.  The  real  cause  of  the  decrease  lay  in  the  very  large 
proportion  of  Africans  upon  the  estate.  When  it  came  into  kis 
father's  possession,  it  was  so  weak,  owing  to  the  great  number  of 
Africans  upon  it.  that  he  was  obliged  to  add  two  hundred  people 
to  the  gang.  It  was  notorious  that  Africans  were  imported  into 
Demerara  and  Trinidad  up  to  a  later  period  than  into  any  other 
colony  ;  and  he  should,  when  the  proper  time  arrived,  be  able  to 
prove  that  the  decrease  on  Vreeden  Hoop  was  among  the  old 
Africans,  and  that  there  was  an  increase  going  on  in  the  Creole 
population,  which  would  be  a  sufficient  answer  to  the  statement 
of  the  noble  lord.  The  quantity  of  sugar  produced  was  small  in 
proportion  to  that  produced  on  many  other  estates.  The 
cultivation  of  cotton  in  Demerara  had  been  abandoned,  and  that 
of  coffee  much  diminished,  and  the  people  employed  in  these 
f  ources  of  production  had  been  transferred  to  the  cultivation  of 
i  vigar.  Demerara,  too,  was  peculiarly  circumstanced,  and  the 
labour  of  the  same  number  of  negroes,  distributed  over  the  year, 
would  produce  in  that  colony  a  given  quantity  of  sugar,  with 
less  injury  to  the  people,  than  negroes  could  produce  in  other 
colonies,  working  only  at  the  stated  periods  of  crop.  '  He  was 


44  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

ready  to  admit  that  this  cultivation  was  of  a  more  severe 
character  than  others  ;  and  he  would  ask,  were  there  not  certain 
employments  in  this  and  other  countries  more  destructive  to  life 
than  others  ?  He  would  only  instance  those  of  painting  and 
working  in  lead  mines,  both  of  which  were  well  known  to  have 
that  tendency.  The  noble  lord  attempted  to  impugn  the 
character  of  the  gentleman  acting  as  manager  of  his  father's 
estates ;  and  in  making  this  selection  he  had  certainly  been 
most  unfortunate ;  for  there  was  not  an  individual  in  the  colony 
more  proverbial  for  humanity  and  the  kind  treatment  of  his 
slaves  than  Mr.  Maclean.'  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  concluding  this 
warm  defence  of  his  relative,  said  he  held  in  his  hand  two  letters 
from  the  agent,  in  which  that  gentleman  spoke  in  the  kindest 
terms  of  the  people  under  his  charge  ;  described  their  state  of 
happiness,  content,  and  healthiness — their  good  conduct,  and  the 
infrequency  of  severe  punishment — and  recommended  certain 
additional  comforts,  which  he  said  the  slaves  well  deserved. 

On  the  3rd  of  June,  on  the  resumption  of  the  debate  on 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  Mr.  Gladstone  again  addressed  the 
House.  He  now  entered  more  fully  into  the  charges  which  Lord 
Howick  had  brought  against  the  management  of  his  father's 
estates  in  Demerara,  and  showed  their  groundlessness.  When 
he  had  discussed  the  existing  aspect  of  slavery  in  Trinidad, 
Jamaica,  and  other  places,  he  proceeded  to  deal  with  the  general 
question.  He  confessed  with  shame  and  pain  that  cases  of 
wanton  cruelty  had  occurred  in  the  colonies,  but  added  that  they 
would  always  exist,  particularly  under  the  system  of  slavery ; 
and  this  was  unquestionably  a  substantial  reason  why  the  British 
Legislature  and  public  should  set  themselves  in  good  earnest 
to  provide  for  its  extinction  ;  but  he  maintained  that  these 
instances  of  cruelty  could  easily  be  explained  by  the  West 
Indians,  who  represented  them  as  rare  and  isolated  cases,  and 
who  maintained  that  the  ordinary  relation  of  master  and  slave 
was  one  of  kindliness  and  not  of  hostility.  He  deprecated 
cruelty,  and  he  deprecated  slavery,  both  of  which  were  abhorrent 
to  the  nature  of  English  teen ;  but,  conceding  these  things,  he 
asked,  '  Were  not  Englishmen  to  retain  a  right  to  their  own 
honestly  and  legally  -acquired  property  ?  '  But  the  cruelty  did 
not  exist,  and  he  saw  no  reason  for  the  attack  which  had 
recently  been  made  upon  the  West  India  interest.  He  hoped 
the  House  would  make  a  point  to  adopt  the  principle  of 
compensation,  and  to  stimulate  the  slave  to  genuine  and 
spontaneous  industry.  If  this  were  not  done,  and  moral  instruc- 
tion were  not  imparted  to  the  slaves,  liberty  would  prove  a  curse 
instead  of  a  blessing  to  them.  Touching  upon  the  property 


EARLY    SPEECHES    IN    PAELIAMENT.  45 

question,  and  the  proposed  plans  for  emancipation,  Mr. 
Gladstone  said  that  the  House  might  consume  its  time  and 
exert  its  wisdom  in  devising  these  plans,  but  without  the 
concurrence  of  the  Colonial  Legislatures  success  would  be 
hopeless.  He  thought  there  was  excessive  wickedness  in  any 
violent  interference  under  the  present  circumstances.  They 
were  still  in  the  midst  of  unconcluded  inquiries,  and  to  pursue 
the  measure  then  under  discussion,  at  that  moment,  was  to 
commit  an  act  of  great  and  unnecessary  hostility  towards  the 
island  of  Jamaica.  *  It  was  the  duty  of  the  House  to  place  as 
broad  a  distinction  as  possible  between  the  idle  and  the 
industrious  slaves,  and  nothing  could  be  too  strong  to  secure 
the  freedom  of  the  latter  ;  but,  with  respect  to  the  idle  slaves,  no 
period  of  emancipation  could  hasten  their  improvement.  If  the 
labours  of  the  House  should  be  conducted  to  a  satisfactory  issue, 
it  would  redound  to  the  honour  of  the  nation,  and  to  the 
reputation  of  his  Majesty's  Ministers,  whilst  it  would  be 
delightful  to  the  West  India  planters  themselves — for  they  must 
feel  that  to  hold  in  bondage  their  fellow-men  must  always 
involve  the  greatest  responsibility.  But  let  not  any  man  think 
of  carrying  this  measure  by  force.  England  rested  her  power 
not  upon  physical  force,  but  upon  her  principles,  her  intellect, 
and  virtue  ;  and  if  this  great  measure  were  not  placed  on  a  fair 
basis,  or  were  conducted  by  violence,  he  should  lament  it,  as  a 
signal  for  the  ruin  of  the  Colonies  and  the  downfall  of  the 
Empire.'  The  attitude  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  as  borne  out  by  the 
tenor  of  his  speech,  was  not  one  of  hostility  to  emancipation, 
though  he  was  undoubtedly  unfavourable  to  an  immediate  and 
an  indiscriminate  enfranchisement.  He  demanded,  moreover, 
that  the  interests  of  the  planters  should  be  duly  regarded. 

The  result  of  the  labours  of  the  House  on  this  question  is 
matter  of  history.  The  abolition  of  Colonial  slavery  was 
decreed.  As  already  stated,  a  sum  of  £20,000,000  was  voted  to 
the  slave-owners  as  compensation  for  their  losses,  and  the  great 
and  noble  work  initiated  by  Mr.  Wilberforce  was  thus  finally 
crowned  with  success. 

Mr.  Gladstone  rose  on  two  or  three  other  occasions  during  the 
session  of  1833.  On  the  4th  of  July  Mr.  Mark  Phillips  moved 
that  a  Select  Committee  be  appointed  to  pursue  the  inquiries 
entered  into  by  the  Committee  appointed  on  the  6th  of  March, 
to  take  into  consideration  the  petition  presented  to  the  House 
on  the  2 1  st  of  February  from  certain  inhabitants  of  Liverpool, 
complaining  of  bribery  and  corruption  in  that  borough.  Mr 
Gladstone,  speaking  upon  this  motion,  admitted  that  the 
proceedings  at  the  election  of  1830  were  sufficient  to  secure  for 


46  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  town  of  Liverpool  an  immortality  of  disgrace ;  but  had  it 
not  been  for  this  he  should  have  had  no  apprehension  as  to  the 
character  of  the  votes  of  honourable  gentlemen.  Before  1830 
direct  bribery  had  not  prevailed  at  the  elections  extensively  or 
systematically.  He  denied  that  such  a  body  of  evidence  had 
been  collected  with  respect  to  the  last  election  as  to  warrant  the 
assumption  that  bribery  and  corruption  did,  during  that  election, 
prevail  in  Liverpool  systematically  or  extensively.  '  If  the  cases 
of  bribery  were  so  miserably  few — if  the  cases  of  corruption,  of 
asking  for  bribes,  and  of  a  disposition  to  receive  them  were 
equivocal,  and  limited  to  the  allegations  of  one  side,  and 
contradicted  as  far  as  the  nature  of  the  case  admitted  by  the 
other — he  implored  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  name  of 
principle,  in  the  name  of  equity,  in  the  name  of  common  sense, 
to  refuse  further  inquiry,  and  not  to  immolate  on  such 
insufficient  pretexts  the  rights  of  the  freemen  ;  he  implored 
them  not  to  offer  so  poor  a  morsel  to  appease  the  hunger  of 
reform.'  The  inquiry,  however,  was  voted  by  166  to  84. 

The  name  of  the  member  for  Newark  appears  in  various 
division  lists  in  the  course  of  this  session,  and  he  spoke  in  the 
debate  which  took  place  upon  Lord  Althorp's  Church  Temporali- 
ties (Ireland)  Bill.  On  the  8th  of  July,  on  the  question  that 
this  bill  should  pass,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  he  would  not  shelter 
himself  under  a  silent  vote.  He  was  prepared  to  defend  the 
Irish  Church,  and  if  it  had  abuses,  which  he  did  not  now  deny, 
those  abuses  were  to  be  ascribed  to  the  ancestors  and  prede- 
cessors of  those  who  then  surrounded  him.  He  admitted  that 
the  Irish  Church  had  slumbered.  He  feared  that  the  effect  of 
the  bill  would  be  to  place  the  Church  on  an  untenable  founda- 
tion. He  was  unwilling  to  see  the  number  of  Irish  bishops 
reduced.  He  had  always  regarded  it  as  a  well-established 
principle  that  as  long  as  a  Church  was  national  the  State  ought 
to  be  taxed  to  support  it ;  and  if  the  Government  meant  to 
maintain  the  Protestant  Church  in  Ireland,  they  ought  to 
enforce  this  maxim  ;  but  it  was  not  the  proper  way  to  establish 
or  maintain  the  Church  to  proceed  by  laying  further  burdens  on 
the  body  of  the  clergy — who,  God  knows,  were  already  not  over- 
burthened  with  money — as  was  done  by  that  measure.  He  had 
little  doubt  the  Government  would  carry  the  bill  by  a  large 
majority,  and  if  they  did,  he  could  only  hope  that  it  would  pro- 
duce the  effects  which  they  had  ascribed  to  it — namely,  of 
securing  and  propping  up  the  Irish  Protestant  Church.  The 
bill  was  carried  by  274  votes  to  94,  Mr.  Gladstone's  name 
appearing  in  the  minority. 

In  1834  he   addressed  the  House  very  briefly  in  connection 


EARLY    SPEECHES    IN    PARLIAMENT.  47 

with  the  Liverpool  Freemen  Bill,  inflicting  disfranchisement 
upon  a  section  of  the  electors  for  bribery.  When  Mr.  Hume's 
Universities  Admission  Bill  was  brought  forward,  it  found  a 
strenuous  opponent  in  the  young  member.  One  great  object  of 
the  bill  was  to  remove  the  necessity  of  subscription  to  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  on  entering  the  University  of  Oxford.  Mr. 
Gladstone  maintained  that,  although  the  measure  proposed  to 
alter  materially  the  constitution  of  the  universities,  it  would  be 
practically  inoperative.  Yet  the  bill,  while  not  working  out  its 
professed  objects,  would  neverthelesss  inevitably  lead  to  great 
dissension  and  confusion,  and  eventually  to  endless  applications 
and  legislation  in  the  House.  It  was  said  of  the  ancient 
Romans  that  they — 

'  Made  a  solitude  and  called  it  peace.' 

He  very  much  feared  that  the  House,  in  establishing  their 
present  principle  of  religious  liberty,  would  drive  from  their 
functions  men  who  had  so  long  done  honour  and  service  to  their 
country,  and  thus  inaugurate  their  reign  of  religious  peace  by 
an  act  of  the  grossest  tyranny.  Th3  bill  passed  by  164  to  75. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  either  that  the  practical  ability  or 
the  debating  power  foreshadowed  in  these  early  speeches  of  the 
new  Tory  member  for  Newark  would  escape  the  attention  of  the 
leaders  of  his  party.  But  recognition  came  earlier  than  even 
the  young  orator  himself  could  have  anticipated.  Towards  the 
close  of  1834  it  became  evident  that  there  were  no  longer  the 
necessary  elements  of  cohesion  in  the  Liberal  Ministry. 
Amongst  the  many  causes  of  its  downfall,  not  the  least  was  the 
transference  of  Lord  Althorp  to  the  Upper  House.  His  lordship, 
during  his  continuance  in  the  Commons,  had  been  able  to  keep 
the  Ministerialists  together,  as  one  tolerably  compact  body. 
But  demoralisation  quickly  set  in  —a  demoralisation  accelerated 
by  the  growing  unpopularity  of  the  Whigs  with  the  country.  In 
the  middle  of  October  the  Melbourne  Ministry  was  summarily 
dismissed  by  the  Sovereign.  Lord  Melbourne  had  waited 
upon  the  King  at  Brighton  to  take  his  commands  on  the 
appointment  of  a  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  the  room  of 
Lord  Althorp,  when  his  Majesty  raised  objections  to  the 
reconstruction  of  the  Cabinet.  The  King,  further,  sent  a  letter 
to  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  attended  upon  his  Majesty,  and 
advise  I  that  Sir  Robert  Peel  should  be  sent  for.  Sir  Robert, 
who  was  then  travelling  in  Italy,  hastened  home,  and  on  the 
9th  of  December  accepted  the  King's  commands  to  form  a 
Ministry. 

On  the  24th  Mr.  Gladstone,  having  accepted  the  office  of 


48  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Junior  Lord  of  the  Treasury  under  Sir  Robert  Peel,  issued  his 
address  to  his  constituents  at  Newark.  In  that  address  he 
reviewed  the  position  of  parties,  which,  since  the  last  general 
election  two  years  before,  had  essentially  changed.  The  best 
friends  of  the  late  Ministry  had  been  alienated  from  it  in 
consequence  of  its  tendency  towards  rash,  violent,  and  indefinite 
innovation  ;  and  there  were  even  *  those  among  the  servants  of 
the  King  who  did  not  scruple  to  solicit  the  suffrages  of  their 
constituents,  with  promises  to  act  on  the  principles  of 
Radicalism.'  Mr.  Gladstone  went  on  to  say,  '  The  question  has 
then,  as  it  appears  to  me,  become,  whether  we  are  to  hurry 
onwards  at  intervals,  but  not  long  ones,  through  the  medium  of 
the  ballot,  short  parliaments,  and  other  questions  called  popular, 
into  republicanism  or  anarchy  ;  or  whether,  independently  of  all 
party  distinctions,  the  people  will  support  the  Crown  in  the 
discharge  of  its  duty  to  maintain  in  efficiency,  and  transmit  in 
safety,  those  old  and  valuable  institutions  under  which  our 
country  has  greatly  flourished.'  In  the  last  paragraph  of  this 
address,  however,  the  writer  said,  '  Let  me  add  shortly,  but 
emphatically,  concerning  the  reform  of  actual  abuses,  whether 
in  Church  or  State,  that  I  regard  it  as  a  sacred  duty — a  duty  at 
all  times,  and  certainly  not  least  at  a  period  like  this,  when  the 
danger  of  neglecting  it  is  most  clear  and  imminent — a  duty  not 
inimical  to  true  and  determined  Conservative  principle,  nor  a 
curtailment  or  modification  of  such  principle,  but  its  legitimate 
consequences,  or  rather  an  actual  element  of  its  composition.' 

Mr.  Handley,  the  second  Conservative  member  for  the 
borough  of  Newark,  having  retired,  Mr.  Gladstone  and  the 
Liberal  candidate,  Mr.  Serjeant  Wilde,  were  returned  without 
opposition.  The  Junior  Lord  of  the  Treasury  appears  to  have 
again  quite  fascinated  his  constituents,  and,  amongst  other 
festivities,  we  find  that  he  attended  the  Dispensary  Ball  at 
Newark  with  the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  A  local  journal  describes 
him  at  this  time  as  one  of  the  most  talented  young  men  who 
entered  the  last  Parliament.  His  '  splendid  talents  and  amiable 
character '  were  the  theme  of  conversation  in  the  borough.  Mr. 
Gladstone's  speech  on  the  hustings  was  an  amplification  of  the 
address  we  have  in  substance  just  given.  After  the  election 
came  the  old  custom  of  chairing  the  members,  when  a  scene  of 
the  most  animated  description  took  place.  Mr.  Gladstone's 
procession  set  out  from  the  Clinton  Arms  Inn.  His  chair  was 
splendid  and  elegant,  and  attracted  general  admiration ;  *  it 
was  placed  on  a  groundwork  laid  upon  the  springs  of  a  four- 
wheel  carriage,  and  drawn  by  six  beautiful  grey  horses,  the 
riders  dressed  in  silk  jackets.'  As  the  procession  wended  its  way 


EARLY    SPEECHES    iff    PARLIAMENT.  49 

through  the  streets,  the  inhabitants  were  most  peacaably  inclined. 
*  Never  before  did  the  town  of  Newark  present  so  pleasing  and  so 
glorious  a  sight ! '  The  *  red  '  lion  and  the  '  blue  '  lamb  lay 
down  together  (the  colours  of  the  quadrupeds  may  be  reversed 
at  pleasure),  and  all  was  harmony  and  all  was  peace.  Alighting 
at  his  committee  room,  Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  an  address  of 
thanks  to  upwards  of  6,000  persons,  his  speech  being  greeted 
with  *  deafening  cheers.' 

The  policy  of  the  new  Ministry  was  denned  by  its  chief 
in  his  address  to  the  electors  of  Tamworth.  Sir  Robert  Peel 
said  he  considered  the  Reform  Act  a  final  and  irrevocable 
settlement  of  a  great  constitutional  question,  and  a  settlement 
which  no  friend  to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  country  would 
attempt  to  disturb  by  any  means  whatsoever.  But  the 
Government  expressed  their  readiness  to  reform  real  abuses  and 
defects  still  existing,  though  they  declined  to  seek  '  a  false 
popularity  by  adopting  every  fleeting  popular  impression  of  the 
day.'  Shortly  after  the  assembling  of  Parliament  in  February, 
1835,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  Under- 
secretary for  the  Colonies,  and  in  March  he  brought  in  a  bill  for 
the  better  regulation  of  the  carriage  of  passengers  in  merchant 
vessels  to  the  continent  and  the  islands  of  North  America. 
This  bill,  which  contained  many  humane  provisions,  was  most 
favourably  received. 

For  the  moment,  it  seemed  as  though  the  Peel  Ministry  had 
a  long  life  before  it ;  but  the  course  of  politics  is  proverbially 
uncertain.  Mr.  Carlyle  asks  in  his  Chartism,  '  Are  not  the 
affairs  of  this  nation  in  a  bad  way  ?  Hungry  Greek  meets 
hungry  Greek  on  the  floor  of  St.  Stephen's,  and  wrestles  with 
him  and  throttles  him  until  he  has  to  cry,  Hold !  the  office  is 
thine.'  Fortunately  for  the  reputation  of  statesmanship,  there 
have  been  Ministers  in  every  generation  who  have  regarded  the 
public  service  in  a  nobler  light  than  this.  Of  such  men  was  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  worthy  alike  of  the  esteem  of  friends  and 
opponents  for  the  uprightness  of  his  character  and  the  singleness 
of  his  aims.  But  although  he  acceded  to  office  in  1834-6  under 
apparently  favourable  circumstances,  and  although  his  measures 
were  conceived  in  no  illiberal  spirit,  his  Ministry  had  a  very 
short  lease  of  power.  After  sustaining  a  defeat  on  the  election 
of  Speaker,  a  more  serious  disaster  befell  the  Government  on  the 
Irish  Church  question.  Lord  John  Russell  introduced  on  the 
30th  of  March  his  resolution, '  That  the  House  should  resolve 
itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole  House  to  consider  of  the 
temporalities  of  the  Church  of  Ireland.'  This  motion  was  met  by  a 
direct  negative,  and  a  protracted  and  acrimonious  debate  ensued. 

E 


50  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  in  the  course  of  the  discussion,  said  the 
result  of  the  motion  would  be  first  to  enfeeble  and  debase, 
and  then  altogether  overthrow,  the  principle  on  which  the 
Church  Establishment  rested.  The  noble  lord  invited  them  to 
invade  the  property  of  the  Church  in  Ireland.  The  system  they 
were  now  called  upon  to  agree  to  was  in  its  essence  transitory, 
and  yet  it  involved  the  existence  of  all  Church  establishments. 
If  the  separation  of  Church  and  State  was  hastening  on,  the 
present  motion,  instead  of  retarding  it,  would  increase  its 
rapidity.  *  If  in  the  administration  of  this  great  country  the 
elements  of  religion  should  not  enter— if  those  who  were  called 
upon  to  guide  it  in  its  career  should  be  forced  to  listen  to  the 
caprices  and  to  the  whims  of  every  body  of  visionaries,  they 
would  lose  that  station  all  great  men  were  hitherto  proud  of. 
He  hoped  that  he  should  never  live  to  see  the  day  when  any 
principle  leading  to  such  a  result  would  be  adopted  in  this 
country.' 

On  a  division  Ministers  were  defeated,  the  numbers  being — For 
Lord  John  Russell's  motion,  322  ;  against,  289.  The  Irish  Church 
Bill  was  subsequently  discussed  in  committee,  when  Ministers 
were  again  defeated  on  the  question  of  appropriating  the  surplus 
funds  of  the  Church  to  the  general  education  of  all  classes  of 
Christians.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  seeing  that  he  and  his  Government 
had  no  possibility  of  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  country  with 
the  substantial  support  of  the  House,  announced  his  resignation. 
Lord  Melbourne  again  became  Prime  Minister.  Mr.  Gladstone, 
of  course,  ceased  to  be  Under-Secret ary  for  the  Colonial  Depart- 
ment, and  retired  with  his  chief.  The  field  of  politics  was  at 
this  time  conspicuous  for  the  bitterness  of  its  encounters,  but 
Mr.  Gladstone  held  himself  aloof  from  mere  gladiatorial 
exhibitions,  and  earned  the  respect  of  the  whole  House  by  his 
courteous  bearing,  and  the  general  urbanity  of  his  manners. 

We  now  find  the  member  for  Newark  in  opposition  for  a 
considerable  period  ;  but  it  was  impossible  for  one  of  his  ardent 
temperament  and  strong  convictions  to  refrain  from  taking  a 
deep  interest  in  the  various  public  questions  brought  forward 
within  the  course  of  the  next  few  years.  On  the  22nd  of  March, 
1836,  Mr.  Fowell  Buxton  rose  in  the  House  of  Commons  to 
move  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the 
working  of  the  apprenticeship  system  in  the  Colonies,  the  con- 
dition of  the  apprentices,  and  the  laws  and  regulations  respecting 
them.  The  Government,  through  Sir  George  Grey,  agreed  to  the 
appointment  of  the  committee.  Mr.  O'Connell  said  that  under 
the  apprenticeship  system  the  negroes  were  worse  off  sometimes 
than  they  were  in  a  state  of  slavery.  Apprenticeship  was,  in  fact, 


EARLY    SPEECHES    IN    PARLIAMENT.  51 

but  slavery  under  another  name.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied,  and 
endeavoured  to  remove  the  unfavourable  impression  which  had 
been  created  against  the  West  Indian  body.  When  he  pleaded 
that  many  of  the  West  Indian  planters  were  humane  men,  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  undoubtedly  right.  Having  his  nearest  relatives 
directly  connected  with  the  traffic  so  much  denounced,  he 
naturally  defended  their  honour  when  it  was  assailed.  He 
pointed  out  that  while  the  evils  of  the  apprenticeship  system 
had  been  exaggerated,  all  mention  of  its  advantages  had 
been  carefully  withheld.  Since  the  passing  of  the  Emancipa- 
tion Act  the  condition  of  the  negroes  had  been  gradually 
improving.  He  deprecated  the  attempt  made  to  renew  and  per- 
petuate the  system  of  agitation  at  the  expense  of  candour  and 
truth.  The  motion,  being  supported  by  the  Government,  was 
agreed  to  without  a  division. 

Early  in  March,  1837,  the  affairs  of  Canada  came  on  for 
discussion  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Lord  John  Kussell  pro- 
posed a  series  of  resolutions  by  which  it  was  hoped  the  breaches 
which  had  arisen  between  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  would  be 
healed.  These  propositions  were  fiercely  attacked,  but  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, amongst  others,  rallied  to  the  support  of  the  Government. 
The  question  that  lay  before  them,  he  said,  was — the  support  of 
Government  and  public  order  on  one  side,  and  the  absolutism  of 
the  popular  will  on  the  other.  The  difficulty  was  not  between 
the  House  of  Assembly  and  the  Legislative  Council,  but  between 
the  House  of  Assembly  and  the  Crown  and  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain.  There  was  an  overwhelming  preponderance  of  opinion 
in  favour  of  the  Government  policy. 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  also  heard  in  the  debate  on  the  Church 
Rates  question.  His  speech  on  this  subject  occupies  thirteen 
columns  in  Hansard,  though  it  has  apparently  escaped  the 
attention  of  previous  writers.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
Mr.  Spring  Rice,  had  propounded  a  plan  for  the  re-arrangement 
of  Church  rates,  which  he  hoped  would  be  satisfactory  at  once 
to  the  scruples  of  Dissenters  and  the  claims  of  the  Establishment. 
His  scheme,  in  essence,  was  to  take  the  whole  property  of  the 
bishops,  deans,  and  chapters  out  of  the  hands  of  those  dignitaries, 
and  to  vest  them  in  the  hands  of  a  commission,  under  whose 
improved  system  of  management  it  was  calculated  that,  after 
paying  to  their  full  present  amount  all  existing  incomes,  a  sum 
not  less  than  that  assigned  by  Lord  Althorp  might  be  saved,  and 
applied  for  the  purposes  of  Church  rates.  When  the  House  went 
into  committee  on  Mr.  Rice's  resolutions  they  were  opposed  by 
Sir  Robert  Peel  on  financial  as  well  as  conscientious  grounds. 
Mr.  Gladstone  followed  in  the  same  strain,  and  the  peroration  of 

E  2 


52  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

his  speech — in  which  he  drew  a  comparison  between  Rome  and 
England,  and  insisted  upon  religion  being  the  basis  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  State — was,  perhaps,  the  most  impassioned  specimen 
of  oratory  with  which  he  had  yet  favoured  the  House.  '  It  was 
not,'  he  said,  *  by  the  active  strength  and  resistless  prowess  of  her 
legions,  the  bold  independence  of  her  citizens,  or  the  well-main- 
tained equilibrium  of  her  constitution,  or  by  the  judicious 
adaptation  of  various  measures  to  the  various  circumstances  of 
her  subject  States,  that  the  Roman  power  was  upheld.  Its 
foundation  lay  in  the  prevailing  feeling  of  religion.  This 
was  the  superior  power  which  curbed  the  licence  of  individual 
rule,  and  engendered  in  the  people  a  lofty  disinterestedness 
and  disregard  of  personal  motives,  and  devotion  to  the 
glory  of  the  republic.  The  devotion  of  the  Romans  was 
not  enlightened  by  a  knowledge  of  the  precepts  of 
Christianity ;  here  religion  was  still  more  deeply  rooted  and 
firmly  fixed.  And  would  they  now  consent  to  compromise  the 
security  of  its  firmest  bulwark  ?  No  Ministry  would  dare  to 
propose  its  unconditional  surrender ;  but  with  the  same 
earnestness  and  depth  of  feeling  with  which  they  should 
deprecate  the  open  avowal  of  such  a  determination,  they  ought 
to  resist  the  covert  and  insidious  introduction  of  the  principle.' 
When  the  division  came,  however,  the  Ministry  obtained  a 
majority  of  23,  the  numbers  being — For  the  resolutions,  273  ; 
against,  250. 

King  William  IV. — of  whom  Sir  Robert  Peel  said  that '  The 
reins  of  Government  were  never  committed  to  the  hands  of  one 
who  bore  himself  as  a  Sovereign  with  more  affability,  and  yet 
with  more  true  dignity — to  one  who  was  more  compassionate  for 
the  sufferings  of  others — or  to  one  whose  nature  was  more  utterly 
free  from  all  selfishness ' — died  on  the  20th  of  June,  1837.  A 
general  election  ensued,  consequent  upon  the  accession  of  her 
present  Majesty.  Mr.  Gladstone  again  came  forward  for  Newark, 
and  was  returned.  But  a  curious  incident  arose  in  connection 
with  the  representation  of  Manchester.  The  Tories  of  that  city, 
it  appears,  were  extremely  anxious  to  obtain  Mr.  Gladstone  as 
their  candidate,  and  endeavoured  to  wean  his  political  affections 
from  the  Nottinghamshire  borough.  '  This  must  obviously  have 
appeared  a  very  senseless  scheme  to  the  cooler  men  of  the  party,' 
said  the  Manchester  Guardian,  writing  shortly  before  the 
election  ;  *  but  nothing  else  presented  itself,  and  they  therefore 
packed  off  three  gentlemen  as  a  deputation  on  the  hopeful 
errand  of  inviting  Mr.  Gladstone.  When  they  met  with  that 
gentleman  personally  we  have  not  learned ;  but  he  did  not  allow 
them  to  make  a  fool  of  him,  and  declined  the  invitation.  There, 


Ji!ARLY    SPEECHES    IN    PARLIAMENT.  £3 

we  believe,  the  matter  rests  at  present ;  but  as  the  party  have 
raised  some  money,  we  suppose  they  will  find  some  means  of 
spending  it.' 

This  report  appears  to  have  been  premature,  but  only 
premature.  The  Tories  first  applied  to  Mr.  Perceval,  who 
declined  to  stand.  Sir  II.  Hardinge  then  recommended  them  to 
apply  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  subsequently,  if  he  refused,  to  Sir 
James  Graham,  whose  chances  of  success  in  East  Cumberland 
were  considered  desperate.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  accordingly  seen, 
but  he  declined  to  give  up  a  safe  seat  at  Newark  to  encounter  an 
almost  certain  defeat  at  Manchester.  The  Tories,  not- 
withstanding, determined  to  put  him  in  nomination,  and  his 
name  was  placed  before  the  electors.  These  proceedings  were 
unauthorised  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  neither  issued  an  address 
nor  appeared  before  the  constituency. 

A  report,  however,  was  speedily  current  at  Newark  to  the 
effect  that  he  had  agreed  to  stand  for  Manchester ;  and  in  reply 
to  this,  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  the  following  address  to  the 
electors,  dated  Clinton  Arms,  July  22nd,  1837  : — 'My  attention 
has  just  been  called  to  a  paragraph  in  the  Nottingham  and 
Newark  Mercury  of  this  morning,  which  announces,  on  the 
authority  of  some  person  unknown,  that  I  have  consented  to  be 
put  in  nomination  for  Manchester,  and  have  promised,  if  elected, 
to  sit  in  Parliament  as  its  representative.  I  have  to  inform  you 
that  these  statements  are  wholly  without  foundation.  I  was 
honoured  on  Wednesday  with  a  deputation  from  Manchester, 
empowered  to  request  that  I  would  become  a  candidate  for  the 
borough.  I  felt  the  honour,  but  I  answered  unequivocally,  and 
at  once,  that  I  must  absolutely  decline  the  invitation  ;  and  I  am 
much  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  "  a  most  respectable  corres- 
pondent ''  could  have  cited  language  which  I  never  used,  from 
a  letter  which  I  never  wrote.  Lastly,  I  beg  to  state  in  terms  as 
explicit  as  I  can  command,  that  I  hold  myself  bound  in  honour 
to  the  electors  of  Newark,  that  I  adhere  in  every  particular  to 
the  tenor  of  my  late  address,  and  that  I  place  my  humble 
services  during  the  ensuing  Parliament  entirely  and  uncondi- 
tionally at  their  disposal.' 

The  other  candidates  in  the  Manchester  election  were 
Mr.  Mark  Phillips  and  the  Right  Hon.  C.  Poulett  Thomson. 
Reports  continued  to  be  rife  respecting  Mr.  Gladstone,  and 
it  was  said  that  he  had  promised  to  produce  £500  towards 
the  election  expenses,  if  returned.  His  name  was  taken  to  the 
poll  contrary  to  his  wishes,  and  at  the  nomination  he  was 
proposed  by  Mr.  Denison,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Gardner.  The 
former  enlarged  upon  Mr.  Gladstone's  extraordinary  talents,  and 


£4  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

his  determination  to  maintain,  firm  and  indissoluble,  the  union 
between  Church  and  State.  The  show  of  hands  being  against 
the  Tory  candidate,  a  poll  was  demanded  on  his  behalf, 
which  closed  as  follows: — Thomson,  4,155;  Phillips,  3,760; 
Gladstone,  2,294.  The  numbers  polled  for  Gladstone  were 
certainly  most  surprising,  considering  that  he  had  discoun- 
tenanced the  nomination,  that  he  was  never  upon  the  scene,  and 
that  the  Tories  were  deprived  of  the  advantage  of  his  great 
eloquence.  The  Liberals  themselves  were  astonished  at  the 
strength  of  the  Tory  vote,  alleging  (by  way  of  explanation)  that 
their  opponents  had  been  most  energetic,  and  had  supplied 
dinners  and  liquor  to  about  three  hundred  voters,  which  had  the 
effect  of  altering  their  political  principles  !  The  Conservatives, 
after  the  election,  gave  a  dinner  to  their  candidate,  at  the  Bush 
Inn,  Manchester. 

In  responding  to  the  toast  of  his  health,  Mr.  Gladstone 
expressed  his  regret  that  they  should  have  fought  such  a 
contest  with  so  mean  a  name  as  his,  and  that  they  had  the 
further  disadvantage  of  attacks  made  on  the  cause  in  his 
absence.  '  I  have  been  told,'  he  said,  '  that  certain  parties  in 
Manchester  were  pleased  to  send  over  to  Newark  a  Eadical  can- 
didate to  oppose  me.  I  believe  Manchester  receives  annually 
from  Newark  a  great  deal  of  useful  commodities  in  the  shape  of 
malt  and  flour :  and  I  suppose  it  was  upon  the  principle  of  a 
balance  of  trade  that  this  Radical  candidate  was  sent.  If, 
instead  of  sending  back  this  Radical  candidate,  they  had  sent 
back  one  of  their  sacks  of  flour,  they  would  have  sent  back  what 
was  nearly  as  intelligent,  and  much  more  useful.'  This  sally 
provoked  much  laughter.  When  the  speaker  resumed,  he 
congratulated  the  Conservatives  of  Manchester  on  the  energy 
which  they  had  manifested,  and  on  their  exhibition  of  a  strength 
which  was  the  nucleus  of  future  success. 

The  new  Parliament  assembled  on  the  20th  of  October,  the 
young  Queen  attending  in  person  to  open  the  business  of  the 
session.  Little  progress,  however,  was  made  towards  the  settle- 
ment of  important  public  questions  before  the  two  Houses  were 
prorogued  until  the  16th  of  January. 

In  the  year  1838,  the  troubles  of  Canada  were  still  uppermost 
in  the  public  mind.  Lord  John  Russell  introduced  a  proposal, 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  for  a  bill  to  suspend  for  a  certain 
time  the  existing  constitution  of  Lower  Canada,  and  moved  at 
the  same  time  an  address  to  the  Throne  pledging  the  House  to 
assist  her  Majesty  in  restoring  tranquility  to  her  Canadian 
dominions.  Mr.  Roebuck  was  subsequently  heard  at  the  bar  of 
the  House,  on  behalf  of  the  Assembly  of  Lower  Canada — after  a 


EARLY   SPEECHES    IN    PARLIAMENT.  55 

previous  protest  by  Mr.  Gladstone  against  any  acknowledgment 
by  the  House  of  Mr.  Koebuck  as  agent  of  the  Assembly.  On  the 
motion  for  committing  the  Government  bill,  Mr.  Hume  moved 
its  rejection.  A  long  and  very  lively  debate  ensued,  in  the 
course  of  which  Mr.  Gladstone  reviewed  the  order  of  events 
which  had  led  to  the  existing  disasters.  He  believed  that  the 
repeal  of  the  Act  of  1831 — which  made  over  the  duties  of  1774 
to  the  Assembly — would  have  prevented  the  late  occurrences. 
He  next  examined  Lord  Gosford's  correspondence,  and  pointed 
out  therein  the  most  glaring  contradictions.  He  concluded  his 
speech  by  a  series  of  very  severe  strictures  on  the  incapacity  and 
folly  displayed  by  Lord  Gosford  and  the  Colonial  Office.  The 
.Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  endeavoured  to  answer  the  member 
for  Newark,  but  Sir  Kobert  Peel  pronounced  his  attempt 
a  miserable  failure.  The  House,  however,  decided  upon  going 
into  committee  on  the  Government  bill  by  an  immense  majority. 
In  this  same  year,  1838,  there  was  another  strong  revival  of 
the  anti-Slavery  agitation.  Whether  the  reports  which  reached 
this  country  concerning  the  evils  of  negro  apprenticeship  were 
altogether  accurate  and  trustworthy  it  does  not  fall  within  our 
province  to  inquire.  Suffice  it  to  state,  that  Lord  Brougham, 
Dr.  Lushington,  and  other  eminent  anti-slavery  advocates, 
accepting  and  believing  these  reports,  forthwith,  and  naturally, 
acted  upon  them.  By  the  Emancipation  Act  slavery  had  been 
abolished  from  the  year  1834,  but  negro  apprenticeship  was  not 
to  terminate  until  1840.  Basing  his  justification  on  the 
alleged  oppression  exercised  upon  the  negroes,  Lord  Brougham 
introduced  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and 
moved  the  immediate  abolition  of  negro  apprenticeship.  His 
lordship  cited  many  harrowing  details  of  the  cruelties  practised, 
and  said  it  could  not  be  denied  that  attempts  had  been  made  to 
perpetuate  slavery  in  a  new  form.  The  motion  was  unsuccessful. 
On  the  29th  of  March  Sir  George  Strickland  proposed  a  similar 
resolution  in  the  House  of  Commons.  On  the  second  day  of  the 
debate,  Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  a  long  and  powerful  speech,  but 
on  the  side  opposed  to  that  of  immediate  abolition.  This 
address,  extending  to  thirty-three  columns  in  the  official  reports, 
is  printed  from  a  corrected  edition  published  by  Hatchard.  The 
importance  thus  attached  to  the  speech  was  admitted  further  by 
the  press,  in  whose  columns  it  was  very  fully  discussed.  Mr. 
Gladstone  began  by  saying  that  when  the  Abolition  Act  of  1833 
was  brought  forward,  those  who  were  connected  with  West  Indian 
property  joined  in  the  passing  of  that  measure:  '  We  professed 
a  belief  that  the  state  of  slavery  was  an  evil  and  a  demoralising 
state,  and  desired  to  be  relieved  from  it ;  we  accepted  a  price  in 


so  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

composition  for  the  loss  which  w;is  expected  to  accrue  ;  and  if, 
after  these  professions  and  that  acceptance,  we  have  endeavoured 
to  prolong  its  existence  and  its  abuses  under  another  appellation, 
no  language  can  adequately  characterize  our  baseness,  and  either 
everlasting  ignominy  must  be  upon  us,  or  you  are  not  justified 
in  carrying  this  motion.'  But  he  utterly  and  confidently  denied 
the  charge,  as  it  affected  the  mass  of  the  planters  and  as  it 
affected  the  mass  of  the  apprentices.  By  the  facts  to  be 
adduced  he  would  stand  or  fall.  '  Oh,  Sir,'  he  continued,  'with 
what  depth  of  desire  have  I  longed  for  this  day !  Sore,  and 
wearied,  and  irritated,  perhaps,  with  the  grossly  exaggerated 
misrepresentations,  and  with  the  utter  calumnies  that  have  been 
in  circulation  without  the  means  of  reply,  how  do  I  rejoice  to 
meet  them  in  free  discussion  before  the  face  of  the  British 
Parliament !  and  I  earnestly  wish  that  I  may  be  enabled  to 
avoid  all  language  and  sentiments  similar  to  those  I  have 
reprobated  in  others.'  He  then  proceeded  to  show  that  the 
character  of  the  planters  was  ac  stake.  They  were  attacked 
both  on  moral  and  pecuniary  grounds.  The  apprenticeship — as 
Lord  Stanley  distinctly  stated  when  he  introduced  the  measure 
—was  a  part  of  the  compensation.  Negro  labour  had  a 
marketable  value,  and  it  would  be  unjust  to  those  who  had  the 
right  in  it  to  deprive  them  of  it.  Besides,  the  House  had 
assented  to  this  right  as  far  as  the  year  1840,  and  was  morally 
bound  to  fulfil  its  compact.  The  committee  presided  over  by 
Mr.  Buxton  had  reported  against  the  necessity  for  this  change. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  with  great  fulness  of  detail,  next  examined  the 
relations  between  the  planters  and  the  negroes,  and  with  regard 
to  the  cases  of  alleged  cruelty,  he  showed  that  they  had  been 
constantly  and  enormously  on  the  decrease  since  the  period  of 
abolition.  He  strongly  deprecated  all  such  appeals  as  were 
made  to  individual  instances  and  exaggerated  representations, 
and  endeavoured,  by  elaborate  statistics,  to  prove  that  the  abuses 
were  far  from  being  general.  The  use  of  the  lash,  as  a  stimulus 
to  labour,  had  died  a  natural  death  in  British  Guiana.  During 
the  preceding  five  months  only  eleven  corporal  punishments  had 
been  inflicted  in  a  population  of  seven  thousand  persons, 
yielding  an  average  of  seven  hundred  lashes  by  the  year,  and 
these  not  for  neglect  of  work,  but  for  theft.  Towards  the  close 
of  his  speech,  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  effectively  turned  the  tables, 
in  one  sense,  upon  his  opponents  by  a  tu  quoque  argument. 
'Have  you,  who  are  so  exasperated  with  the  West  Indian 
apprenticeship  that  you  will  not  wait  two  years  for  its  natural 
expiration,—  have  you  inquired  what  responsibility  lies  upon 
every  one  of  you,  at  the  moment  when  I  speak,  with  reference 


EAELY    SPEECHES    IN    PARLIAMENT.  5? 

to  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in  America  ?  In  that  country  there 
are  near  three  millions  of  slaves.  You  hear  not  from  that  land 
of  the  abolition — not  even  of  the  mitigation — of  slavery.  It  is 
a  domestic  institution,  and  is  to  pass  without  limit,  we  are  told, 
from  age  to  age  ;  and  we,  much  more  than  they,  are  responsible 
for  this  enormous  growth  of  what  purports  to  be  an  eternal 
slavery.  .  .  .  You  consumed  forty-five  millions  of  pounds 
of  cotton  in  1837,  which  proceeded  from  free  labour;  and, 
proceeding  from  slave  labour,  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
millions  of  pounds  !  And  this  while  the  vast  regions  of  India 
afford  the  means  of  obtaining  at  a  cheaper  rate,  and  by  a  slight 
original  outlay  to  facilitate  transport,  all  that  you  can  require. 
If,  Sir,  the  complaints  against  the  general  body  of  the  West 
Indians  had  been  substantiated,  I  should  have  deemed  it  an 
unworthy  artifice  to  attempt  diverting  the  attention  of  the 
House  from  the  question  immediately  at  issue,  by  merely 
proving  that  other  delinquencies  existed  in  other  quarters  ;  but 
feeling  as  I  do  that  those  charges  have  been  overthrown  in 
debate,  I  think  myself  entitled  and  bound  to  show  how 
capricious  are  hon.  gentlemen  in  the  distribution  of  their 
sympathies  among  those  different  objects  which  call  for  their 
application.'  The  speaker  concluded  by  asking  for  justice 
alone,  and  demanded  that  the  Legislature  should  not  be  deaf  to 
that  call.  With  the  influence  of  this  vigorous  defence  of  the 
planters  upon  it,  the  House  went  to  a  division.  Sir  George 
Strickland's  motion  was  lost,  the  numbers  being— Ayes,  215; 
Noes,  269 — majority,  54.  The  Times  newspaper,  on  the 
following  day,  admitted  the  force  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  speech, 
which,  from  an  oratorical  point,  of  view,  was  completely 
successful.  It  also  disposed  of  many  allegations  that  had  been 
made  against  the  planters,  although  it  did  not  remove  the 
grounds  upon  which  the  anti-Slavery  agitation  was  based,  and  by 
which  evils  it  was  justified.  There  were  complaints  of  oppression 
and  exaction  which  could  not  be  denied,  and  the  House  of 
Assembly  in  Jamaica  had  by  no  means  shown  its  readiness  to 
fulfil  that  portion  of  the  compact  of  1833-4  which  devolved 
upon  it,  and  by  which  there  had  been  secured  to  the  West 
Indian  proprietors  a  sum  of  twenty  millions  sterling,  with  an 
allowance  of  six  years'  apprenticeship. 

This  speech  by  Mr.  Gladstone  on  negro  apprenticeship, 
though  delivered  on  the  unpopular  side  of  the  question, 
confessedly  brought  him  into  the  front  rank  of  Parliamentary 
debaters.  Detailed  in  its  facts  and  fervid  in  appeal,  it  was  alike 
successful  as  an  example  of  strong  and  vigorous  argument,  and 
as  an  oratorical  display.  It  will  be  interesting  in  this  place  to 


58  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

turn  for  a  moment  to  a  personal  sketch  of  the  hon.  gentleman, 
written  by  one  who  had  ample  opportunities  for  observing  him, 
as  he  appeared  in  Parliament  during  the  very  session  in  which 
the  above  speech  was  delivered.  '  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  member 
for  Newark,'  says  this  writer,*  '  is  one  of  the  most  rising  young 
men  on  the  Tory  side  of  the  House.  His  party  expect  great 
things  from  him ;  and  certainly,  when  it  is  remembered  that  his 
age  is  only  thirty-five,t  the  success  of  the  Parliamentary  efforts 
he  has  already  made  justifies  their  expectations.  He  is  well 
informed  on  most  of  the  subjects  which  usually  occupy  the 
attention  of  the  Legislature ;  and  he  is  happy  in  turning  his 
information  to  good  account.  He  is  ready  on  all  occasions  which 
he  deems  fitting  ones  with  a  speech  in  favour  of  the  policy 
advocated  by  the  party  with  whom  he  acts.  His  extempore 
resources  are  ample.  Few  men  in  the  House  can  improvise 
better.  It  does  not  appear  to  cost  him  an  effort  to  speak.'  But 
by  way  of  showing  how  dangerous  it  is  to  assume  the  role  of 
political  prophet,  here  is  a  passage  from  the  same  pen,  which  is 
both  somewhat  diverting  and  rather  contradictory  in  spirit  to 
that  which  has  gone  before  : — *  He  is  a  man  of  very  considerable 
talent,  but  has  nothing  approaching  to  genius.  His  abilities  are 
much  more  the  result  of  an  excellent  education  and  of  mature 
study  than  of  any  prodigality  of  nature  in  the  distribution  of 
her  mental  gifts.  /  have  no  idea  that  he  will  ever  acquire  the 
reputation  of  a  great  statesman.  His  views  are  not  suffi- 
ciently prof  ound  or  enlarged  for  that;  his  celebrity  in  the 
House  of  Commons  will  chiefly  depend  on  his  readiness  and 
dexterity  as  a  debater,  in  conjunction  wilh  the  excellence  of 
his  elocution,  and  the  gracefulness  of  his  manner  when 
speaking.''  What  remains  to  be  said  now,  with  regard  to  the 
words  we  have  placed  in  italics,  and  bearing  in  mind  Mr. 
Gladstone's  financial  policy,  and  his  Irish  and  other  legislation  ? 
Yet  be  it  remembered  that  it  is  the  destiny  of  many  critics  to 
propound  their  theories,  and  afterwards  to  retract  them,  or  live 
to  find  them  falsified.  On  the  question  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  style 
the  same  author  remarks : — '  His  style  is  polished,  but  has  no 
appearance  of  the  effect  of  previous  preparation.  He  displays 
considerable  acuteness  in  replying  to  an  opponent ;  he  is  quick 
in  his  perception  of  anything  vulnerable  in  the  speech 
to  which  he  replies,  and  happy  in  laying  the  weak  point  bare  to 
the  gaze  of  the  House.  He  now  and  then  indulges  in  sarcasm, 
which  is,  in  most  cases,  very  felicitous.  He  is  plausible  even 

*  The  British  Senate  in  1838.     By  the  Author  of  The  Great  Metropof.it,  &c. 
t  Another  mistake  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  age.    He  was  only  twenty-nine  at  tliis 
time. 


EAELY    SPEECHES    IN    PAELIAMENT.  59 

when  most  in  error.  When  it  suits  himself  or  his  party,  he  can 
apply  himself  with  the  strictest  closeness  to  the  real  point  at 
issue ;  when  to  evade  the  point  is  deemed  most  politic,  no  man 
can  wander  from  it  more  widely.'  Mr.  Gladstone's  talent  for 
amplification  has  doubtless  led  the  writer  in  this  last  phrase  to 
do  him  an  injustice.  That  which  seemed  to  him  an  evasion  of 
the  question  was  possibly  capable  of  another  explanation,  and 
certainly  that  which  is  merely  a  politic  course  of  action  has  never 
been  allowed  to  sway  Mr.  Gladstone  throughout  his  long  public 
life.  He  has  frequently  acted  upon  impulse — the  irresistible 
impulse  of  his  own  convictions.  Whether  these  impulses — 
generous  and  sincere  as  they  have  ever  been — have  invariably 
also  been  in  accord  with  true  political  and  social  progress  is  a 
question  which  has  always  divided,  and  will  probably  continue  to 
divide,  public  opinion  in  this  country. 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  our  subject,  we  will  append,  from 
the  writer  whose  sketches  we  have  just  drawn  upon,  the  follow- 
ing personal  details  respecting  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  oratory  at 
this  early  stage  of  his  Parliamentary  career : — 

'  Mr.  Gladstone's  appearance  and  manners  are  much  in  his  favour.  He  is  a  fine 
looking  man.  He  is  about  the  usual  height,  and  of  good  figure.  His  countenance 
is  mild  and  pleasant,  and  has  a  highly  intellectual  expression.  His  eyes  are  clear 
and  quick.  His  eyebrows  are  dark  and  rather  prominent.  There  is  not  a  dandy 
in  the  House  but  envies  what  Truefit  would  call  his  "fine  head  of  jet-black  hair." 
It  is  always  carefully  parted  from  the  crown  downwards  to  his  brow,  where  it  is 
tastefully  shaded.  His  features  are  small  (?)  and  regular,  and  his  complexion  must 
be  a  very  unworthy  witness  if  he  does  not  possess  an  abundant  stock  of  health. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  gesture  is  varied,  but  not  violent.  When  he  rises  he  generally 
puts  both  his  hands  behind  his  back  ;  and  having  there  suffered  them  to  embrace 
each  other  for  a  short  time,  he  unclasps  them,  and  allows  them  to  drop  on  either 
side.  They  are  not  permitted  to  remain  long  in  that  locality  before  you  see  them 
again  closed  together  and  hanging  down  before  him.  Their  re-union  is  not  suffered 
to  last  for  any  length  of  time.  Again  a  separation  takes  place,  and  now  the  right 
hand  is  seen  moving  up  and  down  before  him.  Having  thus  exercised  it  a  little, 
he  thrusts  it  into  the  pocket  of  his  coat,  and  then  orders  the  left  hand  to  follow  its 
example.  Having  granted  them  a  momentary  repose  there,  they  are  again  put  into 
irentle  motion  ;  and  in  a  few  seconds  they  are  seen  reposing  vis-a-vis  on  his  breast. 
Ho  moves  his  face  and  body  from  one  direction  to  another,  not  forgetting  to  bestow 
a  liberal  share  of  his  attention  on  his  own  parly.  Ho  is  always  listened  to  with  much 
attention  by  the  House,  and  appears  to  be  highly  respected  by  men  of  all  parties. 
He  is  a  man  of  good  business  habits  ;  of  this  he  furnished  abundant  proof  when 
Under-Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  during  the  short-lived  administration  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel.' 

In  the  year  1839  Mr.  Gladstone  upon  two  occasions  addressed 
the  House  on  a  topic  collateral  with  that  of  slavery.  He  strongly 
opposed  the  Jamaica  Government  Bill,  for  the  suspension  of  the 
Constitution,  introduced  by  Sir  S.  Lushington,  characterizing  it 
as  inconsistent  and  inexpedient,  inasmuch  as  it  would  perpetuate 
the  disunion  which  existed  between  the  different  classes  of  the 
community.  He  asserted  that  it  would  •undermine  the  confidence 


60  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

of  our  colonial  fellow-subjects  throughout  the  whole  circle  of  our 
colonial  possessions. 

The  question  of  National  Education  being  introduced  by 
Ministers  in  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  14th  of  June,  1839, 
Lord  Stanley  delivered  a  powerful  speech  against  the  proposals 
of  the  Government,  and  concluded  by  moving  an  amendment  to 
the  effect,  '  That  an  address  be  presented  to  her  Majesty  to 
rescind  the  order  in  council  for  constituting  the  proposed  Board 
of  Privy  Council.'  Lord  Morpeth  defended  the  Government 
proposition  While  his  lordship  held  his  own  views  respecting 
the  doctrines  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  also  respecting  the 
Unitarian  tenets,  he  maintained  that  as  long  as  the  State 
thought  proper  to  employ  Roman  Catholic  sinews,  and  to  finger 
Unitarian  gold,  it  could  not  refuse  to  extend  to  those  by  whom 
it  so  profited  the  blessings  of  education.  After  speeches  by 
Lord  Ashley,  Mr.  Buller,  Mr.  O'Connell,  and  others — in  the 
course  of  which  allusions  were  made  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  work  on 
Church  and  State — the  member  for  Newark  addressed  the 
House.  He  would  not  flinch,  he  said,  from  a  word  he  had 
uttered  or  written  upon  religious  topics ;  he  claimed  the 
privilege  of  contrasting  his  principles  and  trying  their  results  in 
comparison  with  those  professed  by  Lord  John  Russell,  and  oi 
ascertaining  the  effects  of  both  upon  the  institutions  of  the 
country,  so  far  as  they  operated  upon  the  Established  Church  in 
England,  Scotland,  and  in  Ireland.  Turning  upon  Mr. 
O'Connell,  who  had  expressed  a  great  fondness  for  statistics, 
Mr.  Gladstone  said  the  use  he  had  made  of  them  reminded  him 
of  an  observation  of  Mr.  Canning's.  l  He  had  a  great  aversion 
to  hear  of  a  fact  in  debate,  but  what  he  most  distrusted  was  a 
figure.'  He  then  went  on  to  prove  the  inaccuracy  of  the  hon. 
member's  figures.  Replying  to  Lord  Morpeth's  declaration 
concerning  the  duty  of  the  State  to  provide  education  for 
Dissenters  so  long  as  it  fingered  their  gold,  Mr.  Gladstone  said 
that  if  the  State  was  to  be  regarded  as  having  no  other  function 
than  that  of  representing  the  mere  will  of  the  people  as  to 
religious  tenets,  he  admitted  the  truth  of  his  principle,  but  not 
if  they  were  to  hold  that  the  State  was  capable  of  duties,  and 
that  the  State  could  have  a  conscience.  It  was  not  his  habit  to 
revile  religion  in  any  form,  but  he  demanded  what  ground  there 
was  for  confining  the  noble  lord's  reasoning  to  Christianity. 
Referring  to  the  position  held  by  the  Jews  upon  this  Education 
question,  he  read  to  the  House  a  passage  from  a  recent  petition 
as  follows : — *  That  your  petitioners  feel  the  deepest  gratitude 
for  the  expression  of  her  Majesty's  most  gracious  wish  that  the 
youth  of  this  country  should  be  religiously  brought  up,  and  the 


EARLY    SPEECHES    IN    PARLIAMENT.  61 

rights  of  conscience  respected,  while  they  earnestly  hope  that 
the  education  of  the  people,  Jewish  and  Christian,  will  be 
sedulously  connected  with  a  due  regard  to  the  Holy  Scriptures.' 
Mr.  Gladstone  asked  how  was  the  education  of  the  Jewish 
people,  who  considered  the  New  Testament  an  imposture,  to  be 
sedulously  connected  with  a  due  regard  to  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
which  consisted  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Tts lament  ?  To  oblige 
the  Jewish  children  to  read  the  latter  would  be  directly  contrary 
to  the  principles  of  hon.  gentlemen  opposite.  He  would  have 
no  child  forced  to  do  so,  but  he  protested  against  paying  from 
the  money  of  the  State  a  set  of  men  whose  business  would  be  to 
inculcate  erroneous  doctrines.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  debate 
the  Government  carried  their  motion  by  a  very  small  majority. 
Two  years  later  Mr.  Gladstone  again  spoke  on  the  unpopular 
side,  when  he  opposed  the  Jews  Civil  Disabilities  Removal  Bill. 
He  was  on  this  occasion  answered  by  Mr.  (afterwards  Lord) 
Macaulay  in  a  speech  of  great  point  and  force.  The  Bill  was 
carried  in  the  Commons,  but  lost  in  the  Lords. 

In  the  session  of  1840  an  important  debate  on  the  war  with 
China  was  originated  by  Sir  James  Graham,  who  moved  the 
following  resolution :—' That  it  appears  to  this  House,  on 
consideration  of  the  papers  relating  to  China,  presented  by 
command  of  her  Majesty,  that  the  interruption  in  our  com- 
mercial and  friendly  intercourse  with  that  country,  and  the 
hostilities  which  have  since  taken  place,  are  mainly  to  be 
attributed  to  the  want  of  foresight  and  precaution  on  the  part  of 
her  Majesty's  present  advisers,  in  respect  to  our  relations  with 
China,  and  especially  to  their  neglect  to  furnish  the  superinten- 
dent at  Canton  with  powers  and  instructions  calculated  to 
provide  against  the  growing  evils  connected  with  the  contraband 
traffic  in  opium,  and  adapted  to  the  novel  and  difficult 
situation  in  which  the  superintendent  was  placed.'  On  the 
8th  of  April,  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  strongly  in  favour  of 
the  motion  of  his  friend,  Sir  J.  Graham.  If  it  failed  to 
involve  the  Ministry  in  condemnation,  they  would  still  be  called 
upon  to  show  cause  for  their  intention  of  making  war  upon 
China.  Answering  the  speech  of  Mr.  Macaulay  of  the  previous 
evening,  Mr.  Gladstone  said, '  The  right  hon.  gentleman  opposite 
spoke  last  night  in  eloquent  terms  of  the  British  flag  waving  in 
glory  at  Canton,  and  of  the  animating  effects  produced  on  the 
minds  of  our  sailors  by  the  knowledge  that  in  no  country  under 
heaven  was  it  permitted  to  be  insulted.  But  how  comes  it  to 
pass  that  the  sight  of  that  flag  always  raises  the  spirit  of 
Englishmen  ?  It  is  because  it  has  always  been  associated  with 
the  cause  of  justice,  with  opposition  to  oppression,  with  respect  to 


62  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

national  rights,  with  honourable  commercial  enterprise ;  but 
now,  under  the  auspices  of  the  noble  lord,  that  flag  is  hoisted  to 
protect  an  infamous  contraband  traffic,  and  if  it  were  never  to 
be  hoisted  except  as  it  is  now  hoisted  on  the  coast  of  China,  we 
should  recoil  from  its  sight  with  horror,  and  should  never  again 
feel  our  hearts  thrill,  as  they  now  thrill  with  emotion,  when  it 
floats  proudly  and  magnificently  on  the  breeze.'  Notwithstand- 
ing the  eloquence  arrayed  against  them,  Ministers  obtained  a 
bare  majority  upon  the  proposed  vote  of  censure,  the  numbers 
being — For  Sir  J.  Graham's  motion,  262  ;  against,  271. 

The  Whig  Government,  however,  which  for  some  time  back  had 
been  growing  very  unpopular,  was  doomed  to  fall  in  the  following 
year.  Many  causes  had  combined  to  render  the  Ministry 
obnoxious  to  the  country.  They  had  disappointed  both  their 
English  Dissenting  supporters  and  their  Irish  allies  ;  and  when 
the  session  of  1841  opened,  their  overthrow  was  felt  to  be 
imminent.  In  financial  matters,  their  policy  had  proved 
a  complete  failure,  and  had  grievously  disappointed  the 
nation.  The  deficit  in  the  revenue  this  year  amounted  to 
no  less  a  sum  than  two  millions  and  a  half.  On  all  sides 
it  was  felt  that  the  government  of  the  country  must  be  com- 
mitted to  stronger  hands.  Accordingly,  on  the  27th  of  May, 
Sir  Robert  Peel  proposed  in  the  Lower  House  a  resolution  to  the 
effect  that  her  Majesty's  Government  did  not  sufficiently  possess 
the  confidence  of  the  House  of  Commons  to  enable  them  to  carry 
through  the  House  measures  which  they  deemed  of  essential 
importance  to  the  public  welfare  ;  and  that  their  continuance  in 
office  under  such  circumstances  was  at  variance  with  the  spirit 
of  the  Constitution.  Mr.  Gladstone  did  not  speak  in  this 
debate,  which  extended  over  five  nights.  On  a  division 
Ministers  were  in  a  minority  of  one.  For  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
motion  there  appeared  312  ;  against,  311.  On  the  7th  of  June, 
Lord  John  Russell  announced  that  the  Ministry  would  at  once 
dissolve  Parliament,  and  appeal  to  the  country.  Parliament 
was  accordingly  prorogued  on  the  22nd,  and  the  country  was 
speedily  in  the  turmoil  of  a  general  election.  The  results  of  the 
new  elections  were  known  by  the  end  of  July,  when  it  was  found 
that  Ministers  had  been  defeated,  and  that  with  greater  loss  than 
even  the  Tories  themselves  had  anticipated.  Of  the  new  members 
returned  the  Tories  had  a  great  majority.  The  Liberal  seats 
gained  by  the  Tories  were  seventy-eight  in  number,  while  the 
Tory  seats  gained  by  Liberals  were  only  thirty-eight,  thus 
making  a  difference  of  eighty  votes  on  a  division.  Lord  Milton 
and  Lord  Morpeth  were  defeated  in  West  Yorkshire,  and  Lord 
Howick  in  North  Northumberland.  Mr.  Gladstone  again  stood 


EARLY    SPEECHES   IN   PARLIAMENT.  63 

for  Newark,  where  he  was  returned  at  the  head  of  the  poll,  with 
633  votes.  Lord  John  Manners  became  his  colleague,  with 
630  votes  ;  Mr.  Hobhouse,  the  Whig  candidate,  only  polling  394 
votes. 

Parliament  met  on  the  24th  of  August,  and  Ministers  were 
defeated  in  both  Houses  on  the  Address.  In  the  House  of 
Commons,  at  the  close  of  an  animated  discussion,  the  numbers 
were — For  the  Ministerial  Address,  269 ;  amendment,  360 — 
majority  against  the  Government,  91.  Ministers  now  resigned 
office,  and  on  the  31st  of  the  month  Sir  Kobert  Peel  accepted 
her  Majesty's  commands  to  form  a  Ministry.  Mr.  Gladstone 
received  from  his  leader  the  appointments  of  Vice-President  of 
the  Board  of  Trade  and  Master  of  the  Mint.  In  appearing  on 
the  hustings  at  Newark,  he  said  there  were  two  points  upon 
which  the  British  farmer  might  rely — the  first  being  that 
adequate  protection  would  be  given  to  him,  and  the  second  that 
protection  would  be  given  him  through  the  means  of  the  sliding 
scale.  There  was  no  English  statesman  who  could  foresee  at 
this  period  the  results  of  that  extraordinary  agitation  which,  in 
the  course  of  the  next  five  years,  was  destined  to  secure  the 
abrogation  of  the  Corn  Laws.  Before  this  consummation  arrived, 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  to  demonstrate  that  he  not  only  possessed 
the  arts  of  a  fluent  and  vigorous  Parliamentary  debater,  but 
the  more  solid  qualities  pertaining  to  the  practical  statesman 
and  the  financier. 

We  close  this  division  of  the  present  work  by  certain 
references  to  its  subject  of  a  personal  and  domestic  nature.  In 
the  month  of  July,  183fy,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  marrieo1  to  a  lady 
who  is  almost  as  distinguished  for  her  many  benevolent  and 
social  qualities  as  Mr.  Gladstone  is  in  political  and  public  life. 
The  name  of  Mrs.  Gladstone  is  widely  known  as  that  of  a 
practical  philanthropist,  while  to  Mr.  Gladstone  himself — we 
may,  perhaps,  be  pardoned  for  saying — she  has  ever  been  that 
interested  sharer  in  his  triumphs  and  consoler  in  his  defeats, 
which  the  late  Viscountess  Beaconsfield  was  to  his  Parliamen- 
tary rival.  Mrs.  Gladstone  was  Miss  Catherine  Glynne, 
daughter  of  Sir  Stephen  Eichard  Glynne,  of  Hawarden  Castle, 
Flintshire.  Their  union  has  been  blessed  by  eight  children, 
all  of  whom,  save  one,  still  survive.  Of  the  four  sons,  the  eldest, 
William  Henry,  is  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  second, 
the  Rev.  Stephen  Edward  Gladstone,  is  rector  of  Hawarden. 
The  third  and  fourth  sons  are  named  Henry  lTeville  and 
Herbert  John  Gladstone  respectively.  The  former  pursues  a 
commercial  career.  Mr.  Gladstone's  eldest  daughter,  Anne,  is 
married  to  the  Rev.  E.  C.  Wickham,  M.A.,  head-master  of 


61  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Wellington  College ;  the  second  daughter,  Miss  Catherine  Jessy 
Gladstone,  died  in  1850.  Two  other  daughters  still  survive  in 
addition  to  Mrs.  Wickham,  viz.,  the  Misses  Mary  and  Helen 
Gladstone.  As  Sir  John  Gladstone  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
his  son  William  Ewart  a  member  of  the  same  Senate  with 
himself,  so  Mr.  Gladstone  has  witnessed  his  eldest  son  in  turn 
take  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  member  for  Whitby. 
Mrs.  Gladstone's  sister,  Miss  Mary  Glynne,  became  the  wife  of 
Lord  Lyttelton,  with  whom  Mr.  Gladstone  was  on  terms  of  the 
most  intimate  friendship  until  his  lordship's  untoward  and 
lamented  death 


CHAPTER  V. 

MR.  GLADSTONE  ON  CHURCH  AND  STATE. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  Position  in  the  Controversy — His  Work  on  The  State  in  its  Relations 
with  the  Church — Plan  and  Analysis  of  the  Treatise — A  Defence  of  the  Irish  Church 
— Reasons  for  a  Church  Establishment — Macaulay's  Criticism  upon  the  Work — 
Its  Defects — Article  in  the  Quarterly  Review — Tributeto  the  Author's  Style — Church 
Principles  considered  in  their  Results — Why  the  Work  was  undertaken — Its  Scope 
and  Objects — A  Chapter  of  Autobiography — Causes  of  its  Appearance — The 
Author's  frank  Acknowledgment  of  a  New  Departure — Why  the  Irish  Establish- 
ment could  not  be  maintained — Mr.  Gladstone's  Changes  of  Opinion  variously 
regarded. 

WE  shall  now  endeavour  briefly  to  indicate  Mr.  Gladstone's 
position  in  the  controversy  on  Church  and  State.  To  the 
perception  that  the  status  of  the  Church,  in  its  connection 
with  the  secular  power,  was  about  to  undergo  the  severe  assaults 
of  the  opponents  of  the  Union,  was  due  his  first  published  work, 
The  State  in  its  Relations  with  the  Church.  Preparations  were 
already  being  made  for  attacking  the  national  establishment  of 
religion  :  and  with  all  the  fervour  springing  from  conviction  and 
a  deep-  seated  enthusiasm,  the  member  for  Newark  came  forward 
to  break  a  lance  in  its  defence.  To  the  ability  with  which 
he  did  this,  even  his  opponents  have  testified.  Macaulay, 
in  his  well-known  searching  criticism,  said,  'We  believe 
we  do  him  no  more  than  justice  when  we  say  that  his 
abilities  and  demeanour  have  obtained  for  him  the  respect  and 
good-will  of  all  parties.'  Again,  '  That  a  young  politician  should, 
in  the  intervals  afforded  by  his  Parliamentary  avocations,  have 
constructed  and  propounded,  with  much  study  and  mental  toil, 
an  original  theory  on  a  great  problem  in  politics,  is  a  circum- 
stance which,  abstracted  from  all  consideration  of  the  soundness 
or  unsoundness  of  his  opinions,  must  be  considered  as  highly 
creditable  to  him.  We  certainly  cannot  wish  that  .Mr. 
Gladstone's  doctrines  may  become  fashionable  among  public 
men.  But  we  heartily  wish  that  his  laudable  desire  to  penel  r;it<- 
beneath  the  surface  of  questions,  and  to  arrive,  by  long  and 
intent  meditation,  at  the  knowledge  of  great  general  laws,  were, 
much  more  fashionable  than  we  at  all  expect  it  to  become.' 
Many  of  the  positions  which  Mr.  Gladstone  assumed  in  this 

P 


66  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

work  have  since  been  abandoned  as  untenable ;  but  making 
allowance  for  the  fact  that  these  positions  were  readily  exposed 
to  the  attack  of  the  brilliant  writer  in  the  Edinburgh  Review, 
it  should  still  be  borne  in  mind  that  Macaulay's  destructive 
criticism  owes  much  of  its  force,  not  to  its  inherent  logic,  but  to 
its  clever  demonstration  of  the  fallacies  and  weak  illustrations  of 
the  author. 

The  treatise  is  '  inscribed  to  the  University  of  Oxford  ;  tried 
and  not  found  wanting  through  the  vicissitudes  of  a  thousand 
years ;  in  the  belief  that  she  is  providentially  designed  to  be  a 
fountain  of  blessings,  spiritual,  social,  and  intellectual,  to  this 
and  to  other  countries,  to  the  present  and  future  times  ;  and  in 
the  hope  that  the  temper  of  these  pages  may  be  found  not  alien 
from  her  own.'  *  Three  years  after  the  original  publication  a 
fourth  edition  appeared,  revised  and  considerably  enlarged.  In 
his  preface  to  this  edition  Mr.  Gladstone  gives  the  grounds  upon 
which  he  first  undertook  the  work.  In  the  years  1837  and  1838 
a  very  powerful  feeling  had  been  aroused  amongst  the  English 
people  in  favour  of  the  national  establishment ;  and  as  popular 
feeling  does  not  always  discover  those  forms  most  closely  allied 
with  truth,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  afraid  of  the  contingency  that 
the  affections  thus  called  into  vivid  action  might  content 
themselves  with  a  theory  which  teaches,  indeed,  that  the  State 
should  support  religion,  but  neither  sufficiently  explores  the 
grounds  of  that  proposition  nor  intelligibly  limits  the  religion 
so  to  be  supported ;  and  which  also  seems  relatively  to  assign 
too  great  a  prominence  to  that  kind  of  support  which  taxation 
supplies.  The  author  anticipates  that  such  a  theory  would 
neither  guarantee  purity  of  faith  nor  harmony  nor  permanence 
of  operation.  Disclaiming  all  pretensions  to  an  adequate 
development  of  the  profound  and  comprehensive  question  he  had 
essayed  to  discuss,  Mr.  Gladstone  hoped  to  do  something  to  meet 
the  need  indicated.  As  he  had  himself  discovered  grave  faults 
in  abler  and  earlier  writers  upon  Church  and  State,  he  did  not 
complain  of  the  censure  passed  upon  his  own  work,  but  set  down 
many  of  the  important  misapprehensions  to  which  it  had  given 
rise  to  his  own  account.  Mr.  Gladstone  met  the  prominent 
objection,  that  the  doctrine  of  a  conscience  in  the  nation  or  the 
State  implied  a  tendency  towards  exclusion,  or  even  persecution, 
by  the  following  general  question  : — *  What  political  or  relative 
doctrine  is  there  which  does  not  become  an  absurdity  when 

*  An  interesting  copy  of  the  first  edition  of  this  work,  containing  copious  notes 
by  his  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  will  be  found  in  the  British  Museum. 
The  Duke  appears  from  these  notes  to  have  been  not  only  a  diligent  reader,  but 
»n  interested  critic. 


MB.    GLADSTONE    ON     CHUECH   AND  STATE.  67 

pushed  to  its  extremes  ?  The  taxing  powers  of  the  State,  the 
prerogatives  of  the  Crown  to  dissolve  Parliaments  and  to  create 
peers,  the  right  of  the  House  of  Commons  to  withhold  supplies, 
the  right  of  the  subject,  not  to  civil  franchises  only,  but  even  to 
security  of  person  and  property, — all  these,  the  plain  uncon- 
tested  rules  of  our  Constitution,  become  severally  monstrous  and 
intolerable  when  they  are  regarded  in  a  partial  and  exclusive 
aspect.'  The  opponents  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  theories  of  course 
answered  that  the  taxation  of  the  State  is  equal  upon  all 
persons,  and  has  for  its  object  their  individual,  social,  and 
political  welfare  and  safety  ;  but  that  the  taxation  of  one  man 
for  the  support  of  his  neighbour's  religion  does  not  come  within 
the  limits  of  such  taxation,  and  is,  in  fact,  unjust  and 
inequitable. 

It  appeared  to  the  author  that  in  an  age  which  leant  towards 
a  rigidly  ecclesiastical  organisation  of  the  State,  it  was  wise  and 
laudable  to  plead  warmly  for  the  rights  of  the  individual 
conscience ;  but  in  an  age  which  seemed  inclined  to 
secularise  the  State,  and  ultimately  to  curtail  or  overthrow 
civil  liberty  by  the  subtraction  of  its  religious  guarantees, 
to  declaim  against  intolerance  became  a  secondary  duty,  and  it 
was  infinitely  more  important  and  more  rational  to  plead 
earnestly  for  those  great  ethical  laws  under  which  we  are  socially 
constituted,  and  which  economical  speculations  and  material 
interests  had  threatened  altogether  to  subvert.  While 
acknowledging  still  the  defects  of  his  work  as  a  treatise  upon  a 
portion  of  political  science,  he  objected  to  the  dictum  that  no 
man  should  write  upon  a  subject  of  political  science  until  he 
was  so  completely  master  of  it  as  to  give  it  vice  simplici  a 
perfect  development.  He  added  that  the  spirit  and  intention 
of  the  book,  as  well  as  his  view  of  the  principles  upon  which 
its  whole  argument  was  constructed,  remained  altogether 
unchanged. 

In  his  introductory  chapter,  Mr.  Gladstone  states  his  special 
reasons  for  entertaining  the  subject,  and  briefly  touches  upon 
the  theories  of  Hooker,  Warburton,  Paley,  Burke,  Coleridge, 
Chalmers,  Hobbes,  Bellarmine,  and  others.  He  quotes  the 
Puritan  historian  Neal  to  show  that  a  State  may  give  sufficient 
encouragement  to  a  national  religion  without  invading  the 
liberties  of  dissidents.  The  writer  then  devotes  himself  to  an 
examination  of  the  theory  of  the  connection  between  the 
Church  and  the  State,  treating  first  of  the  duty  of  the  State 
in  respect  to  religion,  and,  secondly,  of  the  inducements  of 
the  State  in  respect  to  religion.  The  third  aspect  of  the 
question  dealt  with  is  the  rvbility  of  the  State  in  respect  to 

F2 


68  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

religion.  Next  we  have  an  elaborate  argument  on  the. 
function  of  the  State  in  the  choice  and  the  defence  of  the 
national  religion,  followed  by  an  examination  of  the  subsisting 
connection  between  the  State  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  the 
Church  of  England  and  Ireland.  The  seventh  chapter  of  the 
work  is  concerned  with  the  Reformation  as  relating  to  the 
doctrine  and  practice  of  private  judgment ;  the  eighth  deals 
with  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  private  judgment  as  it  is 
related  to  the  Union  between  Church  and  State ;  the  ninth 
furnishes  details  of  the  present  administrative  practice  of  the 
State  of  the  United  Kingdom ;  and  the  tenth  and  concluding 
chapter  shows  the  ulterior  tendencies  of  the  movement  towards 
the  dissolution  of  the  connection. 

From  the  opening  chapter  of  the  second  volume  of  this 
treatise— a  chapter  treating  of  the  then  subsisting  connection 
between  the  State  of  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  Church  of 
England  and  Ireland — we  will  quote  a  passage  giving  Mr. 
Gladstone's  view  at  this  period  of  his  life  upon  the  relations  of 
the  Church  as  affecting  Ireland  in  particular.  This  passage  not 
only  affords  a  favourable  specimen  of  the  author's  style,  but  it 
will  serve  as  a  landmark,  indicating  the  changes  that  have 
taken  place  in  his  mind  since  the  time  when  he  thus  eloquently 
expounded  principles  that  have  long  ago  in  part  been  modified, 
and  in  part  abandoned : — 

'  The  Protestant  legislature  of  the  British  Empire  maintains  in  the  possession  of 
the  Church  property  of  Ireland  the  ministers  of  a  creed  professed,  according  to  the 
parliamentary  enumeration  of  1835,  by  one-ninth  of  its  population,  regarded  with 
partial  favour  by  scarcely  another  ninth,  and  disowned  by  the  remaining  seven. 
And  not  only  does  this  anomaly  meet  us  full  in  view,  but  we  have  also  to  consider 
and  digest  the  fact,  that  the  maintenance  of  this  Church  for  near  three  centuries 
in  Ireland  has  been  contemporaneous  with  a  system  of  partial  and  abusive  govern- 
ment, varying  in  degree  of  culpability,  but  rarely,  until  of  later  years  when  we 
have  been  forced  to  look  at  the  subject  and  to  feel  it,  to  be  exempted  in  common 
fairness  from  the  reproach  of  gross  inattention  (to  say  the  very  least)  to  the 
interests  of  a  noble  but  neglected  people. 

But  however  formidable  at  first  sight  these  admissions,  which  I  have  no  desire  to 
narrow  or  to  quality,  may  appear,  they  in  no  way  shake  the  foregoing  arguments. 
They  do  not  change  the  nature  of  truth  and  her  capability  and  destiny  to  benefit 
mankind.  They  do  not  relieve  Government  of  its  responsibility,  if  they  show  that 
that  responsibility  was  once  unfelt  and  unsatisfied.  They  place  the  legislature  of 
this  country  in  the  condition,  as  it  were,  of  one  called  to  do  penance  for  past 
offences;  but  duty  remains  unaltered  and  imperative,  and  abates  nothing  of  her 
demand  on  our  services.  It  is  undoubtedly  competent,  in  a  constitutional  view, 
to  the  Government  of  this  country,  to  continue  the  present  disposition  of  Church 
property  in  Ireland.  It  appears  not  too  much  to  assume  that  our  imperial  legisla- 
ture has  been  qualified  to  take,  and  has  taken  in  point  of  fact,  a  sounder  view 
of  religious  truth  than  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Ireland,  in  their  destitute  and 
uninstmcted  state.  We  believe,  accordingly,  that  that  which  we  place  before 
them  is,  whether  they  know  it  or  not,  calculated  to  be  beneficial  to  them ;  and 
that  if  they  know  it  not  now,  they  will  know  it  when  it  is  presented  to  them 
fairly.  Shall  we,  then,  purchase  tlieir  applause  at  the  expense  of  thejr  substantial, 
nav,  their  spiritual  interests? 

It  does,  i  ideed,  so  happen  that  there  are  also  powerful  motives  on  the  other 


MR.    GLADSTONE    ON    CHURCH    AND    STATE.  C9 

side  concurring  with  that  which  has  here  been  represented  as  paramount.  In  the 
first  instance  we  are  not  called  upon  to  establish  a  creed,  but  only  to  maintain  an 
existing  legal  settlement,  where  our  constitutional  right  is  undoubted.  In  the 
second,  political  considerations  tend  strongly  to  recommend  that  maintenance.  A 
common  form  of  faith  binds  the  Irish  Protestants  to  ourselves,  while  they,  upon 
the  other  hand,  are  fast  linked  to  Ireland  ;  and  thus  they  supply  the  most  natural 
bond  of  connection  between  the  countries.  But  if  England,  by  overthrowing  their 
Church,  should  weaken  their  moral  position,  they  would  be  no  longer  able,  perhaps 
no  longer  willing,  to  counteract  the  desires  of  the  majority  tending,  under  the 
direction  of  their  leaders  (however,  by  a  wise  policy,  revocable  from  that  fatal 
course),  to  what  is  termed  -national  independence.  "Pride  and  fear,  on  the  one 
hand,  are  therefore  bearing  up  against  more  immediate  apprehension  and  difficulty 
on  the  other.  And  with  some  men  these  may  be  the  fundamental  considerations ; 
but  it  may  be  doubted  whether  such  men  will  not  flinch  in  some  stage  of  the 
contest,  should  its  aspect  at  any  moment  become  unfavourable.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  thus  summarises  his  chief  reasons  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  Church  Establishment : — *  Because  the 
Government  stands  with  us  in  a  paternal  relation  to  the  people, 
arid  is  bound  in  all  things  to  consider  not  merely  their  existing 
tastes,  but  the  capabilities  and  ways  of  their  improvement ; 
because  it  has  both  an  intrinsic  competency  and  external  means 
to  amend  and  assist  their  choice ;  because  to  be  in  accordance 
with  God's  mind  and  will  it  must  have  a  religion,  and  because 
to  be  in  accordance  with  its  conscience  that  religion  must  be 
the  truth,  as  held  by  it  under  the  most  solemn  and  accumulated 
responsibilities ;  because  this  is  the  only  sanctifying  and 
preserving  principle  of  society,  as  well  as  to  the  individual  that 
particular  benefit  without  which  all  others  are  worse  than 
valueless  ;  we  must  disregard  the  din  of  political  contention,  and 
the  pressure  of  worldly  and  momentary  motives,  and  in  behalf 
of  our  regard  to  man,  as  well  as  of  our  allegiance  to  God, 
maintain  among  ourselves,  where  happily  it  still  exists,  the 
union  between  the  Church  and  the  State.' 

Macaulay  observed  that  Mr.  Gladstone's  whole  theory  in  this 
work  rested  upon  one  great  fundamental  proposition,  viz.,  that 
the  propagation  of  religious  truth  is  one  of  the  chief  ends  of 
government,  as  government  ;  and  he  proceeded  to  combat  this 
theory.  Admitting  that  government  was  designed  to  protect 
our  persons  and  our  property,  the  critic  declined  to  receive  the 
doctrine  of  paternal  government,  until  some  such  government 
should  be  shown  as  loved  its  subjects  as  a  father  loves  his  child, 
and  was  as  superior  in  intelligence  to  its  subjects  as  a  father 
was  to  his  child.  Macaulay  then  demonstrated,  by  happy 
illustrations,  the  fallacy  of  the  doctrine  that  every  association  of 
human  beings  which  exercises  any  power  whatever  is  bound, 
as  such  an  association,  to  profess  a  religion.  Further,  there 
could  be  unity  of  action  in  large  bodies  without  unity  of 
religious  views.  Persecutions  would  naturally  follow,  or  be 
justifiable,  in  a  society  where  Mr.  Gladstone's  views  were 


70  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

paramount.  No  circumstances  could  be  conceived  in  which  it 
would  be  proper  to  establish,  as  the  one  exclusive  religion  of 
the  State,  the  religion  of  the  minority.  The  religious  instruc- 
tion which  the  ruler  ought,  in  his  public  capacity,  to  patronise, 
is  the  instruction  from  which  he,  in  his  conscience,  believes 
that  the  people  will  learn  the  most  good  with  the  smallest 
mixture  of  evil.  It  is  not  necessarily  his  own  religion  that  he 
will  select.  He  may  prefer  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of 
England  to  those  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  but  he  would  not 
force  the  former  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Scotland.  .  These  were 
the  objections  raised  by  Macaulay,  though  he  goes  on  to  state  the 
conditions  under  which  an  established  Church  might  be  retained 
with  advantage.  There  are  many  institutions  which,  being  set 
up,  ought  not  to  be  rudely  pulled  down. 

In  addition  to  the  adverse  comments  it  elicited  from  eminent 
Dissenters,  the  dissertation  was  dealt  with  by  the  Quarterly 
Review  from  yet  another  stand-point.  Here,  the  writer 
remarked  that  as  a  necessary  consequence  of  a  profounder 
philosophy  than  that  of  Coleridge  and  similar  thinkers, 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  taken  far  higher  grounds  in  his  argument 
than  had  been  occupied  by  the  defenders  of  the  Church 
for  many  years.  *  He  has  seen  through  the  weakness  and 
fallacy  of  the  line  of  reasoning  pursued  by  Warburton  and 
Paley.  And  he  has  most  wisely  abandoned  the  argument 
from  expediency,  which  offers  little  more  than  an  easy  weapon 
to  fence  with,  while  no  real  danger  is  apprehended  ;  and  has 
insisted  chiefly  on  the  claims  of  duty  and  truth — the  only 
consideration  which  can  animate  and  support  men  in  a  real 
struggle  against  false  principles.'  The  reviewer,  nevertheless, 
manifested  considerable  divergence  from  some  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
theories,  and  he  observed  that  a  popular  Government  cannot  long 
maintain  a  religion  which  is  opposed  to  the  feelings  of  the 
nation.  If  the  people  of  this  country  combined  to  attack  the 
Church,  the  King,  Lords,  and  Commons  would  be  compelled  to 
abandon  it.  Mr.  Gladstone  supported  this  view  when,  thirty 
years  later,  he  disestablished  the  Irish  Church.  The  Quarterly 
reviewer  proceeded  to  argue  that  morality  in  a  State  cannot  be 
established  without  religion,  that  religion  should  be  the  object  of 
Government,  and  that  to  preserve  the  Church  with  the  State,  the 
great  body  of  the  nation  must  be  brought  back  to  it. 

Commenting  upon  the  style  in  which  Mr.  Gladstone's  first 
work  was  written,  the  same  writer  eulogised  its  singular  vigour, 
depth  of  thought,  and  eloquence.  Mr.  Gladstone  '  is  evidently 
not  an  ordinary  character ;  though  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  many 
others  are  now  forming  themselves  in  the  same  school  with  him, 


ME.    GLADSTONE    ON    CHURCH    AND    STATE.  71 

to  act  hereafter  upon  the  same  principles.  And  the  highest 
compliment  which  we  can  pay  him  is  to  show  that  we  believe 
him  to  be  what  a  statesman  and  philosopher  should  be — 
indifferent  to  his  own  reputation  for  talents,  and  only  anxious 
for  truth  and  right.'  Lord  Macaulay  observed  upon  the  same 
question  of  style,  '  Mr.  Gladstone  seems  to  us  to  be,  in  many 
respects,  exceedingly  well  qualified  for  philosophical  investigation. 
His  mind  is  of  large  grasp  ;  nor  is  he  deficient  in  dialectical 
skill.  But  he  does  not  give  his  intellect  fair  play.  There  is  no 
want  of  light,  but  a  great  want  of  what  Bacon  would  have  called 
dry  light.  Whatever  Mr.  Gladstone  sees  is  refracted  and  dis- 
torted by  a  false  medium  of  passions  and  prejudices.  His  style 
bears  a  remarkable  analogy  to  his  mode  of  thinking,  and  indeed 
exercises  great  influence  on  his  mode  of  thinking.  His  rhetoric, 
though  often  good  of  its  kind,  darkens  and  perplexes  the  logic 
which  it  should  illustrate.  Half  his  acuteness  and  diligence,  with 
a  barren  imagination  and  a  scanty  vocabulary,  would  have  saved 
him  from  almost  all  his  mistakes.  He  has  one  gift  most  danger- 
ous to  a  speculator — a  vast  command  of  a  kind  of  language, 
grave  and  majestic,  but  of  vague  and  uncertain  import, — of  a 
kind  of  language  which  affects  us  much  in  the  same  way  in 
which  the  lofty  diction  of  the  Chorus  of  Clouds  affected  the 
simple-hearted  Athenian.'  It  is  a  dangerous  and  transparent 
haze,  the  critic  complains,  like  that  through  which  the  sailor 
sees  capes  and  mountains  of  false  sizes,  and  in  false  bearings — 
more  perilous  than  utter  darkness.  Mr.  Gladstone  had  of 
course  the  faults  of  rhetoric  and  of  argument  almost  inseparable 
from  youth,  but  this  vigorous  denunciation  of  his  style  by  Lord 
Macaulay,  accurate  as  it  is  in  many  respects,  probably  owed 
some  of  its  point  to  the  critic's  antipathy  to  his  theories.  As 
regards  the  theories  themselves,  it  is  not  within  our  province, 
nor  is  it  our  purpose,  to  defend  them.  Their  propounder,  as  we 
shall  presently  see,  has  himself  in  large  measure  abandoned 
them. 

In  1840  Mr.  Gladstone  followed  up  his  defence  of  the  union 
of  Church  and  State,  by  the  publication  of  another  work  on  a 
subject  nearly  related  thereto,  entitled  Church  Principles 
Considered  in  their  Results.  This  was  written  '  beneath  the 
shades  of  Hagley,'  and  dedicated  '  in  token  of  sincere  affection ' 
to  the  author's  life-long  friend  and  relative,  Lord  Lyttelton.  In 
a  preliminary  chapter  Mr.  Gladstone  points  out  that  periods  of 
reaction  and  variation  may  be  expected  in  religion,  compatibly 
with  the  permanence  of  the  Faith.  The  Church  was  at  that 
moment  going  through  a  period  of  transition,  the  old  forms 
battling  with  the  new.  Indicating  the  course  of  procedure  in 


72  WILLIAM    EWAKT    GLADSTONE. 

his  new  treatise,  he  says  that  he  shall  attempt,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  present  a  familiar  or  partial  representation  of  the 
moral  characteristics  and  effects  of  those  doctrines  which  are 
now  perhaps  more  than  ever  felt  in  the  English  Church  to  be 
full  of  intrinsic  value,  and  which  likewise  appear  to  have  much 
special  adaptation  to  the  circumstances  of  the  time.  These 
characteristics  he  defines  more  particularly  to  be  (leaving  out 
points  for  the  most  part  minor)  the  doctrine  of  the  visibility  of 
the  Church,  of  the  apostolical  succession  in  the  ministry,  of  the 
authority  of  the  Church  in  matters  of  faith,  of  the  things 
signified  in  the  sacraments.  Having  dealt  with  the  right  of 
private  judgment  in  his  previous  work,  he  should  forbear  from 
re-opening  that  topic.  Before  coming  to  his  real  subject-matter, 
however,  Mr.  Gladstone  devotes  a  chapter  to  Rationalism, 
endeavouring  to  define  the  proper  work  of  the  understanding, 
and  also  indicating  the  limits  of  its  province.  This  the  writer 
understands  to  be  the  true  view  of  Rationalism,  '  That 
Rationalism  is  generally  taken  to  be  a  reference  of  Christian 
doctrine  to  the  human  understanding  as  its  measure  and 
criterion.  That,  in  truth,  it  means  a  reference  of  the  Gospel 
to  the  depraved  standard  of  the  actual  human  nature,  and  by  no 
means  to  its  understanding,  properly  so  called,  which  is  an 
instrumental  faculty,  and  reasons  and  concludes  upon  the  Gospel 
according  to  the  mode  in  which  our  affections  are  disposed 
towards  it.  That  the  understanding  is  incompetent  to  deter- 
mine the  state  of  the  affections,  but  is,  on  the  contrary, 
governed  by  them  in  respect  to  the  elementary  ideas  of  religion. 
That,  therefore,  to  rely  upon  the  understanding,  misinformed 
as  it  is  by  depraved  affections,  as  our  adequate  instr actor  in 
matters  of  religion,  is  most  highly  i  -rational.  That,  without  any 
prejudice  to  these  conclusions,  the  understanding  has  a  great 
function  in  religion,  and  is  a  medium,  of  access  to  the  affections, 
and  may  even  correct  their  particular  impulses.' 

He  then  proceeds  to  treat  of  the  Church,  the  sacraments,  the 
apostolical  succession,  the  specific  claim  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  Church  principles  in  relation  to  existing  circumstances. 
With  regard  to  the  reconversion  of  England  to  Rome — earnestly 
desired  by  some — Mr.  Gladstone  asks, '  England,  which  with  ill 
grace,  and  ceaseless  efforts  at  remonstrance,  endured  the  yoke 
when  Rome  was  in  her  zenith,  and  when  the  powers  of  thought 
were  but  here  and  there  evoked — will  the  same  England,  afraid 
of  the  truth  which  she  has  vindicated,  or  even  with  the  licence 
which  has  mingled  like  a  weed  with  its  growth,  recur  to  that 
system  in  its  decrepitude  which  she  repudiated  in  its  vigour  ? '  If 
the  Church  of  England  should  be  worsted,  she  will  be  worsted 


ME.   GLADSTONE    ON    CHUECH    AND    STATE.  73 

not  by  an  undistinguishing  repentance,  and  a  precipitate  self- 
submission,  a  burrying  back  to  Romanism,  *  but  by  that  principle 
of  religious  insubordination  and  self-dependence  which,  if  it  refuse 
her  tempered  rule  and  succeed  in  its  overthrow,  will  much  more 
surely  refuse,  and  much  more  easily  succeed  in  resisting,  the 
unequivocally  arbitrary  impositions  of  the  Roman  scheme.'  Here 
we  have  the  key-note  of  many  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  utterances  in  later 
years  upon  the  subject  of  Rome,  her  pretensions  and  aspirations. 
Though  frequently  charged  with  drifting  towards  the  Romish 
Church,  that  Church  has  had  in  some  respects  no  more  persistent 
and  consistent  opponent.  In  this  matter,  he  held  precisely  the 
same  opinions  in  1840  and  1870.  It  must  be  admitted,  however, 
coming  now  to  another  question,  that  the  surprise  evinced  by 
English  Protestants  was  but  natural,  when  one  who  took  so  high 
a  view  of  the  duties  and  privileges  of  the  Established  Church 
became,  a  generation  later,  an  advocate  for  the  disestablishment 
of  the  Irish  branch  of  that  Church.  That  surprise  would 
probably  have  been  less  had  not  Mr.  Gladstone  written  with  such 
eloquence  and  ability  upon  the  duty  of  maintaining  the  Church 
in  Ireland  as  by  law  established,  for  the  benefit  alike  of  those 
who  belonged  and  those  who  did  not  belong  to  her  communion. 
Mr.  Grladstone  himself  felt  that  some  explanation  was  due  of  the 
circumstances  which  led  the  author  of  The  State  in  its  Relations 
with  the  Church  to  become  the  destroyer  of  the  State  fabric  of 
the  Irish  Church.  He  accordingly  published,  in  1868,  A 
Chapter  of  Autobiography.  This  treatise  must  be  read  together 
with,  and  by  the  light  of,  his  early  ecclesiastical  writings.  By 
this  means  the  great  transition  which  must  have  been  wrought 
in  the  author's  mind  will  not  seem  so  strange  and  harsh.  It  should 
be  remembered,  moreover,  that  the  value  of  certain  principles 
may,  under  given  circumstances,  prove  evanescent.  They  are  not 
eternally  and  immutably  applicable.  Founded  upon,  and  deriving 
their  force  from,  existing  conditions  of  society,  when  those 
conditions  radically  change  they  necessarily  become  effete. 

Some  reference  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  apology  for,  and  defence  of, 
his  later  conduct  in  connection  with  the  Church  in  Ireland  will 
most  fitly  come  in  at  this  point.  His  treatise  appeared  with  the 
following  introduction : — '  At  a  time  when  the  Established  Church 
of  Ireland  is  on  her  trial  it  is  not  unfair  that  her  assailants 
should  be  placed  upon  their  trial  too  ;  most  of  all,  if  they  have 
at  one  time  been  her  sanguine  defenders.  But  if  not,  the  matter 
of  the  indictment  against  them,  at  any  rate  that  of  their  defence, 
should  be  kept  apart,  as  far  as  they  are  concerned,  from  the 
public  controversy,  that  it  may  not  darken  or  perplex  the  greater 
issue.  It  is  in  the  character  of  the  author  of  a  book  called  The 


74  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

State  in  its  Relations  with  the  Church  that  I  offer  these  pages 
-to  those  who  may  feel  a  disposition  to  examine  them.  They 
were  written  at  the  date  attached  to  them  ;  but  their  publication 
has  been  delayed  until  after  the  stress  of  the  general  election.' 
The  author's  motives  in  putting  forth  this  chapter  of  autobio- 
graphy were  two.  First,  there  was  l  the  great  and  glaring  change ' 
in  his  course  of  action  with  respect  to  the  Established  Church 
of  Ireland,  which  was  not  due  to  the  eccentricity  or  perversion 
of  an  individual  mind,  but  to  the  silent  changes  going  on  at  the 
very  basis  of  modern  society.  Secondly,  there  was  danger  that 
a  great  cause  then  in  progress  might  suffer  in  point  of  credit,  if 
not  of  energy  and  rapidity,  from  the  real  or  supposed  delin- 
quencies of  the  author. 

After  citing  instances  in  the  present  century  of  what  was 
called  political  inconsistency  on  the  part  of  eminent  statesmen, 
Mr.  Gladstone  claims  that  we  are  not  at  once  to  jump  to  the 
conclusion  that  public  character  has  been,  as  a  rule,  either  less 
upright  or  less  vigorous.  He  then  proceeds  to  say  that  the  book 
which  was  so  brilliantly,  if  not  quite  fairly,  assailed  by  Lord 
Macaulay  was  supposed  to  have  for  its  distinctive  principle  that 
the  State  had  a  conscience.  But  the  controversy  really  lay  not 
in  the  existence  of  a  conscience  in  the  State,  so  much  as  in  the 
extent  of  its  range.  '  The  work  attempted  to  survey  the  actual 
state  of  the  relations  between  the  State  and  the  Church ;  to  show 
from  history  the  ground  which  had  been  defined  for  the  National 
Church  at  the  Reformation  ;  and  to  inquire  and  determine 
whether  the  existing  state  of  things  was  worth  preserving  and 
defending  against  encroachment  from  whatever  quarter.  This 
question  it  decided  emphatically  in  the  affirmative.'  Lord 
Macaulay  had  added  to  the  main  proposition  of  the  work 
another,  to  the  effect  that  it  conten  plated  not  indeed  persecu- 
tion, but  yet  the  retrogressive  process  of  disabling  and 
disqualifying  from  civil  office  all  those  who  did  not  adhere  to 
the  religion  of  the  State.  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  to  his  hostile 
critic  disclaiming  such  a  conclusion.  He  had  never  expressed 
himself  to  the  effect  either  that  the  Test  Act  should  be  repealed, 
or  that  it  should  never  have  been  passed.  The  author  had  upheld 
the  doctrine  that  the  Church  was  to  be  maintained  for  its 
truth,  and  that  if  the  principle  was  good  for  England,  it  was 
good  also  for  Ireland.  But  he  denied  that  he  had  ever  pro- 
pounded the  maxim  simpliciter  that  we  were  to  maintain  the 
Establishment.  He  admitted  that  his  opinion  of  the  Church  of 
Ireland  was  the  exact  opposite  of  what  it  had  been  ;  but  if  the 
propositions  of  his  work  were  in  conflict  with  an  assault  upon  the 
existence  of  the  Irish  Establishment,  they  were  even  more  hostile 


ME.    GLADSTONE    ON    CHURCH   AND    STATE.  75 

to  the  grounds  upon  which  it  was  now  sought  to  maintain  it. 
He  did  not  wish  to  maintain  the  Church  upon  the  basis  usually 
advanced,  but  for  the  benefit,  of  the  whole  people  of  Ireland ; 
and  if  it  could  not  be  maintained  as  the  truth,  it  could  not  be 
maintained  at  all. 

Mr.  Gladstone  then  admits  and  enlarges  upon  the  fact  that 
while  it  was  a  duty  to  exhaust  every  chance  on  behalf  of  the 
Irish  Church,  it  had  fallen  out  of  harmony  with  the  spirit  and 
use  of  the  time.  And  establishments  of  religion  must  be  judged 
by  a  practical  rather  than  a  theoretic  test.  In  concluding  his 
Chapter  of  Autobiography r,  the  author  thus  puts  antithetically 
the  case  for  and  against  the  maintenance  of  the  Church  in  Ire- 
land : — *  An  establishment  that  does  its  work  in  much,  and  has 
the  hope  and  likelihood  of  doing  it  in  more  :  an  establishment 
that  has  a  broad  and  living  way  open  to  it,  into  the  hearts  of  the 
people  :  an  establishment  that  can  command  the  services  of  the 
present  by  the  recollections  and  traditions  of  a  far-reaching 
past :  an  establishment  able  to  appeal  to  the  active  zeal  of  the 
greater  portion  of  the  people,  and  to  the  respect  or  scruples  of 
almost  the  whole,  whose  children  dwell  chiefly  on  her  actual 
living  work  and  service,  and  whose  adversaries,  if  she  has  them, 
are  in  the  main  content  to  believe  that  there  will  be  a  future  for 
them  and  their  opinions :  such  an  establishment  should  surely  be 
maintained.  But  an  establishment  that  neither  does,  nor  has 
her  hope  of  doing,  work,  except  for  a  few,  and  those  few  the 
portion  of  the  community  whose  claim  to  public  aid  is  the 
smallest  of  all :  an  establishment  severed  from  the  mass  of  the 
people  by  an  impassable  gulf,  and  by  a  wall  of  brass :  an  estab- 
lishment whose  good  offices,  could  she  offer  them,  would  be 
intercepted  by  a  long,  unbroken  chain  of  painful  and  shameful 
recollections:  an  establishment  leaning  for  support  upon  the 
extraneous  aid  of  a  State,  which  becomes  discredited  with  the 
people  by  the  very  act  of  lending  it :  such  an  establishment  will 
do  well,  for  its  own  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  its  creed,  to  divest 
itself,  as  soon  as  may  be,  of  gauds  and  trappings,  and  to  com- 
mence a  new  career,  in  which,  renouncing  at  once  the  credit  and 
the  discredit  of  the  civil  sanction,  it  shall  seek  its  strength  from 
within  and  put  a  fearless  trust  in  the  message  that  it  bears.' 

Such  then,  very  briefly,  are  the  arguments  which  led  the 
defender  of  the  Irish  Church  to  become  its  assailant.  That  a 
man  should  change  his  opinions  is  no  reproach  to  him  ;  it  is  only 
inferior  minds  that  are  never  open  to  conviction.  On  Church 
questions,  Mr.  Gladstone  must  always,  and  necessarily,  have  his 
opponents  and  his  apologists.  The  former  will  urge  that,  having 
once  cherished  and  expressed  the  views  which  he  formulated  in 


:tf  WILLIAM    EWABt    GLADSTONE. 

his  early  work  upon  the  Church  and  State,  he  ought  never  to 
have  abandoned  them  :  the  latter  will  welcome  the  change  that 
came  at  an  advanced  stage  in  his  career,  and  recognise  in  it  the 
light  of  a  nobler  conviction.  Both,  we  trust,  without  violence 
to  charity,  may  yield  the  eminent  statesman  credit  for  the 
sincerity  of  his  later  beliefs,  and  the  honesty  of  his  purpose. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A    MEMORABLE    DECADE- 1841-1850. 

Policy  of  Sir  Robert  Peel — New  Sliding  Scale  of  Corn  Duties — Distress  and  Dissatis- 
faction in  the  Country — Corn  Law  Debates — The  Budget  of  1842— The  Revised 
Tariff  Scheme — Largely  the  Work  of  Mr.  Gladstone — Lord  Howick's  Motion  on 
the  Distress  in  the  Manufacturing  Industry — Mr.  Gladstone  becomes  President 
of  the  Board  of  Trade — Abolition  of  the  Restrictions  on  the  Export  of  Machinery 
— Mr.  Gladstone  on  Education — The  Railway  Bill  of  1844—  Religious  Endowments 
of  Dissenters — Mr.  Gladstone's  Resignation  of  Office — The  Maynooth  Question — 
Remarks  upon  recent  Commercial  Legislation — Repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws 
announced — Mr.  Gladstone  accepts  the  Secretaryship  for  the  Colonies — Endorses 
Sir  Robert  Peel's  Corn  Law  Policy — Retires  from  Newark — Mr.  Gladstone  and 
Free  Trade — Sir  Robert  Peel's  Measure  carried — Defeat  of  the  Peel  Government 
—  A  Whig  Ministry — Mr.  Gladstone  returned  for  Oxford  University — Jewish 
Disabilities — 1848 — A  Year  of  Revolution — Financial  Measures  of  the  Government 
— Mr.  Gladstone's  Defence  of  Free  Trade — Diplomatic  Relations  with  Rome— Par- 
liamentary Oaths — Speech  on  the  Navigation  Laws — The  Affairs  of  Canada — 
Colonial  Reforms— Mr.  Gladstone  on  Agricultural  Depression — The  Australian 
Colonies  Government  Bill — Slavery  and  the  Sugar  Duties — State  of  the  Univer- 
sities— Great  Debate  on  the  Foreign  Policy  of  the  Government — The  Affairs  of 
Greece— Remarkable  Speech  by  Mr.  Gladstone — Death  of  Sir  Robert  Peel — 
Disintegration  of  his  Party— Mr.  Gladstone  and  Sir  James  Graham. 

IN  the  brief  sitting  of  Parliament  which  followed  Sir  Kobert 
Peel's  accession  to  office  in  1841,  the  Premier  was  questioned  by 
his  opponents  as  to  his  future  policy.  There  had  been  hitherto 
no  indications  of  this  save  in  the  scattered  utterances  of 
newly-appointed  Ministers  appealing  for  the  confidence  of 
their  constituencies.  Sir  Robert  Peel  naturally  declined  to 
state  the  nature  of  the  msasures  which  he  contemplated 
maturing  in  the  recess,  and  claimed  the  intervening  months 
for  the  purpose  of  constructing  his  political  programme. 
On  his  motion  for  a  Committee  of  Supply  on  the  17th  of 
September,  a  lengthened  debate  ensued  on  the  policy  of  the  past 
as  compared  with  the  new  Government.  An  amendment,  moved 
by  Mr.  Fielden,  to  the  effect  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  House 
to  inquire  into  the  existing  distress  before  voting  supplies,  was 
defeated  by  149  to  41  votes.  Three  weeks  later  Parliament  was 
prorogued  by  Royal  Commission. 

The  follov/ing  session,  however,  was  marked  by  several 
measures  of  a  high  practical  character.  The  condition  of  the 
country  at  this  time  was  lamentable ;  distress  and  discontent  were 


78  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

widely  prevalent,  and  the  difficulties  of  the  Government  were 
enhanced  by  popular  tumults.  On  the  9th  of  February  Sir 
Kobert  Peel  brought  forward  his  new  sliding  scale  of  corn  duties 
in  the  House  of  Commons.  He  proposed  that  a  duty  of  twenty 
shillings  should  be  levied  when  wheat  was  at  fifty-one  shillings 
per  quarter,  to  descend  to  one  shilling  when  the  price  was 
seventy-three,  with  rests  at  intermediate  prices,  intended  to 
diminish  the  possibility  of  tampering  with  the  averages.  Having 
detailed  the  remaining  portions  of  his  plan,  the  Premier  said  he 
considered  the  present  not  an  unfavourable  time  for  discussing 
the  question  of  the  Corn  Laws.  '  There  was  no  great  stock  of 
foreign  growth  on  hand  to  alarm  farmers  ;  the  recess,  notwith- 
standing the  distress,  had  been  marked  by  universal  calm ;  there 
was  no  popular  violence  to  interrupt  legislation  ;  and  there  was 
a  disposition  to  view  any  proposal  for  the  adjustment  of  the 
question  with  calmness  and  moderation.'  The  Minister's  view 
of  the  national  situation  was  not  altogether  in  accordance  with 
the  published  facts,  for  her  Majesty  even,  on  her  appearance  at 
the  London  theatres,  had  been  hooted.  But  Sir  Kobert  Peel's 
opinion  of  what  was  comparative  quietude  was  quicky  and  rudely 
disturbed.  Great  excitement  prevailed  throughout  the  country  ; 
and,  in  order  to  give  effect  to  the  popular  voice,  on  the  14th  of 
February,  on  the  motion  for  the  Speaker  to  leave  the  chair, 
preparatory  to  a  discussion  in  committee  on  the  Corn  Laws, 
Lord  John  Russell  moved  as  an  amendment,  '  That  this  House, 
considering  the  evils  which  have  been  caused  by  the  present  Corn 
Laws,  and  especially  by  the  fluctuation  of  the  graduated  or 
sliding  scale,  is  not  prepared  to  adopt  the  measure  of  her 
Majesty's  Government,  which  is  founded  on  the  same  principles, 
and  is  likely  to  be  attended  by  similar  results.' 

It  fell  to  Mr.  Gladstone  to  lead  the  opposition  to  this  motion. 
He  denied  that  the  proposed  plan  was  founded  on  the  same 
principle  as  the  existing  one,  except,  indeed,  as  both  involved  a 
sliding  scale.  The  existing  law  was  not  chargeable  with  the 
present  mass  of  distress,  which  he  attributed  rather  to  the 
unavoidable  fluctuation  of  the  seasons.  Four  successive  bad 
harvests  must  result  in  producing  high  prices  of  food.  He 
adduced  a  series  of  illustrations  to  show  that  these  unavoidable 
fluctuations  were  not  aggravated  by  the  Corn  Laws,  and 
he  contrasted  the  working  of  Lord  John  Russell's  plan  with 
that  of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  insisting  upon  the  great  superiority  of 
the  latter.  As  to  the  late  drains  of  the  currency,  he  did  not 
believe  that  they  could  have  been  prevented  by  a  fixed  duty ;  they 
must  have  followed  as  the  necessary  consequence  of  bad  harvests, 
whatever  the  rate  of  import  duties  had  been.  A  uniform 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  79 

protection  could  not  be  given  to  corn,  as  it  could  be  to  other 
articles,  because  at  high  prices  of  corn  no  duty  could  be 
maintained  ;  therefore,  at  low  prices,  it  was  just  to  give  a  duty 
which  would  be  an  effectual  protection.  l  Between  the  opposite 
extremes  of  those  who  thought  with  the  Anti-Corn  Law  Conven- 
tion and  those  who  thought  with  the  Agricultural  Association 
of  Boston,  he  believed  that  the  measure  of  Government  was  a 
fair  medium ;  and  that  it  would  give  relief  to  consumers, 
steadiness  to  prices,  an  increase  to  foreign  trade,  and  a  general 
improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  country.*  The  debate 
which  followed  was  characterised  by  vigorous  speeches  from  Mr. 
Koebuck  and  Lord  Palmerston.  Lord  John  Russell's  amendment 
was  negatived  by  a  majority  of  123,  the  numbers  being — For  the 
amendment,  2^6  ;  against,  349.  By  way  of  contradiction  to  Sir 
Robert  Peel's  statement  that  the  country  was  tranquil,  the 
Premier  himself  had  the  honour  of  being  burnt  in  effigy  during 
a  lively  riot  at  Northampton,  and  a  similar  forcible  expression 
of  opinion  occurred  in  other  towns. 

On  the  24th,  Mr.  Villiers — to  whose  unselfish  and  untiring 
efforts  on  behalf  of  Free  Trade  too  warm  a  tribute  cannot  be 
paid — brought  forward  a  motion  for  the  immediate  repeal  of 
the  Corn  Laws,  but  his  resolution  was  lost  by  the  enormous 
majority  of  303  in  a  House  composed  of  less  than  500  members. 
The  Commons  had  not  yet  begun  to  march  with  the  people  on 
this  great  question.  On  the  llth  of  March  the  Budget  was 
introduced  by  Sir  Robert  Peel.  There  was  a  deficit,  he  said,  of 
£2,750,000 ;  and  the  utmost  limit  of  taxation  upon  articles  of 
consumption  had  been  reached.  He  therefore  proposed  a  tax  on 
incomes,  calculated  to  produce  £3,700,000  ;  the  Irish  equalised 
stamp  and  spirit  duties  would  give  £410.000 ;  and  an  export 
duty  of  four  shillings  on  coal  would  yield  £200,000.  The  sur- 
plus thus  obtained  he  should  apply  to  a  reduction  of  duties  in  a 
revised  tariff.  The  Budget  had  for  its  chief  object  the  taxation  of 
wealth  and  the  relief  of  manufacturing  industry.  The  income-tax, 
calculated  at  7d.  per  pound  on  incomes  of  £150  and  upwards,  was 
to  be  limited  for  three  years,  with  a  possible  extension  to  five  at 
the  discretion  of  the  House.  The  resolutions  upon  the  income-tax 

*  See  the  Annual  Register  for  1842,  and  also  Hansard's  Parliamentary  Debates. 
As  the  author,  in  every  instance,  quotes  only  from  authentic  reports  of  the 
speeches  of  Mr.  Gladstone  and  other  members  of  the  legislature,  he  has  not 
deemed  it  necessary  to  burden  his  pngos  with  foot-notes  giving  the  formal  refer- 
ences to  pages  and  columns.  In  addition  to  the  authorities  above-mentioned,  he 
would  also  acknowledge  the  valuable  aid  lie  has  received  in  regard  to  dates,  facts, 
mid  in  some  instances  public  addresses,  from  Irving's  Annals  of  our  Time, 
Maunder's  Treasury  of  History  (new  edition,  edited  by  the  Rev.  (i.  W.  Cox),  and 
the  daily  journals.  In  every  important  Parliamentary  speech,  however,  he  has 
relied  upon  Hansard. 


80  WlF.LtAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

were  carried  early  in  April  with  very  little  opposition.  Some 
days  later  Lord  John  Russell  was  defeated,  by  a  majority  of  106, 
in  an  attempt  to  overthrow  the  Government  scheme,  and  a  bill 
founded  on  these  fiscal  propositions  was  subsequently  passed. 

The  second  branch  of  the  financial  plan  of  the  Government, 
the  revised  Tariff  or  Customs  Duties  scheme,  was  a  formidable 
undertaking.  Though  brought  into  the  House  by  the  Prime 
Minister,  it  was  understood  to  be  almost  wholly  the  work  of  his 
able  lieutenant,  Mr.  Gladstone.  Out  of  some  1,200  duty-paying 
articles,  a  total  abolition,  or  a  considerable  reduction,  took  place. 
in  no  fewer  than  750  of  such  articles.  Sir  Robert  Peel's  boast, 
that  he  had  endeavoured  to  relieve  manufacturing  industry,  was 
more  than  justified  by  this  great  and  comprehensive  measure. 
He  had  acknowledged,  amidst  loud  cheers  from  the  Opposition, 
that  all  were  agreed  in  the  general  rule  that  we  should  purchase 
in  the  cheapest  market  and  sell  in  the  dearest ;  but  he  added,  'If 
I  proposed  a  greater  change  in  the  Corn  Laws  than  that  which  I 
submit  to  the  consideration  of  the  House,  I  should  only  aggravate 
the  distress  of  the  country,  and  only  increase  the  alarm  which 
prevails  among  important  interests.'  Mr.  Hume,  however,  hailed 
with  joy  the  appearance  of  the  Premier  and  his  colleagues  as 
converts  to  the  principles  of  Free  Trade.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied 
that  though  it  was  not  worth  while  now  to  discuss  who  were  the 
authors  of  the  principles  on  which  the  Government  measure  was 
founded,  he  must  enter  his  protest  against  the  statement  that 
the  Ministry  came  forward  as  converts  to  principles  which  they 
had  formerly  opposed.  The  late  Government  had  certainly  done 
very  little  for  the  principles  of  commercial  relaxation. 

Again  and  again,  during  the  progress  of  the  Tariffs  Bill,  was 
Mr.  Gladstone  called  upon  to  defend  the  details  of  the  Govern- 
ment scheme.  Something  was  said  upon  almost  every  article 
of  consumption  included  in  or  excluded  from  the  plan  ;  but  it 
was  admitted  on  all  hands  that  great  fiscal  reforms  had  been  con- 
ceived and  executed.  No  measure  with  which  Mr.  Gladstone's 
name  has  since  been  connected  more  fully  attested  his  mastery 
over  detail,  his  power  of  comprehending  the  commercial  interests 
of  the  country,  or  his  capacity  as  a  practical  statesman  in 
suggesting  the  best  means  for  relieving  the  manufacturing 
industries  of  their  burdens,  than  the  revised  Tariff  scheme  of 
1842.  Some  idea  of  the  strain  involved  upon  him  during  this 
session  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  Hansard  records  he 
rose  to  his  feet  no  fewer  than  129  times,  in  connection  with 
measures  before  the  House,  but  chiefly  touching  the  provisions 
of  the  Tariff  Bill.  A  writer,  by  no  means  favourable  to  the 
Tories,  says  of  the  session  of  1842,  '  The  nation  saw  and  felt 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE-1841-1850.  €l 

that  its  business  was  understood  and  accomplished,  and  the 
House  of  Commons  was  no  longer  like  a  sleeper  under  a  night- 
mare. The  long  session  was  a  busy  one.  The  Queen  wore  a 
cheerful  air  when  she  thanked  her  Parliament  for  their  effectual 
labours.  The  Opposition  was  such  as  could  no  longer  impede  the 
operations  of  the  next  session.  The  condition  of  the  country  was 
fearful  enough  ;  but  something  was  done  for  its  future  improve- 
ment, and  the  way  was  now  shown  to  be  open  for  further 
beneficent  legislation.* 

But  the  distress  in  the  country  nerved  the  Corn  Law  reformers 
to  renewed  efforts.  Scarcely  had  the  session  of  1843  opened, 
when  Lord  Howick  called  for  a  committee  of  the  whole  House 
to  consider  the  reference  in  the  Queen's  Speech  to  the  long- 
continued  depression  of  manufacturing  industry.  Mr.  Gladstone 
opposed  the  motion,  delivering  a  long  speech  in  rejoinder. 
Admitting  the  distress,  he  said  he  could  assign  various  causes  for 
it;  the  country  was  familiar  with  the  fact,  and  so  was  the  House, 
and  no  good  could  come  from  such  a  motion.  The  noble  lord 
proposed  to  renew  past  and  present  agitations  with  tenfold 
violence,  for  he  had  not  thought  fit  to  state  the  measures  upon 
which  he  had  depended  for  the  relief  of  the  distress  of  the 
country.  The  Corn  Laws  were  at  the  root  of  the  matter,  and  yet 
there  was  a  difficulty  felt  how  to  unite  the  noble  lord  and  his 
friends,  who  were  so  divided  in  opinion  as  to  what  ought  to 
follow  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws  ;  and  he  thought  it  must 
have  been  clear  that  the  movement  in  favour  of  the  fixed  duty 
could  not  be  repeated.  The  question  between  the  Government 
and  the  Opposition  was  not  really  so  great  as  the  latter  wished 
to  make  out.  It  was  simply  one  as  to  the  amount  of  relaxation 
the  country  could  bear  in  the  duties.  It  was  the  intention  of  the 
First  Lord  of  the  Treasury  to  attain  his  object  'by  increasing 
the  employment  of  the  people,  by  cheapening  the  prices  of 
the  articles  of  consumption,  as  also  the  materials  of  industry,  by 
encouraging  the  means  of  exchange  with  foreign  nations,  and 
thereby  encouraging  in  return  an  extension  of  the  export  trade ; 
but  besides  all  this,  if  he  understood  the  measure  of  the  Govern- 
ment last  year,  it  was  proposed  that  the  relaxation  should  be 
practically  so  limited  as  to  cause  no  violent  shock  to  existing 
interests,  such  as  would  have  the  tendency  of  displacing  that 
labour  which  was  now  employed,  and  which,  if  displaced,  would 
be  unable  to  find  another  field.'  Mr.  Gladstone  proceeded  to 
show  that  the  measure  of  the  previous  year  had  resulted  in  no 
great  shock  to  any  commercial  industry,  nor  had  it  displaced 

*  Harriet  Martineau. — History  of  England  during  the  Thirty  Yean'  Peace. 

G 


82  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

English  labour.  He  desired  members  to  ask  themselves  the 
question,  Whether  or  not  they  were  in  a  condition  to  repeal  the 
Corn  Laws  without  the  displacement  of  a  vast  mass  of  labour  ? 
He  was  not  prepared  to  abandon  the  principle  of  the  Corn  Law 
while  the  principle  of  Protection  was  applied  to  other  articles  of 
commerce.  The  speaker  also  demonstrated  the  working  of 
foreign  duties  in  neutralising  the  benefit  of  greater  cheapness  of 
imported  commodities  as  compared  with  those  produced  at 
home.  Alluding  to  the  American  tariff,  he  demanded  what 
better  was  the  British  manufacturer  if  he  escaped  paying  twenty 
per  cent,  to  British  agriculture,  and  had  to  pay  forty  per  cent, 
to  the  American  Government  ?  Foreign  countries  were  not 
disposed  to  be  taught  the  true  principles  of  trade.  The  only 
question,  he  repeated,  before  the  House,  was  one  of  time  and 
degree.  *  That  view  had  been  recognised  in  this  country  for  the 
last  twenty-five  years  by  every  Government  which  had  succes- 
sively held  office ;  there  was  no  one  who  held  office  during  that 
period  who  had  not  introduced  measures  in  the  nature  of  relaxa- 
tion of  our  commercial  code.  But  he  must  say  that  the  Govern- 
ment to  which  right  hon.  gentlemen  and  noble  lords  opposite 
belonged  was,  of  all  others,  most  slack  in  introducing  such 
measures  until  the  memorable  year  1841.' 

Sir  Robert  Peel  concluded  this  debate  with  an  eloquent 
speech,  and  Lord  Howick's  motion  was  defeated  by  a  majority 
of  115.  The  question  of  the  Corn  Laws,  however,  was  not 
suffered  to  sleep,  for  on  the  16th  of  May  Mr.  Villiers  moved  for 
a  committee  of  the  whole  House  upon  the  subject.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone opposed  the  motion  in  a  speech  devoted  rather  to  details 
than  general  principles.  His  address  bristled  with  facts,  and 
the  gist  of  his  argument  was  that,  in  the  absence  both  of 
experiment  and  of  altered  circumstances  to  justify  it,  a  change 
so  soon  after  the  adjustment  of  the  law  would  be  a  step 
ruinous  in  itself,  and  a  breach  of  contract.  The  motion, 
nevertheless,  was  not  rejected  by  so  large  a  majority  as  in 
the  previous  year,  the  numbers  being — For  Mr.  Villiers's 
resolution,  125  ;  against,  381.  A  month  later  Lord  John  Russell 
re-opened  the  whole  subject,  whereupon  Mr.  Gladstone  strongly 
protested  against  the  constant  renewal  of  uneasiness  in  the 
country  by  successive  motions  of  this  kind  in  Parliament.  It 
was  unjust  not  to  give  a  fair  trial  to  the  existing  law ;  and 
he  believed  that  the  agriculturists  in  general,  though  dissatisfied 
with  present  prices,  were  not  dissatisfied  with  the  law.  When 
the  division  came  the  Ministerial  majority  was  found  to  have 
again  diminished,  the  numbers  being — For  Lord  John  Russell's 
motion,  145  ;  against,  244.  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  in  the  same 


A   MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1811-1850.  83 

session  upon  the  subject  of  the  Canadian  Corn  Laws.  The 
Government  carried  a  bill  embodying  a  series  of  resolutions 
by  Lord  Stanley,  securing  a  reduction  of  the  duties  on  corn 
imported  from  Canada.  A  motion  introduced  by  Mr.  Hawes  to 
reduce  the  duty  on  foreign  sugar  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone 
on  the  ground  of  its  tendency  to  encourage  the  slave  trade, 
and  it  was  rejected. 

Having  succeeded  the  Earl  of  Kipon  as  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trade,  Mr.  Gladstone  introduced,  in  this  same  session  of 
1843,  a  bill  for  the  abolition  of  the  restrictions  on  the 
exportation  of  machinery — a  measure  of  great  practical 
commercial  value.  The  Minister  showed  that  the  existing  law 
of  William  the  Fourth,  which  prohibited  the  export  of  machinery, 
was*  really  nugatory.  It  was  pronounced  by  the  authorities 
of  the  Customs  to  be  impracticable,  and  was  practically  evaded. 
The  law  had  also  injured  our  trade,  and  increased  that  of 
Belgium.  The  new  bill,  abolishing  the  existing  law,  received 
the  Koyal  assent  before  the  session  concluded. 

Though  thus  engrossed  with  schemes  of  practical  legislation, 
Mr.  Gladstone  found  time — as  he  has,  indeed,  throughout  the 
whole  of  his  long  career — to  interest  himself  in  social  and  educa- 
tional questions.  One  of  the  most  forcible  of  his  speeches  upon 
education  was  delivered  at  the  opening  of  the  Collegiate  Institution 
of  Liverpool.  He  addressed  himself  first  to  the  general  topic, 
and  after  discussing  its  religious  aspect,  together  with  its  nature 
and  objects,  he  continued,  '  We  believe  that  if  you  could  erect  a 
system  which  should  present  to  mankind  all  branches  of  knowledge 
save  the  one  that  is  essential,  you  would  only  be  building  up  a 
Tower  of  Babel,  which,  when  you  had  completed  it,  wouLsl  be  the 
more  signal  in  its  fall,  and  which  would  bury  those  who  had 
raised  it  in  its  ruins.  We  believe  that  if  you  can  take  a  human 
being  in  his  youth,  and  if  you  can  make  him  an  accomplished 
man  in  natural  philosophy,  in  mathematics,  or  in  the  knowledge 
necessary  for  the  profession  of  a  merchant,  a  lawyer,  or  a  physician; 
that  if  in  any,  or  all,  of  these  endowments  you  could  form  his 
mind — yes,  if  you  could  endow  him  with  the  science  and  power 
of  a  Newton,  and  so  send  him  forth, — and  if  you  had  concealed 
from  him,  or,  rather,  had  not  given  him  a  knowledge  and  love 
of  the  Christian  faith, — he  would  go  forth  into  the  world,  able 
indeed  with  reference  to  those  purposes  of  science,  successful 
with  the  accumulation  of  wealth  for  the  multiplication  of  more, 
but  "  poor,  and  miserable,  and  blind,  and  naked  "  with  reference 
to  everything  that  constitutes  the  true  and  sovereign  purposes 
of  our  existence — nay,  worse,  worse — with  respect  to  the 
sovereign  purpose — than  if  he  had  still  remained  in  the  ignor- 

"G2 


84  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

anco  which  we  all  commiserate,  and  which  it  is  the  object  of 
this  institution  to  assist  in  removing.' 

Ill  the  session  of  1844  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  the  House  on 
a  variety  of  topics,  including  Railways,  the  Law  of  Partnership, 
the  Agricultural  interest,  the  Abolition  of  the  Corn  Laws,  the 
Dissenters'  Chapels  Bill,  and  the  Sugar  Duties.  Amendments  to 
the  Address  were  moved  on  the  subject  of  the  Corn  Laws,  and 
also  with  regard  to  the  distress  in  the  country,  but  both  were 
negatived.  But  before  the  session  was  a  week  old,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone had  obtained  the  appointment  of  a  Select  Committee  to 
consider  the  standing  orders  relating  to  Railways,  with  a  view 
to  new  provisions  in  future  railway  bills  for  the  improvement 
of  the  railway  system.  It  was  universally  felt  that  some 
improvement  in  this  direction  was  necessary,  and  the  Presfdent 
of  the  Board  of  Trade  accordingly  introduced  his  Railway 
Bill,  a  measure  of  great  and  acknowledged  importance,  and  one 
whose  beneficial  provisions  were  warmly  welcomed  by  the  House. 
The  bill  was  based  on  the  report  of  the  Select  Committee  which 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  obtained.  It  provided  that  after  the 
expiration  of  fifteen  years  the  Board  of  Trade  should  be 
authorised  to  purchase  any  of  the  railways  that  came  within  its 
provisions,  at  twenty-five  years'  purchase  of  the  annual  divisible 
profits,  not  exceeding  ten  per  cent. ;  but  this  option  of  purchase 
was  not  to  extend  to  railways  in  which  a  revised  scale  of  tolls 
had  been  imposed.  One  of  the  clauses  regulated  the  conditions 
upon  which  third-class  trains  were  to  be  established ;  and  all 
future  railways  were  to  act  upon  the  provisions  of  the  bill  from 
the  commencement  of  their  traffic.  The  bill  also  provided  that 
at  least  one  train  on  every  week-day  should  start  from  each  end 
of  the  line  to  car:y  passengers  in  covered  carriages  for  one  penny 
per  mile  ;  that  the  speed  of  such  trains  should  not  be  less  than 
twelve  miles  an  hour  including  stoppages ;  that  they  should  stop 
to  take  up  and  set  down  passengers  at  every  station ;  that  half  a 
hundred-weight  of  luggage  should  be  allowed  each  passenger 
without  extra  charge ;  and  that  children  under  three  years  of  age 
should  be  conveyed  in  such  trains  without  charge,  and  those 
under  twelve  at  half  price.  This  bill,  so  salutary  in  its 
provisions  for  the  poorer  classes,  met  with  considerable  opposition 
in  the  outset  from  the  various  railway  companies,  but  with  some 
modifications  it  ultimately  became  law. 

One  other  subject  legislated  upon  this  session  is  worthy  of 
notice,  as  showing  that  at  this  period  Mr.  Gladstone's  mind  was 
undergoing  significant  changes  in  the  direction  of  religious 
toleration.  The  Lord  Chancellor  introduced  a  bill  for  confirming 
the  possession  of  religious  endowments  in  the  hands  of 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  85 

Dissenters,  and  arresting  such  litigations  as  had  recently  taken 
place  in  the  case  of  the  Lady  Hewley  Charities — originally 
given  by  her  ladyship  to  Calvinistic  Independents,  but  which 
had  gradually  passed  to  Unitarians,  who  were  ousted  from  their 
benefits.  The  bill  proposed  to  vest  property  left  to  Dissenting 
bodies  in  the  hands  of  that  religious  body  with  whom  it  had 
remained  for  the  preceding  twenty  years.  The  measure  passed 
both  Houses  substantially  in  its  original  shape.  When  it  was 
discussed  in  the  Commons,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  it  was  a  bill 
which  it  was  incumbent  upon  the  House  to  endorse.  There  was 
no  contrariety  between  his  principles  of  religious  belief  and 
those  on  which  legislation  in  this  case  ought  to  proceed.  There 
was  a  great  question  of  justice,  viz.,  whether  those  who  were 
called  Presbyterian  Dissenters,  and  who  were  a  century  and  a 
half  ago  universally  of  Trinitarian  opinions,  ought  not  to  be 
protected  at  the  present  moment  in  the  possession  of  the  chapels 
which  they  held,  with  the  appurtenances  of  those  chapels  ?  On 
that  question  of  substantial  justice  he  pronounced  the  strongest 
affirmative  opinion.  After  this  speech,  there  were  those  who 
thought,  and  expressed  their  hope  and  belief  in  words,  that  the 
'  champion  of  Free  Trade '  would  ere  long  become  the  advocate 
of  the  most  unrestricted  liberty  in  matters  of  religion.  Their 
hope,  if  sanguine  as  to  its  immediate  fulfilment,  was  far  from 
groundless. 

Scarcely  had  Parliament  met  in  1845  when  it  became  known 
that  Mr.  Gladstone  had  resigned  his  post  in  the  Ministry.  In  the 
course  of  the  debate  on  the  Address  he  explained  his  reasons  for 
this  step,  and  set  a  good  deal  of  speculation  at  rest  by  the 
announcement  that  his  resignation  was  due  solely  to  1  he  Govern- 
ment intentions  with  regard  to  Maynooth  College.  The  con- 
templated increase  in  the  Maynooth  endowment,  and  the 
establishment  of  non-sectarian  colleges,  were  at  variance  with  the 
views  he  had  written  and  uttered  upon  the  relations  of  the 
Church  and  the  State.  *  I  am  sensible  how  fallible  my- 
judgment  is,'  said  Mr.  Gladstone,  *  and  how  easily  I  might  have 
erred  ;  but  still  it  has  been  my  conviction  that  although  I  was 
not  to  fetter  my  judgment  as  a  member  of  Parliament  by  a 
reference  to  abstract  theories,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was 
absolutely  due  to  the  public  and  due  to  myself  that  I  should,  so 
far  as  in  me  lay,  place  myself  in  a  position  to  form  an  opinion 
upon  a  matter  of  so  great  importance,  that  should  not  only  be 
actually  free  from  all  bias  or  leaning  with  respect  to  any 
consideration  whatsoever,  but  an  opinion  that  should  be  unsus- 
pected. On  that  account,  I  have  taken  a  course  most  painful 
to  myself  in  respect  to  personal  feelings,  and  have  separated 


80  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

myself  from  men  with  whom,  and  under  whom,  I  have  long  acted 
in  public  life,  and  of  whom  I  am  bound  to  say,  although  I 
have  now  no  longer  the  honour  of  serving  my  most  gracious 
Sovereign,  that  I  continue  to  regard  them  with  unaltered 
sentiments  both  of  public  regard  and  private  attachment.'  Mr. 
Gladstone  added  that  he  was  not  prepared  to  war  against  the 
religious  measures  of  his  friend,  Sir  Kobert  Peel.  He  would  not 
prejudge  such  questions,  but  would  give  to  them  calm  and 
deliberate  consideration.  A  high  tribute  was  paid  to  the  retiring 
Minister,  both  by  Lord  John  Kussell  and  the  Premier.  The 
latter  avowed  the  highest  respect  and  admiration  for  Mr. 
Gladstone's  character  and  abilities  ;  admiration  only  equalled 
by  regard  for  his  private  character.  He  had  been  most 
unwilling  to  lose  one  whom  he  regarded  as  capable  of  the 
highest  and  most  eminent  services.  By  an  act  of  strict 
conscientiousness,  Mr.  G-ladstone  thus  severed  himself  from  a 
Ministry  in  which  he  had  rapidly  risen  to  power  and  influence. 
His  motives  were  appreciated  by  men  of  all  parties,  and  it  was 
generally  predicted  that  one  so  useful  to  the  State  could  not 
long  remain  in  the  position  of  a  private  member. 

On  the  second  reading  of  the  Maynooth  Improvement  Bill, 
the  right  hon.  gentleman  fully  expressed  himself  upon  the 
topic  then  greatly  agitating  the  public  mind.  In  opposition 
to  the  feeling  out  of  doors,  and  to  his  own  deeply-cherished 
prepossessions,  he  announced  that  he  was  prepared  to 
give  his  deliberate  support  to  the  measure.  The  question  was 
to  a  considerable  extent  new,  as  the  grant,  instead  of  annual, 
was  to  be  made  permanent ;  and  the  college,  by  being  under  the 
care  of  the  Government  Board,  was  to  be  brought  into  close 
connection  with  the  Government.  He  disclaimed,  in  the  name 
of  the  law,  the  Constitution,  and  the  history  of  the  country,  the 
voting  of  a  sum  of  money  as  a  restitution  to  the  Koman  Catholic 
Church  of  Ireland.  His  support  of  the  measure  was  based  on 
the  feeling  that  whatever  tended  to  give  ease  and  comfort  to  the 
professors  of  the  College  of  Maynooth  would  also  tend  to  soothe 
and  soften  the  tone  of  the  college  itself.  *  He  found  arguments 
in  favour  of  the  measure  in  the  great  numbers  and  poverty  of 
the  Koman  Catholic  people  of  Ireland,  in  the  difficulty  they 
experienced  in  providing  for  themselves  the  necessaries  of  life, 
and  in  the  still  greater  difficulty  which  they  found  in  providing 
for  themselves  preachers  of  their  own  faith,  and  in  procuring 
means  of  education  for  them.  He  found  additional  arguments 
in  the  inclination  to  support  it  exhibited  by  all  the  great  states- 
men on  both  sides  of  the  House,  and  in  the  fact  that  those  who 
paid  the  taxes  of  a  country  had  a  right  to  share  in  the  benefits 


A    MEMOEABLE    DECADE— 1811-1850.  87 

of  its  institutions.'  The  opponents  of  the  measure  said  it  had 
been  an  experiment  of  Mr.  Pitt's,  and  that  it  had  signally 
failed  ;  but  he  reminded  them  that  the  view  of  Mr.  Pitt  was, 
that  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  of  Ireland  should  not  only  be 
trained  in  the  College  of  Maynooth,  but  that  they  should  also 
have  a  subsequent  provision  made  for  their  support.  No  such 
provision  had  been  made,  and  it  was  unjust  to  say  Mr.  Pitt's 
scheme  had  failed  when  it  had  only  been  partially  tried. 

To  show  how  far  Mr.  Gladstone's  views  had  undergone 
modification  in  the  course  of  seven  years,  we  may  add  that  in 
this  speech  he  went  on  to  observe  how  that  exclusive  support  to 
the  Established  Church  was  a  doctrine  that  was  being  more  and 
more  abandoned  day  by  day.  Mr.  Burke  considered  it  contrary 
to  wise  policy  to  give  exclusive  privileges  to  a  negative  creed 
like  that  of  Protestantism,  and  to  deny  all  privileges  to  those 
who  had  a  positive  creed  like  the  Roman  Catholic.  They  could 
not  plead  their  religious  scruples  as  the  reason  for  denying  this 
grant  to  the  Roman  Catholics,  for  they  gave  votes  of  money  to 
almost  every  Dissenting  sect.  He  hoped  the  concession  now 
made — which  was  a  great  and  liberal  gift,  because  unrestricted 
and  given  in  a  spirit  of  confidence — would  not  lead  to  the 
renewal  of  agitation  in  Ireland  by  Mr.  O'Connell.  It  might  be 
well  for  him  to  reflect  that  agitation  was  a  two-edged  weapon. 
'The  number  of  petitions  which  had  been  laid  on  the  table  that 
evening  proved  that  there  was  in  this  country  a  field  open  to 
agitation,  opposed  to  that  which  he  might  get  up  in  Ireland. 
He  deprecated  agitation  on  one  side  and  on  the  other.  He 
trusted  that  a  wiser  spirit  would  preside  over  the  minds  of  both 
parties,  and  that  a  conviction  would  spring  up  in  both,  that  it 
was  a  surrender  which  ought  to  be  made  of  rival  claims  for  the 
sake  of  peace.  Believing  the  measure  to  be  conformable  to 
justice,  and  not  finding  any  principle  on  which  to  resist  it,  he 
hoped  it  would  pass  into  law,  and  receive,  if  not  the  sanction,  at 
least  the  acquiescence  of  the  people  of  England.' 

This  speech  exercised  a  most  favourable  effect,  owing  to  its 
candour,  its  breadth  of  view,  and  its  evident  desire  for  concilia- 
tion. As  the  Earl  of  Arundel  remarked,  Sir  Robert  Peel  had 
now  the  support  of  every  statesman  on  either  side  of  the  House 
who  deserved  the  name.  A  little  later  in  the  session  Govern- 
ment redeemed  its  pledge  to  propose  a  scheme  for  the  extension 
of  academical  education  in  Ireland.  This  measure,  framed  upon 
the  same  lines  as  the  Maynooth  Improvement  Bill,  was  regarded 
with  equal  hostility  by  those  who  opposed  all  concessions  to  the 
Roman  Catholics.  Sir  James  Graham  introduced  the  bill, 
which  was  at  once  the  subject  of  warm  debate.  Sir  Robert 


88  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Inglis,  that  most  immovable  of  Conservatives,  declared  that  ;  a 
more  gigantic  scheme  of  godless  education  had  never  been 
proposed  in  any  country  than  that  which  was  now  under  con- 
sideration.' After  such  a  description  of  a  measure  which  he 
intended  to  support,  Mr.  Gladstone  could  not  remain  silent,  and 
in  the  discussion  on  the  second  reading,  he  said  that  though  the 
measure  was  imperfect,  the  question  was  not  whether  it  was  a 
perfect  measure,  but  whether  it  was  the  best  which  could  be 
devised  to  meet  the  present  state  of  Ireland  and  its  exigencies. 
He  thought  the  Roman  Catholic  bishops  ought  to  be  consulted 
on  the  adjustment  of  the  principles  and  details  of  the  measure, 
and  that  a  direct  diplomatic  correspondence  with  the  Court  of 
Rome  should  be  renewed.  He  entered  his  emphatic  protest 
against  Sir  R.  Ingiis's  declaration  that  the  bill  was  '  a  gigantic 
scheme  of  godless  education.'  *  The  bill  contained  a  provision 
for  religious  education,  so  far  as  it  was  safe  to  do  so ;  for  it 
provided  rooms  in  each  of  the  colleges  for  theological  lectures, 
which  was  an  explicit  admission  of  the  efficacy  of  religious 
education.  Nay,  more,  it  provided  facilities  for  the  voluntary 
payment  of  professors  to  deliver  such  lectures.  The  difficulties 
besetting  the  measure  would  not  be  insuperable  if  both  parties 
laid  aside  their  prejudices.'  The  bill  was  subsequently  carried 
through  the  House. 

Before  the  close  of  this  year,  Mr.  Gladstone  published  a 
pamphlet  entitled  Remarks  upon  Recent  Commercial  Legisla- 
tion. It  had  been  suggested  by  the  expository  statement  of  the 
revenue  from  customs,  and  other  papers  lately  submitted  to 
Parliament.  The  author  dealt  in  several  aspects  with  the  recent 
reductions  of  customs  duty — showing  the  proportion  of  the  entire 
trade  which  they  had  affected,  the  entire  amount  of  revenue 
surrendered,  and  the  particular  results  of  the  reductions  on 
revenue  and  on  trade.  He  also  discussed  their  results  upon 
domestic  producers,  and  examined  the  policy  of  these  financial 
measures  with  special  reference  to  the  recent  proceedings  of 
foreign  Powers  in  matters  of  trade.  His  general  conclusion  was 
that  English  statesmen  should  use  every  effort  to  disburden  of 
all  charges,  so  far  as  the  law  was  concerned,  the  materials  of 
industry,  and  thus  enable  the  workman  to  approach  his  work  at 
home  on  better  terms,  as  the  terms  in  which  he  entered  foreign 
markets  were  altered  for  the  worse  against  him.  With  a  few 
more  years  of  experimental  instruction,  such  as  that  afforded  by 
the  figures  of  the  statement  he  had  given  of  the  relative  growth 
of  the  British  trade  with  Europe  and  the  world,  such  results 
could  not  fail  to  exercise  a  powerful  influence  on  the  intelligence 
and  the  will  of  governments,  and  of  the  nations  whom  they  ruled. 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE- 1841-1850.  89 

These  ideas  were  speedily  to  receive  a  nobler  and  a  fuller 
acceptance  and  expansion.  On  the  4th  of  December,  1845,  the 
Times  announced  that  Parliament  would  be  summoned  for  the 
first  week  in  January,  and  that  the  Royal  Speech  would  recom- 
mend an  immediate  consideration  of  the  Corn  Laws,  preparatory 
to  their  total  repeal.  This  startling  news  took  the  other  daily 
journals  by  surprise,  and  several  of  them  gave  it  the  most  direct 
and  positive  contradiction.  The  original  announcement, 
however,  was  speedily  confirmed.  The  hour  had  come,  and  the 
Corn  Laws  were  doomed.  Mr.  Gladstone,  though  unable  to 
mingle  in  the  debates  in  Parliament  during  this  last  episode  of 
a  great  struggle,  was  in  thorough  harmony  with  the  policy  of 
Sir  Robert  Peel.  His  investigations  and  financial  experiments 
for  some  years  back  had  been  tending  in  this  direction,  though 
— with  one  brought  up  in  the  rigid  school  of  Protection — a 
complete  reversal  of  past  policy,  and  the  acceptance  of  an 
entirely  new  commercial  regime,  could  not  be  the  work  of  a 
moment.  But  the  time  came  when  he  could  no  longer  resist 
the  arguments  in  favour  of  Free  Trade,  and  he  at  once 
announced  his  changed  convictions.  As  upon  many  other 
occasions  in  his  history,  his  attitude  on  the  question  of  the  Corn 
Laws  led  to  the  severance  of  long  and  closely-cherished  political 
and  personal  friendships. 

Sir  Robert  Peel  having  been  informed  by  Lord  Stanley  and 
the  Duke  of  Buccleuch  that  they  could  not  support  a  measure 
for  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws,  and  being  doubtful  whether  he 
could  conduct  the  proposal  to  a  successful  issue,  felt  it  his  duty 
to  tender  his  resignation  to  her  Majesty.  Lord  John  Russell 
was  accordingly  summoned  to  form  a  Ministry ;  but  failing  in 
this,  the  Queen  desired  Sir  Robert  Peel  to  withdraw  his  resigna- 
tion. That  statesman  resumed  office,  and  when  the  list  of  the 
restored  Peel  Cabinet  was  made  known,  it  was  found  that  Mr. 
Gladstone  had  accepted  the  post  of  Colonial  Secretary,  in  the 
room  of  Lord  Stanley. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  acceptance  of  office  in  a  Ministry  pledged  to 
the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws  led  to  his  retirement  from  the 
representation  of  Newark.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle  was  an  ardent 
Protectionist,  and  could  not  sanction  the  candidature  of  a 
supporter  of  Free  Trade  principles.  His  patronage  was  therefore 
of  necessity  withdrawn  from  Mr.  Gladstone  ;  but,  unless  his 
action  could  have  been  endorsed  by  the  constituency,  the  latter 
would  naturally  have  felt  honourable  scruples  in  continuing  to 
represent,  merely  under  the  friendship  and  influence  of  the  Duke, 
a  borough  for  which  he  had  so  long  sat  upon  opposite  principles. 

The  new  Minister  accordingly  issued  his  retiring  address  to 


SO  WILLIAM    KWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  electors  of  Newark,  which  is  dated  January  5th,  1846.  Its 
chief  paragraph  runs  thus :-  -'  By  accepting  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  I  have  ceased  to  be  your 
representative  in  Parliament.  On  several  accounts  I  should  have 
been  peculiarly  desirous  at  the  present  time  of  giving  you  an 
opportunity  to  pronounce  your  constitutional  judgment  on  my 
public  conduct,  by  soliciting  at  your  hands  a  renewal  of  the 
trust  which  I  have  already  received  from  you  on  five  successive 
occasions,  and  held  during  a  period  of  thirteen  years.  But  as  I 
have  good  reason  to  believe  that  a  candidate  recommended  to 
your  favour  through  local  connections  may  ask  your  suffrages,  it 
becomes  my  very  painful  duty  to  announce  to  you  on  that 
ground  alone  my  retirement  from  a  position  which  has  afforded 
me  so  much  of  honour  and  of  satisfaction.'  The  right  hon. 
gentleman  further  goes  on  to  explain  that  he  accepted  office 
because  he  held  that  *  it  was  for  those  who  believed  the 
Government  was  acting  according  to  the  demands  of  public 
duty  to  testify  that  belief,  however  limited  their  sphere  might 
be,  by  their  co-operation.'  He  had  acted  '  in  obedience  to  the 
clear  and  imperious  call  of  public  obligation.'  An  exile  from 
Newark,  Mr.  Gladstone  remained  without  a  seat  in  the  House 
during  the  ensuing  session ;  and  to  this  fact  is  to  be  attributed 
the  lack  of  his  powerful  personal  advocacy  of  the  great  Govern- 
ment measure  of  that  memorable  year. 

It  is  no  secret  that  the  most  advanced  statesman  on  the  Free 
Trade  question  in  the  Peel  Cabinet  was  Mr.  Gladstone.  The 
policy  of  the  Government  in  regard  to  the  great  measure  of  1846 
was  largely  moulded  by  him,  and  his  representations  of  the 
effects  of  Free  Trade  on  the  industry  of  the  country  and  the 
general  well-being  of  the  people  strengthened  the  Premier  in 
his  resolve  to  sweep  away  the  obnoxious  Corn  Laws.  The 
pamphlet  on  recent  commercial  legislation  had  prepared  the 
way  for  the  later  momentous  changes  ;  and  to  Mr.  Gladstone  is 
due  much  of  the  credit  for  the  speedy  consummation  of  the 
Free  Trade  policy  of  the  Peel  Ministry.  In  the  official  sphere 
he  may  be  regarded,  perhaps,  as  the  leading  pioneer  of  the 
movement. 

But  that  terrible  calamity  in  Ireland — the  failure  of  the  potato 
crop — had  furnished  a  final  argument  in  the  mind  of  Sir 
Kobert  Peel  for  the  abolition  of  Protection.  With  the  prospect 
of  famine  in  Ireland — and  such  a  famine  as  had  never  been 
experienced  in  that  island — the  Premier  saw  clearly  that 
the  time  had  come  when  corn  must  be  admitted  into  the 
country  free  of  duty.  Moreover,  the  Anti-Corn  Law  League  was 
becoming  a  powerful  and  irresistible  body,  while  many  influential 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  &1 

landlords,  both  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  who  did  not  belong 
to  the  League,  were  prepared  to  extend  to  Sir  Kobert  Peel 
their  hearty  support.  The  friends  of  Protection,  knowing  that  the 
personal  power  of  the  Premier  was  greater,  perhaps,  than  that  of 
any  other  Minister  who  has  virtually  governed  this  empire, 
opposed  the  repeal  by  every  means  at  their  command,  legitimate 
or  otherwise.  Happily,  their  efforts  were  doomed  to  be  frus- 
trated. The  question  whether  Peel  ought  to  have  left  the  passing 
of  the  Corn  Law  Kepeal  Bill  to  the  Liberals  is  out  of  the  sphere 
of  practical  politics.  Free  Trade  had  by  no  means  received 
the  support  of  every  member  of  the  Liberal  party,  even  up  to  so 
late  a  date  as  the  year  preceding  that  in  which  it  became  an 
actuality ;  and  Sir  R.  Peel  was  placed  in  a  peculiarly  favourable 
position  for  carrying  the  measure.  Mr.  Cobden  wrote  at  this 
juncture  that  the  Premier  had  the  power,  and  that  it  would  be 
disastrous  for  the  country  if  he  hesitated. 

But  this  great  Minister  did  not  hesitate.  He  felt  that  a  crisis 
had  arrived,  and  he  determined  to  grapple  with  it.  His  duty 
to  the  country  at  this  period  was  higher  and  greater  than  any 
fancied  loyalty  to  party.  Accordingly,  when  Parliament 
assembled,  he  entered  into  a  detailed  explanation  of  the  late 
Ministerial  crisis,  and  unfolded  his  proposed  measures.  The 
failure  of  the  potato  crop,  he  said,  had  led  to  the  dissolution  of 
the  late  Government,  and  matters  now  could  brook  no  further 
delay.  An  immediate  decision  required  to  be  taken  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Com  Laws;  but  while  the  calamity  in  Ireland  had 
been  the  immediate  cause  of  his  determination,  he  could  not 
withhold  the  homage  due  to  the  progress  of  reason  and  of  truth, 
and  frankly  confessed  that  his  opinions  on  the  subject  of  Protec- 
tion had  undergone  a  great  change.  The  experience  of  the  past 
three  years  had  confirmed  him  in  his  new  opinions,  and  he  could 
not  conceal  the  knowledge  of  his  convictions,  however  much  it 
might  lay  him  open  to  the  imputation  of  inconsistency.  Though 
he  had  been  accused  of  apathy  and  neglect,  he  and  his  colleagues 
were  even  then  engaged  in  the  most  extensive  and  arduous 
inquiries  into  the  true  condition  of  Ireland.  As  these  inquiries 
had  proceeded,  he  had  been  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
protective  policy  was  unsound,  and  consequently  untenable. 

Mr.  Gladstone  had  rendered  conspicuous  service  in  these 
inquiries,  as  well  as  in  other  investigations  of  a  general  character 
which  led  to  the  Premier's  determination.  But  it  is  instructive 
to  note  his  rival's  attitude  at  this  juncture.  Speaking  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Disraeli  said,  '  To  the  opinions  which  I 
have  expressed  in  this  House  in  favour  of  Protection  I  adhere. 
They  sent  me  to  this  House,  and  if  I  had  relinquished  them  I 


S2  WILLIAM    EWARf    GLADSTONE. 

should  have  relinquished  my  seat  also.'  It  Avould  be  an  unpro- 
fitable task  to  unravel  the  many  inconsistencies  of  Lord  Beacons- 
field's  career  ;  but  with  regard  to  this  present  deliverance  upon 
Protection,  the  curious  in  such  matters  may  turn  back  to  the 
records  of  1842,  when  they  will  discover  that  at  that  time  he  was 
quite  prepared  to  advocate  measures  of  a  Free  Trade  character. 
But  we  must  pass  on  from  this  important  question  of  the  Corn 
Laws,  with  the  angry  controversy  to  which  it  gave  rise.  Sir 
Robert  Peel  brought  forward  his  measure,  and,  after  lengthened 
debates  in  both  Houses,  it  became  law,  and  grain  was  admitted 
into  English  ports  under  the  new  tariff. 

Having  earned  their  important  Corn  Law  Eepeal  scheme,  Sir 
Robert  Peel  and  his  colleagues  were  doomed  to  fall  upon  an 
Irish  question.  The  very  day  which  witnessed  the  passing  of 
the  Corn  Law  Repeal  Act  in  the  House  of  Lords,  saw  the  defeat 
of  the  Ministry  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  their  bill  for 
the  suppression  of  outrage  in  Ireland.  Being  in  a  minority  of 
73,  Sir  Robert  Peel  tendered  his  resignation;  whereupon  Lord 
John  Russell  was  sent  for,  and  he  succeeded  in  forming  a  Whig 
Ministry. 

It  was  not  until  the  brief  session  in  the  autumn  of  1847  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  again  appeared  in  the  House  of  Commons.  On 
the  23rd  of  July  the  Queen  had  dissolved  Parliament  in  person. 
The  succeeding  elections  turned  in  many  notable  instances  upon 
ecclesiastical  questions,  and  more  especially  upon  the  Maynooth 
grant.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  brought  forward  for  Oxford 
University.  Sir  R.  H.  Inglis  was  admitted  to  have  a  safe  seat,  so 
that  the  contest  lay  between  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Round. 
The  latter  candidate  was  of  the  ultra-Protestant  and  Tory 
school.  The  contest,  excited  the  keenest  interest,  and  was 
expected  on  all  hands  to  be  very  close.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  his 
address  to  the  electors  of  his  Alma  Mater,  confessed  that  when 
he  entered  Parliament,  and  for  many  years  after,  he  had  struggled 
for  the  exclusive  support  of  the  national  religion  by  the  State, 
but  in  vain.  The  time  was  against  him.  '  I  found  that  scarcely  a 
year  passed  without  the  adoption  of  some  fresh  measure 
involving  the  national  recognition,  and  the  national  support,  of 
various  forms  of  religion,  and  in  particular  that  a  recent  and 
fresh  provision  had  been  made  for  the  propagation  from  a  public 
chair  of  Arian  or  Socinian  doctrines.  The  question  remaining 
for  me  was,  whether,  aware  of  the  opposition  of  the  English 
people,  I  should  set  down  as  equal  to  nothing,  in  a  matter 
primarily  connected  not  with  our  own  but  with  their  priesthood, 
the  wishes  of  the  people  of  Ireland  ;  and  whether  I  should  avail 
myself  of  the  popular  feeling  in  regard  to  the  Roman  Catholics 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE -1841-1850.  93 

for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  against  them  a  ssytem  which  we 
had  ceased  by  common  consent  to  enforce  against  Arians — a 
system,  above  all,  of  which  I  must  say  that  it  never  can  be 
conformable  to  policy,  to  justice,  or  even  to  decency,  when  it 
has  become  avowedly  partial  and  one-sided  in  its  application.' 
This  address  intensified  the  resolve  of  a  section  of  the 
electors  to  defeat  Mr.  Gladstone.  A  great  portion  of  the  press, 
however,  was  in  his  favour.  Several  influential  journals 
were  very  satirical  upon  Mr.  Round,  and  eulogistic  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. They  praised  the  earnest  attachment  of  the  latter  to  the 
Church,  and  spoke  of  his  distinguished  talent  and  industry.  He 
had  relaxed  the  exclusiveness  of  his  politico-ecclesiastical 
principles,  and  no  longer  called  on  the  Legislature  to  ignore  all 
forms  of  religion  but  those  established  by  law,  01  which  were 
exactly  coincident  with  his  own  belief.  *  His  election  (said  the 
Times),  unlike  that  of  Mr.  Round,  while  it  sends  an  important 
member  to  the  House  of  Commons,  will  certainly  be  creditable, 
and  may  be  valuable  to  the  University ;  and  we  heartily  hope 
that  no  negligence  or  hesitation  among  his  supporters  may 
impede  his  success.'  The  election  was  regarded  with  great 
interest  by  those  outside  the  pale  of  the  Church.  The  nomina- 
tion took  place  on  the  29th  of  July.  The  ceremony  having  been 
completed,  the  voting  commenced  in  the  Convocation-house, 
which  was  densely  crowded.  We  learn  from  the  local  journals 
that  more  than  one  gentleman  was  carried  out  in  a  fainting 
state,  so  great  was  the  pressure.  Many  distinguished  men  (includ- 
ing his  political  leader)  came  from  a  great  distance  to  plump 
for  Mr.  Gladstone.  At  the  close  of  the  poll,  the  numbers  were : 
Inglis,  1700;  Gladstone,  997  ;  Round,  824.  To  the  supporters 
of  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Round,  however,  must  be  added  154 
pairs.  The  total  number  of  those  polled  exceeded  that  registered 
at  any  previous  election. 

Probably  the  one  feature  of  this  general  election  which 
excited  the  widest  popular  comment  was  the  return  of  Baron 
Rothschild  for  the  City  of  London.  There  wa?  nothing  illegal 
in  the  election  of  a  Jew,  but  the  statutory  declaration 
required  of  him  virtually  precluded  him  from  taking  his  seat  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  Lord  John 
Russell  proposed,  shortly  after  the  meeting  of  Parliament,  a 
resolution  affirming  the  eligibility  of  Jews  to  all  functions  and 
offices  to  which  Roman  Catholics  were  admissible  by  law.  Sir 
R.  H.  Inglis  opposed  the  motion,  which  was  supported  by  his 
colleague  Mr.  Gladstone.  The  latter  inquired  whether  there 
were  any  grounds  for  the  disqualification  of  the  Jews  which 
distinguished  them  from  any  other  classes  in  the  community. 


94  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

With  regard  to  the  stand  now  made  for  a  '  Christian  Parliament, 
the  present  measure  did  not  make  a  severance  between  politics 
and  religion ;  it  only  amounted  to  a  declaration  that  there  was 
no  necessity  for  excluding  a  Jew,  as  such,  from  an  assembly  in 
which  every  man  felt  sure  that  a  vast  and  overwhelming 
majority  of  its  members  would  always  be  Christian.  It  was  said 
that  by  admitting  a  few  Jews  they  would  un-Christianise  Parlia- 
ment ;  that  was  true  in  word,  but  not  in  substance.  He  had  no 
doubt  that  the  majority  of  the  members  who  composed  it  would 
always  perform  their  obligations  on  the  true  faith  of  a  Christian. 
It  was  too  late  to  say  that  the  measure  was  un-Christian,  and 
that  it  would  call  down  the  vengeance  of  heaven.  When  he 
opposed  the  last  law  for  the  removal  of  Jewish  disabilities, 
he  foresaw  that  if  we  gave  the  Jew  municipal,  magisterial,  and 
executive  functions,  we  could  not  refuse  him  legislative  func- 
tions any  longer.  '  The  Jew  was  refused  entrance  into  that 
House  because  he  would  then  be  a  maker  of  the  laws  ;  but  who 
made  the  maker  of  the  law  ?  The  constituencies ;  and  into 
these  constituencies  we  had  admitted  the  Jews.  Now,  were  the 
constituencies  Christian  constituencies?  If  they  were,  was  it 
probable  that  the  Parliament  would  cease  to  be  a  Christian 
Parliament  ?  '  Mr.  Gladstone  admitted  the  force  of  the  prayer  in 
Archdeacon  Wilberforce's  petition,  that  in  view  of  this  concession 
measures  should  be  taken  which  would  give  greater  vigour  to  the 
Church,  and  thus  operate  to  the  prevention  of  an  organic  change 
in  the  relations  between  Church  and  State.  Concluding  his 
defence  of  Lord  John  Russell's  motion,  he  was  of  opinion  that  if 
they  admitted  Jews  into  Parliament,  prejudice  might  be 
awakened  for  a  while,  but  the  good  sense  of  the  people  would 
soon  allay  it,  and  members  would  have  the  consolation  of 
knowing  that  in  a  case  of  difficulty  they  had  yielded  to  a  sense 
of  justice,  and  by  so  doing  had  not  disparaged  religion  or  lowered 
Christianity,  but  had  rather  elevated  both  in  all  reflecting  and 
well-regulated  minds. 

The  logic  of  this  speech  could  not  be  controverted,  though  Mr. 
Newdegate  declared  that  Mr.  Gladstone  would  never  have  gained 
his  election  for  the  University  of  Oxford  had  his  sentiments  on 
the  Jewish  question  been  then  known.  Lord  John  Russell's 
motion  was  carried  by  a  large  majority,  whereupon  he  announced 
first  a  resolution,  and  then  a  bill,  in  accordance  with  its  terms. 

The  year  1848  was  a  year  of  agitation  and  revolution. 
Europe  was  in  a  state  of  perturbation,  and  in  France  was 
effected  one  of  those  national  surprises  which  have  been  so 
frequent  and  so  prominent  a  feature  of  her  political  history. 
The  news  of  the  revolution  across  the  Channel  caused  the  greatest 


A  MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  $5 

excitement  in  England,  and  it  became  the  signal  for  disturb- 
ances in  the  metropolis.  On  the  6th  of  March,  demonstrations 
took  place  at  Trafalgar  Square  and  Charing  Cross,  but,  as  in  the 
case  of  more  recent  emeutes,  the  mass  meetings  assumed  more  of 
a  burlesque  than  of  a  serious  character.  In  the  provinces, 
however,  and  especially  at  Glasgow,  the  riots  bore  a  different 
complexion.  Shops  were  sacked,  and  at  length  the  military 
were  compelled  to  fire  with  fatal  effect  upon  the  mob.  There 
were  risings  of  a  less  formidable  nature  at  Manchester, 
Edinburgh,  Newcastle,  and  other  places.  On  the  13th,  a 
Chartist  meeting  was  held  on  Kennington  Common  ;  but 
although  this  meeting  had  been  looked  forward  to  with  grave 
apprehensions  by  all  lovers  of  law  and  order,  it  proved  by  no 
means  so  serious  an  affair  as  had  been  anticipated.  Great 
preparations  were  made  in  view  of  the  demonstration,  which 
fortunately  passed  off  without  loss  of  life.  Those  who  were 
politically  concerned  in  it  were  few  in  number,  but,  as  is  usual 
in  such  cases,  the  meeting  had  furnished  a  pretext  for  the 
assembling  of  a  lawless  mob.  Special  constables  in  great 
numbers  were  sworn  in  previous  to  this  notorious  demonstration  ; 
and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  amongst  those  who  hastened  in 
London  to  enrol  themselves  as  preservers  of  the  public  peace 
were  Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Edward 
Geoffrey  Stanley  (Earl  of  DerbyJ,  and  William  Ewart  Gladstone. 
Meanwhile,  the  Government  of  the  country  was  becoming 
unpopular — not,  it  must  fairly  be  said,  from  any  grave  faults  of 
its  own,  apart  from  the  nature  of  its  financial  measuree.  There 
was  a  deficiency  in  the  national  accounts  of  upwards  of  two 
millions.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  introducing  his 
budget,  said  that  although  they  might  expect  an  improvement 
in  income  and  a  diminution  of  the  expenditure  caused  by  the 
Caffre  War,  a  temporary  increase  of  taxation  would  be 
necessary.  He  therefore  proposed  that  they  should  continue 
the  income-tax,  which  would  expire  in  the  following  April,  for 
five  years,  and  increase  its  amount  from  sevenpence  to  one 
shilling  in  the  pound.  In  consequence  of  the  distress  in 
Ireland,  he  did  not  propose  to  extend  this  proposition  to  that 
branch  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  property  tax  he  proposed 
on  exactly  the  same  principles  as  Mr.  Pitt — principles  upon 
which  it  was  also  imposed  and  defended  in  1842  by  Sir  Robert 
Peel.  The  Ministerial  scheme  was  severely  criticised,  and  the 
depressed  state  of  the  finances  was  attributed  by  many  members 
to  the  operations  of  Free  Trade.  In  the  course  of  the  debate 
which  followed,  Sir  Robert  Peel  recapitulated  the  circumstances 
under  which  his  income-tax  had  originated,  and  said,  he  should 


$6  WILLIAM  EWAET  GLADSTONE. 

give  his  decided  support  to  the  Ministerial  proposition  for  th.ee 
years.  He  had  been  alarmed  by  the  great  increase  of  expendi- 
ture, and  while  assenting  to  this  proposal,  he  trusted  that  there 
would  be  no  relaxation  in  conducting  the  most  searching 
investigations.  Mr.  Disraeli  denied  the  success  of  Sir  Robert 
Peel's  policy,  and  described  himself  as  '  a  free-trader,  but  not  a 
freebooter  of  the  Manchester  school.'  In  a  clever  phrase,  he 
dubbed  the  blue-book  of  the  Import  Duties  Committee  *  the 
greatest  work  of  imagination  that  the  nineteenth  century  has 
produced.'  The  Government,  by  acting  upon  it,  and  taking  it 
for  a  guide,  resembled,  he  said,  a  man  smoking  a  cigar  on 
a  barrel  of  gunpowder. 

Mr.  Disraeli's  epigrammatic  speech  brought  up  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. Premising  that  he  could  not  hope  to  sustain  the  lively 
interest  created  by  the  remarkable  speech  of  his  predecessor — a 
display  to  which  he  felt  himself  entirely  unequal — he  would 
pass  over  the  matters  of  a  personal  description  touched  upon  by 
the  honourable  gentleman,  and  confine  himself  to  defending  the 
policy  which  had  been  assailed.  By  a  series  of  elaborate 
statistics,  Mr.  Gladstone  then  demonstrated  the  complete  success 
of  Sir  Robert  Peel's  policy.  The  confidence  of  the  public  would 
be  much  shaken  on  that  occasion  by  an  adverse  vote.  In  his 
concluding  observations,  the  speaker  introduced  a  reference  to 
the  unsettled  condition  of  affairs  upon  the  Continent.  '  I  am 
sure,'  said  Mr.  Gladstone, '  that  this  House  of  Commons  will 
prove  itself  to  be  worthy  of  the  Parliaments  which  preceded  it, 
worthy  of  the  Sovereign  which  it  has  been  called  to  advise,  and 
worthy  of  the  people  which  it  has  been  chosen  to  represent,  by 
sustaining  this  nation,  and  enabling  it  to  stand  firm  in  the 
midst  of  the  convulsions  that  shake  European  society  ;  by 
doing  all  that  pertains  to  us  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining 
social  order,  the  stability  of  trade,  and  the  means  of  public 
employment ;  and  by  discharging  our  consciences,  on  our  own 
part,  under  the  difficult  circumstances  of  the  crisis,  in  the 
perfect  trust  that  if  we  set  a  good  example  to  the  nation  — for 
whose  interests  we  are  appointed  to  consult — they,  too,  will 
stand  firm  as  they  have  done  in  other  times  of  almost  desperate 
emergency  ;  and  that  through  their  good  sense,  their  moderation, 
and  their  attachment  to  the  institutions  of  the  country,  we 
shall  see  these  institutions  still  exist,  a  blessing  and  a  benefit  to 
posterity,  whatever  alarms  and  whatever  misfortunes  may 
unfortunately  befall  other  portions  of  civilised  Europe.'  It 
was  fortunate  for  the  future  interest  of  the  country  that  the 
proposals  of  the  Government  were  at  this  juncture  supported  by 
a  great  majority  of  the  House  of  Commons.  In  a  moment  of 


A    MEMOEABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  97 

unreasoning  panic,  there  was  some  danger  of  the  adoption  of  a 
reactionary  policy — a  step  that  would  have  lost  to  the  country 
those  blessings  which  it  subsequently  enjoyed,  as  the  outcome  of 
Free  Trade. 

Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  during  this  session  an  important 
speech  upon  the  Navigation  Laws.  On  the  15th  of  May,  Mr. 
Labouchere,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  propounded  the 
Ministerial  plan  for  the  modification  of  these  laws.  After  taking 
a  lengthy  survey  of  previous  legislation  on  the  subject,  he 
announced  the  alteration  contemplated.  Eeserving  the  coasting 
trade  and  fisheries  of  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies,  it  was 
proposed  to  strike  out  of  the  Statute  Book  altogether  the 
present  system,  and  '  to  throw  open  the  whole  navigation  of  the 
country,  of  every  sort  and  description.'  The  Queen,  however, 
retained  the  right  of  putting  such  restrictions  on  the  navigation 
of  foreign  countries  as  she  might  think  fit,  if  those  countries 
did  not  meet  us  on  equal  terms.  Each  colony  should  be  allowed, 
if  it  were  deemed  advisable,  to  pass  an  Act  throwing  open  its 
coasting  trade  to  foreign  countries.  The  Government  contem- 
plated the  formation  of  a  new  department  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
to  be  called  the  Department  of  the  Mercantile  Marine,  which 
should  consist  of  unpaid  officers,  and  be  presided  over  by  a  Lord 
of  the  Admiralty. 

These  proposals  were  opposed  by  Lord  George  Bentinck,  Lord 
Ingestre,  and  others  ;  and  on  the  29th  Mr.  Herries  brought 
forward  a  resolution  in  favour  of  maintaining  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Navigation  Laws.  It  was  during  the  debate 
upon  this  resolution  that  Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  his  lengthy 
speech,  examining  closely  the  operation  of  "the  existing  laws, 
and  showing  the  necessity  for  their  repeal.  A  seasonable  time, 
he  said,  had  arrived  for  making  the  necessary  alterations,  though 
he  did  not  think  the  Government  proposals  in  every  respect 
unexceptionable.  It  would  have  been  better  to  have  pro- 
ceeded by  more  gradual  measures.  With  regard  to  the  dis- 
cretionary power  to  be  lodged  in  the  Queen  in  Council,  with 
a  view  of  enforcing  reciprocity,  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  '  I  confess 
it  appears  to  me  there  is  a  great  objection  to  conferring  such  a 
power  as  that  which  is  proposed  to  be  given  to  the  Queen  in 
Council.'  On  the  whole,  the  Government  would  have  acted 
more  safely  and  wisely  by  undoing  the  legislation  of  the  past  in 
a  gradual  and  piecemeal  manner,  than  by  introducing  a 
measure  of  such  a  sweeping  character.  The  policy  of  excluding 
the  coasting  trade  from  the  measure  he  also  condemned ;  it  would 
have  been  much  more  frank  to  have  offered  to  admit  the 
Americans  to  our  coasting  trade  if  they  would  admit  us  to 

B 


98  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

theirs.  If  England  and  America  concurred  in  setting  an 
example  to  the  world,  he  hoped  that  we  should  '  live  to  see  the 
ocean,  that  great  highway  of  nations,  as  free  to  the  ships  that 
traverse  its  bosom  as  the  winds  that  sweep  it.  England  would 
then  have  achieved  another  triumph,  and  have  made  another 
powerful  contribution  to  the  prosperity  of  mankind.' 

Although  the  Government  obtained  a  large  majority  upon 
this  question,  so  many  delays  occurred  in  prosecuting  the  bill 
founded  on  the  Ministerial  proposals,  that  it  was  eventually 
postponed  till  the  following  year. 

In  the  session  of  1848,  Mr.  Gladstone  further  addressed  the 
House  on  the  proposed  grant  of  Vancouver's  Island  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  He  felt  justified  in  saying  that  the 
island  was  a  most  valuable  possession,  and  a  fair  opportunity 
ought  to  be  afforded  for  its  free  colonisation.  Certainly,  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  could  not  be  expected  to  rear  that,  to  the 
very  life  and  substance  of  which  it  was  opposed.  There  was  a 
great  opportunity  of  planting  a  society  of  Englishmen  which, 
if  it  did  not  afford  a  precise  copy  of  our  institutions,  might  still 
present  a  reflex  of  the  truth,  integrity,  and  independence  which 
constituted  at  that  moment  the  honour  and  glory  of  this  country. 
Mr.  Gladstone  also  spoke  several  times  in  the  course  of  the 
debates  upon  the  Sugar  Duties  Bill ;  but  perhaps  the  most  note- 
worthy speech  of  the  session  was  that  which  he  delivered  upon 
the  measure  to  legalise  diplomatic  relations  with  the  Court  of 
Eome. 

Strong  objections  were  made  against  recognising  the  spiritual 
governor  of  Kome  and  of  all  the  Roman  Catholic  population  of 
the  world  ;  and  it  was  said  that  the  bill  would  neither  conciliate 
the  affections  of  the  Protestants  nor  satisfy  the  wishes  of  the 
Koman  Catholics,  who  had  denounced  it  strongly  to  the  Pope. 
Mr.  Gladstone  dealt  with  the  question  in  a  broad  and  com- 
prehensive manner.  Although  there  were  several  reasons,  be 
urged,  why  it  was  painful  to  him  to  support  this  bill,  he  felt  he 
could  not  oppose  its  principle.  It  was  unfortunate  that  they 
were  called  upon  to  debate  the  question  at  that  moment,  when, 
looking  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  Italy,  the  whole  of  the  subject- 
matter  in  dispute  would  probably  have  passed  away  in  a  short 
time.  England  must  stand  upon  one  of  two  grounds.  If  she 
declined  political  communication  with  the  See  of  Rome,  she  had 
no  right  to  complain  of  any  steps  which  the  Pope  might  take 
with  respect  to  the  administration  of  his  own  ecclesiastical 
affairs  ;  but  an  act  so  directly  in  contravention  of  the  laws  of  the 
land  as  the  partitioning  of  the  country  into  archbisoprics  and 
bishoprics  was  a  most  unfortunate  proceeding ;  not  only  because 


A    MEMOEABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  0§ 

it  was  generally  and  justly  offensive  to  the  feelings  of  the  people 
of  England,  and  totally  unnecessary,  as  he  believed,  for  Roman 
Catholic  purposes,  but  also  because  it  ill  assorted  with  the 
grounds  on  which  the  Parliament  was  invited  by  the  present 
bill  to  establish  definite  relations  with  the  See  of  Rome. 
Although  he  could  not  decline  to  vote  for  the  second  reading, 
he  thought  the  Government  ought  to  have  postponed  the 
measure  until  the  following  session.  For  one  hundred  years 
after  the  Reformation  the  Pope  was  actually  in  arms  for  the 
purpose  of  recovering  by  force  his  lost  dominion  in  this  country. 
It  was  only  natural,  therefore,  that  we  should  have  prohibited 
relations  with  the  See  of  Rome  when  it  attacked  the  title  of  the 
Sovereign  of  these  realms ;  but  there  was  no  such  reason  for  con- 
tinuing the  prohibition  at  the  present  moment.  There  was, 
moreover,  an  inevitable  necessity  for  a  bill  of  this  kind ;  for 
the  enactment  of  the  Irish  Colleges  Bill  had  rendered  it 
absolutely  imperative  for  the  Government  to  consult  with  the 
Roman  Catholic  authorities  as  to  the  statutes  by  which  they 
were  to  be  governed.  It  followed  that  if  we  had  to  communi- 
cate with  the  Roman  Catholic  authorities,  we  must  have  to 
communicate  with  the  Pope,  for  a  valid  obligation  could  not  be 
made  with  the  Court  of  Rome  without  communication  with  the 
Pope  himself.  It  was  perfectly  right  and  proper  that  such 
communication  should  be  direct  and  avowed  instead  of  being 
clandestine.  He  could  not  look  to  the  state  of  Ireland  and 
recollect  that  there  were  men  in  that  House  charged  with  the 
maintenance  of  peace  in  Ireland  and  refuse  to  give  them  any 
aid  not  illegitimate  which  they  might  wish  to  make  available  for 
this  great  purpose.  He  would  not  from  any  fear  of  being 
misapprehended,  and  of  being  thought  to  entertain  views 
regarding  future  schemes — which  he  would  leave  to  be  dealt 
with  when  their  time  of  ripeness  came — he  would  not,  from 
any  such  considerations,  withhold  his  support  from  this  measure. 

Ten  years  before,  the  speech  whose  gist  we  have  just  given — 
or  at  least  the  exposition  of  the  latter  portion  of  its  arguments 
— would  have  been  an  impossibility  with  Mr.  Gladstone.  But 
to  close  observers  of  the  changes  being  gradually  wrought  in 
his  convictions  upon  ecclesiastical  questions,  it  would  have  added 
one  more  straw  indicating  the  direction  of  the  current.  Early 
in  the  succeeding  session  another  example  was  furnished  of  his 
liberalising  tendencies  in  matters  of  conscience. 

Lord  John  Russell  having  moved  that  the  House  of  Commons 
resolve  itself  into  a  committee  on  the  oaths  to  be  taken  by 
members  of  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  with  a  view  to 
further  relief  upon  this  subject,  Mr.  Gladstone  rose  and  said 

H2 


ioo  WILLIAM  EWAKT  GLADSTONE. 

that,  he  should  not  shrink  from  stating  his  opinions  thereon. 
He  was  deliberately  convinced  that  the  civil  and  political  claims 
of  the  Jew  to  the  discharge  of  civil  and  political  duties  ought 
not,  in  justice,  to  be  barred,  and  could  not  beneficially  be 
barred  because  of  a  difference  in  religion.  But  there  were 
sufficient  grounds  for  going  into  committee  independent  of  this 
main  purpose.  Oaths,  when  taken  by  large  masses  of  men,  and 
under  associations  not  very  favourable  to  solemn  religious 
feelings,  had  a  tendency  to  degenerate  into  formalism.  Nor 
could  he  say  that  the  present  oaths  had  no  words  in  them  which 
could  not  with  advantage  be  omitted.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
glad  that  the  noble  lord  had  retained  the  words  *  on  the  true 
faith  of  a  Christian '  in  respect  to  all  Christian  members  of  that 
House.  The  measure  now  brought  forward  should  have  his 
support  at  every  stage. 

In  a  subsequent  debate  upon  Church  rates,  while  opposing  an 
abstract  resolution  on  the  subject,  he  said  that  he  felt  as  strongly 
as  any  one  the  desirableness  of  settling  this  question,  if  they 
could  do  so.  The  evils  attending  the  existing  system  were 
enormous,  and  we  had  certainly  deviated  in  practice  from 
the  original  intention  of  the  law,  which  was  not  to  impose 
a  mere  uncompensated  burden  upon  any  man,  but  a  burden 
for  which  every  man  bearing  it  should  receive  a  benefit ; 
so  that  while  each  member  of  the  community  was  bound 
to  contribute  his  quota  to  the  Church,  every  member  of 
the  Church  was  entitled  to  go  to  the  church-wardens  and 
demand  a  free  place  to  worship  his  Maker  in  the  house 
of  that  Maker.  The  case  at  present  was,  and  above  all  in 
towns,  that  the  centre  and  best  parts  of  the  church  were  occu- 
pied by  pews  exclusively  for  the  middle  classes,  while  the  labour- 
ing classes  were  jealously  excluded  from  almost  every  part  of 
sight  and  hearing  in  the  churches,  and  were  treated  in  a 
manner  which  was  most  painful  to  reflect  upon.  Matters 
being  in  this  unsatisfactory  condition,  they  were  bound  to  give 
consideration  to  proposals  for  relief.  While  voting  against  any 
and  every  abstract  resolution,  he  would  not  oppose  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  bill  dealing  with  the  question,  but  was  at  any  time 
prepared  to  consider  such  a  measure,  though  he  might  not  be 
able  to  give  it  his  approval. 

The  Ministerial  bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  Navigation  Laws 
was  re-introduced  by  Mr.  Labouchere.  During  the  debate  on 
the  second  reading  of  this  measure — one  of  the  most  important 
of  the  session  of  1849 — Mr.  Gladstone  supported  generally  the 
Government  proposals  in  a  remarkably  full  and  exhaustive 
speech.  He  dwelt  upon  the  beneficial  effects  which  had  already 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE- 1841-1850.  101 

resulted  from  a  system  of  relaxation  as  regarded  the  Navigation 
Laws.  So  far  from  this  relaxation  being  destructive  to  our 
shipping,  the  total  tonnage  had  been  steadily  increasing.  After 
pointing  out  the  compensations  which  the  shipowner  might 
fairly  demand  from  the  Legislature  on  being  deprived  of  protec- 
tion, Mr.  Gladstone  said  he  had  never  entertained  the  notion 
that  we  should  proceed  in  this  matter  by  treaties  of  reciprocity 
with  Foreign  PoAvers.  By  adopting  a  policy  of  conditional 
relaxation,  they  would  avoid  the  dangers  besetting  a  system  of 
reciprocity.  Conditional  relaxation  would  give  to  the  vessels  of 
such  States  as  conferred  privileges  upon  our  shipping  correspond- 
ing advantages  in  our  ports.  He  considered  that  this  plan  had 
1  lie  advantage  over  that  proposed  by  the  Government ;  it  was  in 
accordance  with  precedent  and  experience,  was  demanded  by 
justice,  and  would  be  found  much  more  easy  of  execution.  If 
the  Government  would  not  consent  to  legislate  on  the  subject 
conditionally,  he  would  advise  it  to  do  so  directly,  without  the 
accompaiTiment  of  retaliation.  This  plan  would  do  more  for  the 
general  liberty  of  commerce  than  that  which  emanated  from  the 
Treasury  Bench.  He  also  regarded  the  Government  proposition 
upon  the  coasting  trade  as  defective,  and  prophesied  that  it 
would  be  found  ineffectual.  Before  we  could  expect  to  get  the 
boon  of  the  American  coasting  trade,  we  must  throw  our  own 
coasting  trade  unreservedly  open  to  that  country.  He  was 
aware  that  the  Colonies  were  supposed  to  want  an  unconditional 
repeal  of  the  Navigation  laws  ;  but  they  did  not  want  such 
a  repeal  with  a  reserved  power  of  retaliation.  Having  once 
tasted  the  sweets  of  unrestrained  commercial  intercourse  with 
the  whole  world,  the  Colonies  would  not  be  very  ready  to 
return  to  the  system  of  restriction,  either  wholly  or  partially, 
should  that  system  be  reverted  to  by  the  mother-country, 
either  in  whole  or  in  part,  by  the  exercise  of  the  power  of 
retaliation.  Mr.  Gladstone  therefore  submitted  to  the  Govern- 
ment the  propriety  of  erasing  this  feature  from  its  plan,  if 
it  was  resolved  to  proceed  upon  th.3  principle  of  unconditional 
legislation.  Another  flaw  in  the  Government  scheme  was  the 
contemplated  removal  of  the  inter-colonial  trade  and  the  direct 
trade  between  the  Colonies  and  foreign  States  from  beyond  the 
jurisdiction  of  Parliament.  Yet,  notwithstanding  these  defects, 
the  speaker  could  not  refuse  his  assent  to  the  second  reading  of 
the  bill.  Mr.  Gladstone  concluded  by  referring  to  the  fears  and 
alarms  expressed  by  the  Marquis  of  Granby  at  the  consequences 
which  might  arise  from  a  change  in  the  Navigation  Laws.  l  The 
noble  Marquis,'  he  observed,  '  desired  to  expel  the  vapours  and 
exhalations  that  had  been  raised  with  regard  to  the  principle  of 


102  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLAt>STONfi. 

political  economy,  and  which  vapours  and  exhalations  I  find 
for  the  most  part  in  the  fears  with  which  those  changes 
are  regarded.  The  noble  Marquis  consequently  hoped  that 
the  Trojan  horse  would  not  he  allowed  to  come  within 
the  walls  of  Parliament.  But  however  applicable  the  figure 
may  be  to  other  plans,  it  does  not,  I  submit,  apply  to  the  mode 
of  proceeding  I  ventured  to  recommend  to  the  House,  because 
we  follow  the  precedent  of  what  Mr.  Huskisson  did  before  us. 
Therefore,  more  than  one  moiety  of  the  Trojan  horse  has 
already  got  within  the  citadel—  it  has  been  there  for  twenty-five 
years,  and  yet  what  has  proceeded  from  its  bowels  has  only 
tended  to  augment  the  rate  of  increase  in  the  progress  of  your 
shipping.  Therefore,  let  us  not  be  alarmed  by  vague  and 
dreamy  vat ichmtioiis  of  evil,  which  never  h;ul  been  wanting  on 
any  occasion,  and  which  never  will  be  wanting  so  long  as  this  is 
a  free  State,  wherein  every  man  can  find  full  vent  and  scope  for 
the  expression  not  only  of  his  principles,  but  of  his  prejudices 
and  his  fears.  Let  us  not  be  deterred  by  those  apprehensions 
from  giving  a  calm  and  serious  examination  to  this  question, 
connected  as  it  is  with  the  welfare  of  our  country.  Let  us 
follow  steadily  the  lights  of  experience,  and  be  convinced  that 
He  who  preserved  us  during  the  past  will  also  be  sufficient  to 
sustain  us  during  all  the  dangers  of  the  future.* 

Although  Mr.  Labouchere  stated  that  the  Government  could 
not  accept  Mr.  Gladstone's  leading  suggestions,  on  the  motion 
for  going  into  committee  on  the  bill,  the  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  announced  a  material  alteration  in  the  measure. 
Originally,  he  had  proposed,  under  certain  modifications,  to 
admit  foreign  nations  to  a  share  of  the  coasting  trade.  He 
now  discovered  that  the  proposal  would  involve  a  loss  to  the 
revenue.  The  Head  Commissioner  of  Customs  had  reported  that 
it  would  be  a  matter  of  extreme  difficulty  to  frame  any 
regulations  which  would  not  leave  the  revenue  exposed  to  the 
greatest  danger,  if  they  allowed  vessels,  either  British  or  foreign, 
to  combine  the  coasting  with  the  foreign  voyage.  Under  these 
circumstances,  he  withdrew  his  proposal.  MJT.  Gladstone,  after 
observing  that  he  had  objected  to  this  clause  on  the  second 
reading,  proceeded  to  refer  to  the  subject  of  conditional 
legislation,  and  sketched  a  plan  by  which  it  might  have  been 
carried  out.  It  was  not  now  his  intention  to  propose  an 
amendment,  but  he  wished  that  the  Navigation  Laws  could  have 
been  repealed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  any  serious  sluvk 
to  the  great  interests  involved.  But  the  Government  and  the 
party  representing  the  views  of  the  shipowners  alike  seemed  to 
prefer  a  decisive  course  upon  the  whole  question ;  and  as  his 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  103 

intention  had  never  been  to  propose  any  plan  for  the  mere 
purpose  of  obstruction,  he  thought  that  it  would  not  now 
conduce  to  the  public  advantage  if,  by  submitting  his  plan,  he 
wasted  the  time  of  the  House  in  fruitless  discussions.  As  the 
issue  now  was  between  the  continuance  of  the  present  law  and 
its  unconditional  repeal,  he  would  not  be  responsible  for  any 
course  which  might  result  in  retarding  the  repeal  of  the  law, 
I » re  ft Tring  the  plan  of  the  Government,  with  all  its  defects,  to  the 
continuance  of  the  present  system. 

At  a  later  stage  of  this  important  measure,  viz.,  upon  the 
motion  that  the  chairman  report  progress,  a  lively  episode 
occurred  in  consequence  of  a  caustic  speech  by  Mr.  Disraeli. 
The  honourable  gentleman  alluded  to  the  '  great  sacrifices ' 
which  had  been  made  by  Mr.  Labouchere  and  Mr.  Gladstone. 
The  former  had  withdrawn  ten  of  the  most  important  clauses 
of  his  bill,  which  did  not  now  differ  from  the  measure  of 
last  year  ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  imitating  the  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  announced  that  he  also  was  about  to  give  up 
that  great  development  of  the  principle  of  reciprocity  which  the 
House  had  awaited  with  so  much  suspense  He  was  reminded 
by  their  conduct  of  that  celebrated  day  in  the  French  Revolution 
when  the  nobles  and  the  prelates  vied  with  each  other  in 
throwing  coronets  and  mitres  to  the  dust,  as  useless  appendages. 
The  day  was  still  called  *  the  day  of  dupes,'  and  he  hoped  the 
House  and  the  country,  in  recalling  the  incidents  of  that  evening, 
would  not  be  reminded  that  they  might  have  had  some  share  in 
the  appellation.  The  Bill  for  the  repeal  of  the  Navigation  Laws 
had  that  evening  received  a  paralytic  stroke.  There  was  distress 
out  of  doors,  and  the  people  complained  of  the  precipitate 
and  ill-advised  legislation  of  the  Government,  which  had 
perniciously  affected  the  great  interests  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Disraeli  concluded  his  clever  and  very  severe  attack  upon 
the  conduct  of  the  Government  by  affirming  that  they  were 
not  only  injuring,  and  destroying  the  material  interests 
of  the  nation,  but  were  laying  the  foundation  of  a  stock 
of  political  discontent,  which  would  do  more  than  diminish 
the  revenues  of  the  kingdom  and  the  fortunes  of  its  subjects- 
winch  might  shake  the  institutions  of  the  country  to  their 
centre. 

Mr.  Gladstone  replied  to  the  strictures  upon  himself.  Two 
charges  had  been  made  against  him — first,  that  having  under- 
taken to  explain  in  committee  the  reasons  which  led  him 
to  prefer  the  mode  of  proceeding  by  conditional  legislation 
to  the  direct  legislation  proposed  by  the  Government,  he  had 
to  fulfil  that  pledge;  secondly,  that  in  stating  his  reasons 


104  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

for  refraining  from  pressing  his  proposals  upon  the  House  he  had 
been  inconsistent.  He  knew  that  he  should  have  been  supported 
in  the  outset,  but  not  with  a  bona  fide  acceptance  of  his 
proposition ;  it  was  merely  wished  to  make  a  tool  of  him  against 
a  plan  of  which  in  its  general  objects  he  approved,  and  then  to 
abandon  him  on  the  third  reading  of  the  bill.  For  these  reasons 
he  would  not  embarrass  the  Government.  As  to  the  charge  of 
having  given  a  pledge  which  he  had  failed  to  fulfil,  he  appealed 
to  £he  recollections  of  every  member  whether  he  had  not  stated 
most  distinctly  .that  he  would  exercise  his  own  discretion  as  to 
making  any  proposal  in  the  committee.  Though  differing  from  the 
Government  in  important  particulars,  he  was  not  willing  to  risk 
the  rejection  of  their  measure.  Mr.  Disraeli  himself  (continued 
the  right  hon.  gentleman)  saw  that  the  course  he  had  pursued  was 
one  favourable  to  the  objects  he  had  in  view,  or  he  would  not  have 
made  that  attack  upon  him.  'I  am  perfectly  satisfied  to  bear  his  sar- 
casm, good-humoured  and  brilliant  as  it  is,  while  I  can  appeal  to 
his  judgment  as  to  whether  the  step  I  have  taken  was  unbecoming 
in  one  who  conscientiously  differs  with  him  on  the  freedom  of 
trade,  and  has  endeavoured  to  realise  it ;  because,  so  far  from  its 
being  the  cause  of  the  distress  of  the  country,  it  has  been,  under 
the  mercy  of  God,  the  most  signal  and  effectual  means  of  miti- 
gating this  distress,  and  accelerating  the  dawn  of  the  day  of 
returning  prosperity.'  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  frequently  in  com- 
mittee upon  this  bill,  which  eventually  passed  by  a  substantial 
majority. 

Another  subject,  and  one  of  very  grave  importance,  that  came 
before  the  House  in  the  session  of  1849,  arose  out  of  the  affairs 
of  Canada,  which,  by  the  month  of  May,  were  in  a  most  serious 
condition.  Riots,  involving  the  loss  of  considerable  property,  had 
broken  out,  while  in  Montreal  menacing  demonstrations  against 
her  Majesty's  representative  had  taken  place.  Lord  Elgin,  the 
Governor-General,  had  given  his  assent  to  the  Rebellion  Losses 
Indemnity  Bill,  a  measure  which  provided  compensation  to 
parties  whose  property  had  been  destroyed  during  the  rebellion 
in  1837-8.  The  Tory  party  in  Canada  had  opposed  this  bill  with 
might  and  main,  but  unsuccessfully.  When  Lord  Elgin  returned 
from  the  Parliament  House,  after  having  giving  his  assent  to  it, 
he  was  stoned  by  the  populace.  The  streets  were  filled  by  an 
exasperated  mob ;  the  Parliament  House  was  attacked  and 
burned  down  ;  and  the  houses  of  some  of  the  Ministers  were 
sacked.  Intense  excitement  prevailed  in  the  province,  and 
England  itself  was  greatly  agitated  by  the  news  of  these 
disturbances.  They  became  the  subject  of  debate  in  both 
Houses.  In  the  Commons,  Mr.  Roebuck  entreated  the  House 


A  MEMORABLE  DECAbE-i84i-i850.  105 

to  beware  how  they  interfered  with  the  national  and  proper 
constitutional  expression  of  their  opinion  by  the  Canadians. 
The  money  about  to  be  appropriated  was  the  money  of 
Canada,  and  not  the  money  of  England.  Mr.  Gladstone,  while 
agreeing  that  the  subject  was  not  as  yet  ripe  for  judgment, 
maintained  that  the  House  of  Commons  had  a  perfect  right 
to  interfere  in  all  imperial  concerns.  The  fact  that  this  money 
was  the  money  of  Canada  was  not  of  itself  a  conclusive  reason 
against  interference,  if  upon  other  grounds  it  should  seem  to 
be  called  for.  The  very  fact  that  the  sanction  of  the  Crown 
was  required  and  given  must  bring  the  matter  within  the 
cognisance  and  jurisdiction  of  that  House. 

On  the  motion  for  going  into  Committee  of  Supply  on  the 
14th  of  June,  Mr.  Gladstone  formally  introduced  the  whole 
subject  of  the  Canadian  difficulties,  by  calling  attention 
to  certain  parts  of  the  Indemnity  Bill.  The  question,  he 
maintained,  was  of  the  first  importance,  involving  the  very 
principles  and  duties  of  Government,  and  touching  the 
very  foundation  of  all  social  order.  Passing  by  the 
conduct  of  Lord  Elgin  and  that  of  her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment, he  should  confine  himself  strictly  to  imperial 
considerations.  The  first  question  they  had  to  consider  was 
whether  the  Indemnity  Act  was  passed  for  the  purpose  of 
indemnifying,  or  was  intended  to  embrace  the  indemnification  of 
persons  who  had  borne  arms  against  the  State  ?  Secondly,  could 
it  be  said  that  such  an  act  of  legislation  involved  imperial 
consideration  ?  and  thirdly,  if  so,  was  it  consistent  or  at  variance 
with  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  Crown?  Upon  the  second 
and  third  questions,  no  serious  doubt  could  be  felt  as  to  this 
being  an  imperial  consideration,  and  that  such  a  measure  would 
be  inconsistent  with  the  honour  of  the  Crown.  Mr.  Gladstone 
then  pointed  out  the  ambiguities  in  the  Act,  which  would  let  in 
claims  for  indemnity  of  persons  who  had  been  guilty  of  high 
treason.  He  next  showed  by  a  series  of  facts  and  illustrations 
that  the  evident  intention  of  the  framers  of  the  Act  was  not  to 
treat  participation  in  the  rebellion  as  a  disqualification.  He 
denied  that  the  sense  of  the  Canadian  people  had  been 
unequivocally  expressed  in  favour  of  this  Act ;  but  if  it  had  been, 
he  denied  that  this  should  be  an  ultimate  criterion,  or  be 
regarded  as  conclusive  upon  a  question  involving  the  highest 
considerations,  which  appertained  to  the  Imperial  Parlia- 
ment alone.  Mr.  Gladstone  did  not  argue  for  disannulling 
the  Act,  but  he  asked  from  the  Government  an  assurance 
that  rebels  should  not  be  compensated  under  it,  and 
that  reasonable  prima  facie  evidence  should  be  forth- 


106  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

coming,  before  parties  received  any  public  money,  that  the}' 
had  not  taken  part  in  the  rebellion.  If  the  Government 
did  not  give  this  assurance,  he  recommended  that  the  House 
should  suspend  the  final  ratification  of  the  Act  until  the 
Colonial  Legislature  had  had  an  opportunity  of  amending  it. 

Lord  John  Russell  replied,  contending  that  Mr.  Gladstone's 
speech  would  tend  to  aggravate  the  dissensions  in  Canada,  and 
to  embitter  the  feelings  of  hostile  parties.  He  avowed  at  once 
the  intention  of  the  Government  to  leave  the  Act  in  operation. 
Upon  this  Mr.  Herries  moved  an  address  to  her  Majesty  to 
withhold  her  assent  to  the  measure,  but  his  proposition  was 
defeated  by  291  votes  to  150. 

The  subject  of  colonial  reform  came  before  the  House  on 
several  occasions,  directly  and  indirectly,  during  this  session. 
An  abortive  motion  by  Mr.  Roebuck,  for  leave  to  bring  in  a 
bill  for  the  better  government  of  our  colonial  possessions, 
received  Mr.  Gladstone's  support.  He  was  not  inclined  to 
throw  all  the  blame  upon  the  Colonial  Minister,  for  he  believed 
the  evil  lay  much  deeper.  No  measure  could  pass  that  session, 
but  it  would  be  important  that  the  plan  of  the  bill  should  go  out 
in  a  tangible  shape  to  the  different  colonies,  in  order  to  enable 
them  to  offer  such  suggestions  as  would  be  of  practical  use 
towards  maturing  the  scheme  in  a  future  session.  The  motion 
was  negatived  by  116  to  73.  But  on  the  26th  of  June  the 
subject  was  re-opened,  on  a  motion  of  Sir  W.  Molesworth,  for  an 
address  to  the  Queen,  praying  'that  her  Majesty  will  be 
graciously  pleased  to  issue  a  commission  to  inquire  into  the 
administration  of  her  Majesty's  colonial  possessions,  with  a  view  of 
removing  the  causes  of  colonial  complaint,  diminishing  the  cost 
of  colonial  government,  and  giving  free  scope  to  individual 
enterprise  in  the  business  of  colonising.'  The  motion  was 
seconded  by  Mr.  Hume,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  supported  it,  though 
he  recognised  that  some  objection  might  be  taken  to  its  terms. 
Lord  Grey,  notwithstanding  his  talents  and  his  services,  had 
been  led  into  serious  errors,  which  called  for  preventive  measures. 
The  time  had  come  when  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  improve 
our  colonial  system,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  based  his  opinion  not 
upon  one  single  consideration,  but  upon  the  joint  result  of  many. 
A  commission  appointed  by  the  Executive  Government,  and 
acting  in  harmony  with  that  Government,  would  lead  to  many 
useful  results.  After  having  touched  upon  various  questions 
connected  with  our  colonial  policy,  the  right  hon.  gentleman 
concluded  by  expressing  his  belief  that  if  they  studied  the 
welfare  of  the  colonies,  it  would  be  the  way  to  maintain  our 
connection  with  them,  and  to  maintain  that  which  was  even 


A   MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1811-1850.  107 

more  important  than  the  mere  political  connection  between  the 
colonies  and  this  country — namely,  the  love  of  the  colonies  for 
the  mother-country,  and  a  desire  to  imitate  the  laws  and 
institutions  of  the  great  country  from  which  they  had  sprung. 
Sir  W.  Molesworth's  motion,  however,  was  unsuccessful — a 
majority  of  74  appearing  against  it  on  a  division. 

When  Mr.  J.  Stuart  Wortley  introduced  his  bill  for  the 
purpose  of  removing  the  legal  restriction  against  marriage  with 
a  deceased  wife's  sister,  Mr.  Gladstone  strongly  opposed  the 
measure  upon  theological,  social,  and  moral  grounds.  He 
begged  the  House  to  respect  the  sentiment  of  nearly  the  entire 
country  by  rejecting  the  bill.  To  do  otherwise  would  be  to 
inflict  upon  the  Church  the  misfortune  of  having  anarchy 
introduced  amongst  its  ministers.  He  hoped  they  would  do  all 
that  in  them  lay  to  maintain  the  strictness  of  the  obligations  of 
marriage,  and  the  purity  of  the  hallowed  sphere  of  domestic  life. 
In  the  end  the  bill  was  rejected. 

One  of  the  chief  topics  discussed  in  the  Parliamentary  session 
of  1850  was  the  great  depression  which  still  affected  the 
agricultural  interests  of  the  country.  Although  the  nation  was 
tranquil,  and  the  state  of  the  revenue  satisfactory,  and  although 
our  foreign  trade  had  largely  increased,  the  farmers  still  made 
loud  complaints  of  their  disastrous  condition,  which  they 
attributed  to  Free  Trade  measures.  The  whole  of  the  agricul- 
tural interests  had,  they  alleged,  been  seriously  affected. 
Consequently,  on  the  19th  of  February,  Mr.  Disraeli  moved  for  a 
committee  of  the  whole  House  to  consider  such  a  revision  of  the 
Poor  Laws  of  the  United  Kingdom  as  might  mitigate  the  distress 
of  the  agricultural  classes.  Sir  James  Graham  strongly  opposed 
the  motion  ;  but  Mr.  Gladstone  supported  it,  and  entered  at 
length  into  the  reasons  which  led  him  to  differ  from  his  right 
hon.  friend  upon  the  subject.  If  he  saw  in  the  motion  then 
before  the  House  a  reversal  of  the  policy  of  Free  Trade,  he  stated 
that  he  should  join  in  offering  the  firmest  resistance  to  such  a 
course.  He  did  not  agree  with  Sir  J.  Graham  as  to  the  effects 
of  the  motion  upon  the  recent  commercial  policy,  or  upon  the 
stability  of  the  Administration.  No  one,  by  voting  for  the 
motion,  would  be  committed  to  these  views.  Mr.  Disraeli  had 
urged  that  there  was  a  considerable  portion  of  the  charges  con- 
nected with  the  Poor  Law  which  might  be  transferred  to  the 
Consolidated  Fund,  without  detracting  from  the  advantages  of 
local  marlagement  or  impairing  the  stimulus  which  local  man- 
agement gave  to  economy.  Concurring  with  him  in  that  opinion, 
he  (Mr.  Gladstone)  was  prepared  to  go  into  committee,  and  to 
consider  what  establishment  charges,  or  what  other  charges  there 


108  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

were  upon  the  poor-rates  (whether  in  England,  Scotland,  or 
Ireland),  or  what  expenses  of  management  there  were  which, 
without  injury  to  the  great  principle  of  local  control,  might  be 
advantageously  transferred  to  the  Consolidated  Fund.  The 
motion  could  not  be  construed  into  a  return  of  Protec- 
tion, and  in  fact  it  had  rather  a  tendency  to  weaken  the 
arguments  in  favour  of  a  retrograde  policy,  and  to  draw  off 
the  moderate  Protectionists.  He  would  vote  for  this  motion 
on  the  ground  upon  which  his  right  hon.  friend  had  declared 
he  should  resist  it — the  ground  of  justice.  It  was  impossible 
to  look  at  the  nature  of  the  tax  for  the  support  of  the  poor 
without  being  struck  by  the  inequality  of  its  incidence.  The 
rate  was  levied  locally  for  two  reasons  :  first,  for  the  purposes  of 
police,  and  secondly  for  the  discharge  of  a  sacred  obligation 
enforced  upon  us  by  religion.  The  rate  ought  to  fall  upon  all 
descriptions  of  property,  taking  an  abstract  view ;  and  though  this 
might  be  impracticable,  that  objection  did  not  lie  against  the 
motion  before  the  House.  With  regard  to  the  position  of  the 
landed  interest,  they  were  asking  at  present  to  be  relieved  from 
only  a  portion  of  the  burden  which  had  descended  to  them. 
They  did  inherit  poor-rates  with  their  land,  but  they  also 
inherited  with  it  a  protective  system,  which  had  given  to  this 
property  an  artificial  value — a  system  which  he  admitted  was  as 
contrary  to  abstract  justice  as  the  inequality  of  the  incidence  of 
the  poor-rate,  which,  on  the  ground  of  this  protective  system 
being  thus  contrary  to  abstract  justice,  the  House  had  effectually 
destroyed.  Mr.  Gladstone  entirely  differed  from  Sir  James 
Graham  as  to  the  class  which  would  be  relieved  by  the  transfer 
of  the  rate.  He  believed  that  the  farmer  and  the  independent 
yeoman  would  be  the  persons  to  benefit  by  the  change  ;  and  even 
if  the  landlord  should  ultimately  receive  the  entire  benefit,  that 
would  not  be  a  fatal  objection  to  the  motion.  The  condition  of 
the  farming  class  and  of  the  agricultural  labourers  in  a  large 
portion  of  England,  to  say  nothing  of  Ireland,  was  such  as  to 
demand  the  careful  attention  and  consideration  of  the  House. 
He  trusted  something  to  the  spirit  of  liberality  and  conciliation  ; 
but  he  trusted  likewise  that  some  who  might  not  consider  the 
claim  as  exactly  one  which  could  be  mathematically  demon- 
strated to  be  one  of  justice,  but  who  regarded  it  as  a  claim 
connected  with  the  gallant  struggle  of  the  farmers  and  yeomen, 
and  with  the  independent  condition  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
peasantry  of  the  country — he  trusted  that  there  were  many  such 
who  would  not  hesitate  to  give  their  support  to  a  proposition, 
the  reasonableness  of  which  was,  to  his  mind,  clear  and  satisfac- 
tory both  in  its  substance  and  spirit 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  103 

Mr.  Disraeli's  motion  was  negatived  by  a  narrow  majority,  the 
numbers  being — For  the  resolution,  252 ;  against,  273.  Mr. 
Gladstone  voted  in  the  minority,  and  Sir  Robert  Peel  in  the 
majority. 

Another  important  question  of  this  session  was  the  proposed 
extension  of  the  benefits  of  constitutional  government  to  certain 
of  the  colonial  dependencies.  In  a  comprehensive  speech,  Lord 
John  Russell  unfolded  the  details  of  the  Government  policy  on 
this  subject,  and  introduced  the  Australian  Colonies  Government 
Bill.  This  measure  was  combated  at  every  stage.  In  the  outset, 
referring  to  the  proposition  for  a  single  chamber,  Mr.  Gladstone 
said  he  should  hereafter  press  upon  the  House  the  expediency  of 
having  a  double  chamber  in  the  scheme  of  the  Australian  consti- 
tutions. When  the  colonists  knew  that  the  Cape  was  to  have  an 
elective  upper  chamber  they  would  desire  one  too.  Accordingly, 
when  Mr.  Walpole  moved  his  amendment,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  establish  two  chambers,  one  nominated  by  the  Crown,  the  other 
elected  by  the  colonists,  Mr.  Gladstone  supported  the  separation 
into  two  chambers.  The  original  clause,  however,  was  carried  by 
198  to  147.  On  the  bringing  up  of  the  report,  Sir  W.  Moles- 
worth  moved  that  the  bill  be  recommitted  for  the  purpose  of  omit- 
ting all  clauses  which  empowered  the  Colonial  Office  to  disallow 
colonial  laws,  to  cause  colonial  bills  to  be  reserved,  and  to 
instruct  colonial  governors  as  to  their  conduct  in  the  local 
affairs  of  the  colonies,  and  for  the  purpose  of  adding  clauses 
defining  imperial  and  colonial  powers.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in 
explaining  his  vote  in  favour  of  this  motion,  said  it  was  a  most 
important  and  valuable  object  to  emancipate  the  colonies  from 
the  control  of  the  Government  at  home,  as  far  as  was  consistent 
with  imperial  interests.  The  difficulties  suggested  were  not  a 
sufficient  answer  to  a  motion  for  considering  whether  it  was  not 
practicable  to  devise  a  sufficiently  strict  enumeration  of  imperial 
questions,  and  thereby  get  rid  of  a  great  portion  of  the 
machinery  of  an  administrative  department  which  had  of 
necessity  worked  in  a  way  to  cause  painful  disputes.  Sir  W. 
Molesworth's  motion  having  been  rejected,  Mr.  Gladstone  then 
moved  the  insertion  of  a  clause  empowering  the  bishop,  clergy, 
and  laity  of  the  Church  of  England  in  any  colonial  diocese  to 
meet,  and  by  mutual  consent  make  regulations  for  the  conduct 
of  their  ecclesiastical  affairs,  guarding  the  enactment  with 
various  provisoes. 

The  proposed  clause  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Labouchere  and 
others,  and  upon  a  division  it  was  rejected  by  187  votes 
to  102.  Mr.  Gladstone,  notwithstanding,  carried  his  opposi- 
tion to  the  Government  measure  to  its  final  stage.  On 


110  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

the  order  for  the  third  reading  on  the  13th  of  May,  he 
moved  an  amendment  with  the  object  of  suspending  the 
passing  of  the  bill  until  the  colonies  should  have  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  considering  its  provisions,  in  conjunction  with  the 
proposals  varying  from  them  which  had  been  su  bmitted  to  the 
House.  There  was  nothing  strange,  he  maintained,  in  the 
demand  for  delay,  and  they  had  no  proof  that  the  wishes  of  the 
colonists  in  general  were  in  favour  of  the  bill.  He  adduced 
evidence  to  prove  that  any  of  its  provisions  were  repugnant  to 
their  declared  wishes.  He  objected  to  the  bill  in  that  it  per- 
mitted, and  even  required,  the  constant  interference  and  review 
of  the  authorities  at  home  in  the  local  affairs  of  the  colonies ; 
that  it  authorised  the  creation,  at  the  requisition  of  two  colonies, 
of  a  General  Assembly,  to  exercise  a  legislative  power  over  all ; 
that  it  bequeathed,  as  the  last  act  of  imperial  legislation  for  the 
colonies,  a  constitution  which  entrusted  the  great  work  of  colonial 
legislation  to  a  single  chamber  in  each  colony,  and  that  chamber 
composed  in  part  of  Government  nominees.  He  complained  that 
they  had  never  given  the  colonists  a  chance  of  a  double  chamber 
at  all,  while  the  very  Government  which  had  denied  this  chance 
to  the  Australian  colonists  had  given  to  the  colonists  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  a  chamber  of  representatives  and  a  legislative 
council  based  upon  the  principle  of  election.  On  a  division,  the 
motion  was  lost  by  226  against  128.  Mr.  Gladstone  acted  as 
teller  in  this  division,  his  colleague  being  his  seconder,  Mr. 
Koebuck.  In  the  minority,  supporting  Mr.  Gladstone,  were 
Mr.  Disraeli,  Mr.  J.  Evelyn  Denison,  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert, 
Mr.  Goulburn,  Mr.  R.  Palmer,  and  Mr.  Walpole.  Looking  back 
upon  this  division  list,  and  upon  Mr.  Gladstone's  co-teller  and 
supporters,  we  are  tempted  to  exclaim  over  the  many  Parliamen- 
tary changes  that  have  since  occurred — as  Wycherley  said  in 
contemplating  the  portrait  of  his  youth — Quantum,  mutatus 
ab  illo  ! 

Twice  during  the  session  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  the  House 
on  questions  connected  with  slavery.  On  the  31st  of  May,  Sir 
Edward  N.  Buxton  brought  forward  the  following  resolution : — 
'  That  it  is  unjust  and  impolitic  to  expose  the  free-grown  sugar  of 
the  British  Colonies  and  possessions  abroad  to  unrestricted  compe- 
tition with  the  sugar  of  foreign  slave-trading  countries.'  The 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  opposed  the  motion  on  the  ground 
that  it  would  check  the  growing  spirit  of  energy  in  the  West 
Indies,  and  inspire  the  delusive  hope  of  a  revival  of  Protection. 
Mr.  Gladstone  supported  the  motion,  but  asked  for  only  a  limited 
period  of  Protection,  exceptional  circumstances  seeming  to 
demand  it.  It  was  not  emancipation,  he  said,  which  had 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  Ill 

ruined  the  West  Indies,  but  the  false  policy  that  succeeded  it ; 
for  the  artificial  scarcity  of  labour  in  the  islands  Parliament  was 
responsible.  Sir  R.  Peel  had  referred  to  the  West  Indies  as 
being  an  exception  from  the  general  category  of  Free  Trade.  If 
the  evils  from  which  the  sugar-growing  colonies  were  suffer- 
ing could  be  cured  by  the  restoration  of  Protection,  he  (Mr. 
Gladstone)  would  vote  for  it.  But  though  they  could  not  be,  he  was 
still  of  opinion  that  the  scale  of  duties  ought  to  be  arrested  in  its 
descent.  The  negro  population  had  fallen  back  in  the  social 
scale,  and  this  question  vitally  affected  them  as  well  as  the  ill- 
used  West  India  proprietors.  He  claimed  for  the  latter  a  fixed 
period  of  Protection,  which  would  enable  them  to  surmount  their 
present  difficulties.  Lord  Palmerston  touched  upon  the  various 
inconsistencies  of  the  debate,  insisting  (not  altogether  fairly) 
that  Mr.  Gladstone  intended  to  vote  for  a  resolution  to  perpetuate 
Protection,  a  system  which  he  condemned.  Sir  E.  N.  Buxton's 
motion  was  negatived  by  275  against  234.  The  second  debate 
connected  with  slavery  (which,  in  fact,  preceded  in  point  of  time 
that  on  Sir  E.  N.  Buxton's  motion)  arose  on  a  resolution  proposed 
by  Mr.  Hutt  for  an  address  to  the  Crown  to  direct  that  negotia- 
tions be  forthwith  entered  into  for  the  purpose  of  releasing  this 
country  from  all  treaty  engagements  with  foreign  States  for 
maintaining  armed  vessels  on  the  coast  of  Africa  to  suppress  the 
traffic  in  slaves.  The  motion  was  defeated  by  a  considerable 
majority.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  supporting  it,  stated  that  he  joined 
with  those  who  stigmatised  the  slave  trade  as  a  detestable  traffic  ; 
but  as  regarded  the  system  of  armed  repression,  it  had  long  ago 
been  pronounced  futile  by  Sir  F.  Buxton  ;  it  had  also  been 
condemned  by  Lord  John  Russell,  and  by  the  most  responsible 
and  credible  witnesses.  Not  only  had  the  squadron  failed  to 
extinguish  the  trade,  but  it  had  made  no  progress  towards 
extinction  ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone  read  statements  in  support  of 
his  assertion.  The  success  of  our  squadron  in  Africa  would  be 
visionary  unless  we  repealed  the  Sugar  Duties  Act,  doubled 
the  squadron,  obtained  the  right  of  search  from  France  and 
America,  with  power  to  punish  foreign  crews ;  and  finally  Spain 
and  Brazil  must  be  forced  to  fulfil  their  treaties.  But  the 
object  England  had  in  view  eluded  her  grasp ;  the  slave  trader 
mocked  at  our  vigilance;  and  while  they  were  in  pursuit  of 
that  end  which  philanthropists  held  most  dear,  they  were  only 
increasing  those  sufferings  which  it  was  their  object  and  desire 
to  prevent. 

Upon  a  motion  being  brought  forward  by  Mr.  Heywood  for  an 
inquiry  into  the  state  of  the  English  and  Irish  universities,  the 
Government  unexpectedly  gave  their  consent  to  the  issuing  of  a 


112  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Royal  Commission  for  that  purpose.  In  the  course  of  the  debate, 
Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  any  person  who  might  be  deliberating 
with  himself  whether  he  would  devote  a  portion  of  his  substance 
for  prosecuting  the  objects  of  learning,  civilisation,  and  religion, 
would  be  checked  by  the  prospect  that  at  any  given  time,  and  under 
any  given  circumstances,  a  Minister,  who  was  the  creature  of  a 
political  majority,  might  institute  a  State  inquiry  into  the  mode 
in  which  the  funds  he  might  devise  were  administered.  It  was 
not  wise  to  discourage  eleemosynary  establishments.  Yet  while 
he  pleaded  the  cause  of  the  English  universities,  he  admitted 
that  they  had  not  done  for  learning  all  that  they  might  have 
done ;  but  they  had.  nevertheless,  answered  the  circumstances  uf 
the  times,  and  the  exigencies  of  the  country.  It  would  be  better 
for  the  Crown  to  see  what  could  be  done  to  improve  the  colleges 
under  its  control  by  administering  the  existing  law,  rather  than 
to  issue  the  proposed  Commission. 

But  the  most  important  debate  of  this  session — and  one  in 
which  the  whole  foreign  policy  of  the  Government  was  virtually 
challenged — arose  out  of  the  affairs  of  Greece.  The  facts  lay  in 
a  comparatively  small  compass.  The  Greek  Government  having 
refused  to  afford  compensation  in  response  to  certain  demands 
which  the  English  Government  had  made  on  account  of  the 
claims  of  specified  British  subjects,  Admiral  Sir  Wm.  Parker 
was  directed  to  proceed  to  Athens,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
satisfaction.  Failing  in  this,  the  Admiral  blockaded  the  Piraeus. 
The  news  of  this  somewhat  high-handed  proceeding  produced 
dissatisfaction  in  certain  quarters  in  England,  the  policy  being 
condemned  as  unworthy  of  the  dignity,  and  discreditable  to  the 
reputation,  of  a  power  like  Great  Britain.  The  debates  in  both 
Houses  initiated  upon  this  Greek  question  took  a  wider  scope  than 
the  facts  just  enumerated,  and  eventually  included  our  relations 
with  France.  The  stability  of  the  Whig  administration  depended 
upon  the  results  of  the  discussions.  Lord  Palmerston,  whose 
policy  as  Foreign  Minister  was  thus  assailed,  before  the  great 
debate  in  the  House  of  Commons  came  on,  tendered  an  explana- 
tion of  the  circumstances  attending  the  withdrawal  of  the  French 
Minister  from  London,  and  related  the  proceedings  which  had 
taken  place  on  the  part  of  the  representatives  of  both 
Governments ;  alleging  also  his  strong  desires  to  conciliate 
the  French  Government,  and  to  restore  an  amicable 
understanding  between  the  two  countries.  In  the  House  of 
Lords,  upon  a  resolution  moved  by  Lord  Stanley,  the 
Government  found  themselves  in  a  minority  of  37.  This  gave 
the  impending  debate  in  the  Commons  additional  importance, 
the  fall  of  the  Ministry  following  as  a  natural  consequence, 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE- 1841-1850.  113 

unless  the  Lower  House  should  reverse  the  condemnation 
pronounced  by  the  Upper.  Mr.  Koebuck — much  to  the  surprise 
of  many — came  to  the  defence  of  the  Government,  by  proposing 
the  following  motion : — *  That  the  principles  which  have  hitherto 
regulated  the  foreign  policy  of  her  Majesty's  Government  are 
such  as  were  required  to  preserve  untarnished  the  honour  and 
dignity  of  this  country,  and,  in  times  of  unexampled  difficulty, 
the  best  calculated  to  maintain  peace  between  England  and  the 
various  nations  of  the  world.'  The  debate  commenced  on  the 
24th  of  June,  and  extended  over  four  nights.  It  was  marked  on 
both  sides  of  the  House  by  speeches  of  unusual  oratorical 
excellence  and  brilliancy.  Sir  Kobert  Peel  delivered  a  powerful 
speech  against  Ministers,  and  one  memorable  now,  not  only  for 
its  eloquence,  but  also  from  the  melancholy  fact  that  it  was  the 
last  speech  he  was  fated  to  deliver  before  that  assembly  in 
whose  midst  he  had  so  long  been  a  conspicuous  figure. 
Lord  Palmerston  energetically  defended  his  policy  in  a 
speech  of  nearly  five  hours'  duration.  At  its  close  he  challenged 
the  verdict  of  the  House  whether  the  principles  which  had 
guided  the  foreign  policy  of  her  Majesty's  Ministers  had  been 
proper  and  fitting,  and  whether,  as  a  subject  of  ancient  Home 
could  hold  himself  free  from  indignity  by  saying  Civis  Romanus 
sum,  a  British  subject  in  a  foreign  country  should  not  be 
protected  by  the  vigilant  eye  and  the  strong  arm  of  the 
Government  against  injustice  and  wrong. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  speech  in  a  rhetorical  sense  was  worthy  of  the 
occasion,  and  fully  entitled  to  rank  with  the  remarkable  orations 
of  Lord  Palmerston,  Sir  Kobert  Peel,  Mr.  Cockburn,  Mr,  Cobden, 
and  Mr.  Disraeli.  It  was  trenchant  and  exhaustive,  producing 
a  great  effect  on  the  House.  Touching  first  upon  the  position 
of  the  Government,  and  the  constitutional  doctrines  which  they 
had  laid  down  in  regard  to  it,  Mr.  Gladstone  severely  condemned 
the  conduct  of  the  First  Minister  of  the  Crown  in  sitting  down 
contentedly  under  the  censure  of  the  House  of  Lords,  and  in 
sheltering  himself  under  precedents  which  were  in  reality  no 
precedents  at  all.  The  champion  of  the  Government,  the  hon. 
member  for  Sheffield,  had  not  deemed  it  prudent  to  raise  the 
same  issue  as  that  raised  in  the  House  of  Lords,  but  had  shifted 
his  issue,  in  order  to  enlist  in  favour  of  Lord  Palmerston  the 
sympathies  of  those  who  believed  that  he  studied  to  promote 
popular  principles.  There  was  an  indication  of  a  very  great 
unwillingness  to  meet  the  discussion  upon  the  affairs  of  Greece. 
With  reference  to  this  Greek  question,  he  (Mr.  Gladstone) 
repudiated  precedents  which  involved  the  conduct  of  strong 
countries  against  weak  ones.  He  then  examined  the  cases  upon 

I 


114  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

which  the  main  issue  depended.  In  that  of  Stellio  Sumachi 
no  redress  had  been  demanded ;  his  wrongs,  which,  if  true, 
were  most  serious,  remained  to  that  hour  unrequited ;  if  he 
was  tortured,  he  had  not  even  twenty  pounds'  worth  of 
consolation,  nor  had  the  police  officers  charged  with  maltreat- 
ing him  been  dismissed.  Then  there  was  the  case  of  Mr. 
Fin!  ay,  even  more  important  still,  in  which  there  came  out 
the  grand  question,  how  the  relations  of  British  subjects, 
domiciled  in  foreign  countries,  were  to  be  regulated.  Where  the 
law  of  the  country  was  applicable  to  the  case,  it  had  been 
admitted  that  the  tribunals  must  first  be  resorted  to.  The  law 
applied  in  this  case,  yet,  although  Mr.  Finlay  was  bound  to  go 
before  those  tribunals  to  which  he  had  always  been  referred  by 
the  Greek  Government,  diplomatic  measures  had  been  employed 
in  his  behalf.  The  Greek  Government  threw  no  impediment 
in  the  way  of  arbitration.  Baron  Gros,  who  acted  as  the 
representative  of  France,  stated  most  distinctly  that  the 
reason  why  the  arbitration  had  made  no  progress  was  this : 
that  Mr.  Finlay,  who  was  the  complaining  party,  and  whose 
duty  it  was  to  make  his  case  before  the  arbitrators,  did  not 
produce  the  necessary  documents  and  proofs  of  his  claim. 
The  case  of  M.  Pacifico  stood  upon  the  same  footing  as  that 
of  Mr.  Finlay ;  if  the  Courts  were  not  resorted  to,  a  recourse 
to  diplomatic  action  was  unjustifiable.  Under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, the  character  of  M.  Pacifico  would  not  matter  one  straw 
in  considering  his  claims  to  compensation ;  but  M.  Pacifico 
himself  compelled  the  House  to  examine  rather  narrowly  into 
the  question  of  his  character.  With  regard  to  the  enormous 
claims  on  his  behalf — claims  amounting  to  something  like 
£30,000  out  of  a  total  of  £32,000  or  £33,000— it  was  a  fact  that 
the  whole  of  the  allegations  respecting  these  claims  rested 
entirely  on  his  personal  credit.  After  a  close  examination  of 
the  details  of  the  claims,  Mr.  Gladstone  asked — Did  M.  Pacifico 
seek  civil  redress  ?  No,  he  did  not  even  attempt  it ;  all  such 
complaints  were  received  without  scrutiny  by  the  British 
Minister,  and  reprisals  were  made  upon  Greek  property  to  the 
amount  of  £80,000.  In  summing  up  his  charges  against  Lord 
Palmerston,  Mr.  Gladstone  affirmed  that  instead  of  trusting  and 
trying  the  tribunals  of  the  country,  and  employing  diplomatic 
agency  simply  as  a  supplemental  resource,  he  had  interposed  at 
once  in  the  cases  of  Mr.  Finlay  and  M.  Pacifico  the  authority  of 
foreign  power,  in  contravention  both  of  the  particular  stipula- 
tions of  the  treaty  in  force  between  this  country  and  Greece, 
and  of  the  general  principles  of  the  law  of  nations  ;  and  had  thus 
set  the  mischievous  example  of  abandoning  the  methods  of  law 


A    MEMORABLE    DECADE— 1841-1850.  116 

and  order,  in  order  to  repair  to  those  of  force.  The  fruit  of  this 
policy  had  been  humiliation  in  regard  to  France,  and  a  lesson 
received  without  reply  from  the  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias. 
Non-interference  had  been  laid  down  as  the  basis  of  our  conduct 
towards  other  nations  ;  but  the  policy  of  Lord  Palmerston  had 
been  characterised  by  a  spirit  of  active  interference.  British 
influence  might,  on  fit  occasions,  be  exercised  with  other  coun- 
tries to  extend  institutions  from  which  we  derived  so  much 
benefit ;  but  we  were  not  to  make  occasions,  and  become  pro- 
pagandists of  even  sound  political  doctrines.  No  Minister  could 
really  protect  Englishmen,  except  upon  principles  of  policy 
which  universal  consent  had  prescribed  for  the  government  of 
nations.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  replied  in  the  following  terms  to 
Lord  Palmerston's  allusion  to  the  Rdman  citizen : — 

'  Sir,  great  as  is  the  influence  and  power  of  Britain,  she  cannot  afford  to  follow, 
for  any  length  of  time,  a  self-isolating-  policy.  It  would  be  a  contravention  of  the 
law  of  nature  and  of  God,  if  it  were  possible  for  any  single  nation  of  Christendom 
to  emancipate  itself  from  the  obligations  whicli  bind  all  other  nations,  and 
to  arrogate,  in  the  face  of  mankind,  a  position  of  peculiar  privilege.  And  now  I 
will  grapple  with  the  noble  lord  on  the  ground  which  he  selected  for  himself,  in 
the  most  triumphant  portion  of  his  speech,  by  his  reference  to  those  emphatic 
words,  Civis  Eoma/ws  sum.  He  vaunted,  amidst  the  cheers  of  his  supporters,  that 
under  his  administration  an  Englishman  should  be,  throughout  the  world,  what 
the  citizen  of  Rome  had  been.  What  then,  sir,  was  a  Roman  citizen?  He  was  the 
member  of  a  privileged  caste  ;  he  belonged  to  a  conquering  race,  to  a  nation  that 
held  all  others  bound  down  by  the  strong  arm  of  power.  For  him  there  was  to 
be  an  exceptional  system  of  Jaw  ;  for  him  principles  were  to  be  asserted,  and  by 
him  rights  were  to  be  enjoyed,  that  were  denied  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  Is  such, 
(hen,  Ihe  view  of  the  noble  lord  as  to  the  relation  which  is  to  subsist  between 
England  and  other  countries  ?  Does  he  make  the  claim  for  us  that  we  are  to  be 
uplifted  upon  a  platform  high  above  the  standing-ground  of  all  other  nations? 
It  is,  indeed,  too  clear,  not  only  from  the  expressions  but  from  the  whole  tone 
of  the  speech  of  the  noble  viscount,  that  too  much  of  this  notion  is  lurking  in  his 
mind ;  that  he  adopts,  in  part,  that  vain  conception  that  we,  forsooth,  have  a  mission 
to  be  the  censors  of  vice  and  folly,  of  abuse  and  imperfection,  among  the  other 
countries  of  the  world;  that  we  aie  to  be  the  universal  schoolmasters  ;  and  that 
all  those  who  hesitate  to  recognise  our  office  can  be  governed  only  by  prejudice 
or  personal  animosity,  and  should  have  the  blind  war  of  diplomacy  forthwith 
declared  against  them.  And  certainly,  if  the  business  of  a  Foreign  Secretary 
properly  were  to  carry  on  diplomatic  wars,  all  must  admit  that  the  noble  lord 
is  a  master  in  the  discharge  of  his  functions.  What,  sir,  ought  a  Foreign  Secretary 
to  be?  Is  he  to  be  like  some  gallant  knight  at  a  tournament  of  old,  pricking 
forth  into  the  lists,  armed  at  all  points,  confiding  in  his  sinews  and  his  skill, 
challenging  all  comers  for  the  sake  of  honour,  and  having  no  other  duty  than  to 
liiy  as  many  as  possible  of  his  adversaries  sprawling  in  the  dust  ?  If  such  is  the 
iilea  of  a  good  Foreign  Secretary,  I,  for  one,  would  vote  to  the  noble  lord  his 
present  appointment  for  his  life.  But,  sir,  I  do  not  understand  the  duty  of  a 
Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs  to  be  of  such  a  character.  I  understand  it  to  be  his 
duty  to  conciliate  peace  with  dignity.  I  think  it  to  be  the  very  first  of  all  his 
duties  studiously  to  observe,  and  to  exalt  in  honour  among  mankind,  that  gre;it 
code  of  principles  which  is  termed  the  law  of  nations,  which  the  honourable  and 
lenrned  member  for  Sheffield  has  found,  indeed,  to  be  very  vague  in  their  nature, 
and  greatly  dependent  on  the  discretion  of  each  particular  country,  but  in  which  I 
find,  on  the  contrary,  a  great  and  noble  monument  of  human  wisdom,  founded  on 
the  combined  dictates  of  reason  and  experience,  a  precious  inheritance  bequeathed 
to  us  by  the  generations  that  have  gone  before  us,  and  a  firm  foundation  on  which 
we  must  take  care  to  build  whatever  it  may  be  our  part  to  add  to  their  acquisi- 

12 


116  WILLIAM  EWA&T  GLADSTONE. 

lions,  if,  indeed,  we  wish  to  maintain  and  to  consolidate  the  brotherhood  of  nations 
and  to  promote  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  world.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  went  on  to  contend  that  it  was  our  insular  temper, 
and  our  self-glorifying  tendency,  which  the  policy  of  the  noble 
lord,  and  the  doctrines  of  his  supporters,  tended  so  much  to 
strengthen,  and  which  had  given  to  that  policy  the  quarrelsome 
character  that  marked  some  of  their  speeches.  Then  came  the  ' 
peroration  of  his  speech : — 

'  Sir,  I  say  the  policy  of  the  noble  lord  tends  to  encourage  and  confirm  in  us  that 
which  is  our  begetting  fault  and  weakness,  both  as  a  nation  and  as  individuals. 
Let  an  Englishman  travel  where  he  will  as  a  private  person,  he  is  found  in  general 
to  be  upright,  high-minded,  brave,  liberal,  and  true ;  but  with  all  this,  foreigners 
are  too  often  sensible  of  something  that  galls  them  in  his  presence,  and  I  appre- 
hend it  is  because  he  has  too  great  a  tendency  to  self-esteem— too  little  disposition 
to  regard  the  feelings,  the  habits,  and  the  ideas  of  others.  Sir,  I  find  this  character- 
istic too  plainly  legible  in  the  policy  of  the  noble  lord.  I  doubt  not  that  use  will  be 
made  of  our  present  debate  to  work  upon  this  peculiar  weakness  of  the  English 
mind.  The  people  will  be  told  that  those  who  oppose  the  motion  are  governed  by 
personal  motives,  have  no  regard  for  public  principles,  no  enlarged  ideas  of  national 
policy.  You  will  take  your  case  before  a  favourable  jury,  and  you  think  to  gain 
your  verdict ;  but,  sir,  let  the  House  of  Commons  be  warned — let  it  warn  itself—- 
against all  illusions.  There  is  in  this  case  also  a  course  of  appeal.  There  is  an 
appeal,  such  as  the  honourable  and  learned  member  for  Sheffield  has  made,  from 
the  one  House  of  Parliament  to  the  other.  There  is  a  further  appeal  from  this 
House  of  Parliament  to  the  people  of  England  ;  but,  lastly,  there  is  also  an  appeal 
from  the  people  of  England  to  the  general  sentiment  of  the  civilised  world  ;  and  I, 
for  my  part,  am  of  opinion  that  England  will  stand  shorn  of  a  chief  part,  of  her 
glory  and  pride  if  she  shall  be  found  to  have  separated  herself,  through  the  policy 
she  pursues  abroad,  from  the  moral  supports  which  the  general  and  "fixed  convic- 
tions of  mankind  afford — if  the  day  shall  come  when  she  may  continue  to  excite 
the  wonder  and  the  fear  of  other  nations,  but  in  which  she  shall  have  no  part  in 
their  affection  and  regard. 

No,  sir,  let  it  not  be  so  ;  let  us  recognise,  and  recognise  with  frankness,  the  equality 
of  the  weak  with  the  strong ;  the  principles  of  brotherhood  among  nations,  and  of 
their  sacred  independence.  When  we  are  asking  for  the  maintenance  of  the  rights 
which  belong  to  our  fellow-subjects  resident  in  Greece,  let  us  do  as  we  would  be  done 
by,  and  let  us  pay  all  the  respect  to  a  feeble  State,  and  to  the  infancy  of  free  insti- 
tutions, which  we  should  desire  and  should  exact  from  others  towards  their 
maturity  and  their  strength.  Let  us  refrain  from  all  gratuitous  and  arbitrary 
meddling  in  the  internal  concerns  of  other  States,  even  as  we  should  resent  the  same 
interference  if  it  were  attempted  to  be  practised  towards  ourselves.  If  the  noble 
lord  has  indeed  acted  on  these  principles,  let  the  Government  to  which  he  belongs 
have  your  verdict  in  its  favour ;  but  if  he  has  departed  from  them,  as  I  contend, 
and  as  I  humbly  think  and  urge  upon  you  that  it  has  been  too  amply  proved,  then 
the  House  of  Commons  must  not  shrink  from  the  performance  of  its  duty  under 
whatever  expectations  of  momentary  obloquy  or  reproach,  because  we  shall  have 
done  what  is  right ;  we  shall  enjoy  the  peace  of  our  own  consciences,  and  receive, 
whether  a  little  sooner  or  a  little  later,  the  approval  of  the  public  voice  for  having 
entered  our  solemn  protest  against  a  system  of  policy  which  we  believe,  nay,  which 
we  know,  whatever  may  be  its  first  aspect,  must,  of  necessity,  in  its  final  results 
be  unfavourable  even  to  the  security  of  British  subjects  resident  abroad,  which  it 
professes  so  much  to  study — unfavourable  to  the  dignity  of  the  country,  which  the 
v  motion  of  the  honourable  and  learned  member  asserts  it  preserves — and  equally 
unfavourable  to  that  other  great  and  sacred  object,  which  also  it  suggests  to  our 
recollection,  the  maintenance  of  peace  with  the  nations  of  the  world.' 

In  a  debating  sense,  this  speech  was  the  finest  which  Mr 
Gladstone  had  yet  delivered  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  its 
power  was  acknowledged  by  members  on  both  sides  of  the  House 


A  MEMORABLE    DECADE-]  841-1850.  117 

The  importance  attached  to  it  may  be  gathered  from  a  sentence 
in  the  speech  of  Mr.  (now  Lord  Chief  Justice)  Cockburn,  who  on 
the  following  night  rose  to  reply  to  it.  Referring  to  Mr. 
Gladstone,  the  distinguished  advocate  said,  '  I  suppose  we  are 
now  to  consider  him  as  the  representative  of  Lord  Stanley  in  this 
House — Gladstone  'vice  Disraeli,  am  I  to  say,  resigned  or 
superseded  ?'  On  a*  division  upon  Mr.  Roebuck's  motion,  the 
Government  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  majority  of  46,  the 
numbers  being — Ayes,  310  ;  Noes,  264. 

A  lamentable  accident  which  occurred  to  Sir  Robert  Peel  on 
the  29th  June,  1850,  deprived  England  of  one  of  her  most 
illustrious  statesmen.  It  appears  that  only  a  few  minutes  be  fore 
this  sad  incident,  Sir  Robert  had  called  at  Buckingham  Palaco 
for  the  purpose  of  leaving  his  card  upon  her  Majesty.  In  pro- 
ceeding up  Constitution  Hill  he  had  met  one  of  Lady  Dover's 
daughters,  and  exchanged  salutes  with  her.  Immediately  after- 
wards his  horse  became  slightly  restive,  swerved  towards  the 
rails  of  the  Green  Park,  and  threw  Sir  Robert  sideways  on 
his  left  shoulder.  Assistance  was  speedily  at  hand — Dr. 
Foueart  amongst  others  having  witnessed  the  accident,  and 
hastened  to  the  spot.  On  being  raised,  Sir  Robert  groaned 
heavily,  and  in  reply  to  the  question  whether  he  was  much  hurt, 
said, c  Yes,  very  much.'  He  was  conveyed  home,  but  the  effect 
of  meeting  his  family  was  extremely  painful,  and  he  swooned  in 
the  arms  of  Dr.  Foucart.  He  was  placed  upon  a  sofa  in  the 
dining-room,  and  from  this  room  he  was  never  removed.  A 
consultation  was  held  between  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  Mr.  Cesar 
Hawkins,  Dr.  Seymour,  and  Mr.  Hodgson,  but  Sir  Robert's 
sufferings  were  so  acute,  that  a  minute  examination  of  his 
injuries  could  not  be  made.  He  lingered  for  two  or  three  days 
before  the  end  came.  An  examination  made  after  death 
disclosed  the  important  fact  that  the  fifth  rib  on  the  left  side 
was  fractured.  This  was  the  region  where  Sir  Robert  com- 
plained of  suffeiing  the  greatest  pain,  and  was  probably  the  seat 
of  the  mortal  injury — the  broken  rib  pressing  on  the  lung,  and 
producing  what  is  technically  known  as  effusion  and  pulmonary 
engorgement.*  The  news  of  Sir  Robert  Peel's  death  caused  a 
feeling  of  poignant  grief  throughout  the  country.  Great  and 
universal  were  the  tokens  of  respect  paid  to  the  memory  of  one 
who,  whatever  may  have  been  his  errors  (and  they  were  few  and 
insignificant  compared  with  his  merits),  had  reflected  undying 
lustre  upon  English  statesmanship. 

The  French  Assembly  gave  testimony  of  their  appreciation  of 

*  Annual  Eeyister  for  1850. 


118  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  deceased  by  unanimously  entering  an  official  minute  respect- 
ing his  death,  with  a  record  of  their  sympathetic  regret.  In 
Kngland,  the  national  sorrow  found  voice  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  On  the  3rd  of  July,  Mr.  Hulme  alluded  to  the  great 
loss  which  the  nation  had  sustained,  and  moved  that  the  House 
should  at  once  adjourn,  without  transacting  any  further  business. 
In  the  Lords,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Lord  Brougham 
referred  in  touching  terms  to  the  departed  statesman.  Tl  •> 
latter,  who  had  frequently  been  in  antagonism  with  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  acknowledged  cheerfully  and  unreservedly  the 
splendid  merits  of  that  eminent  individual,  and  said,  *  At  the 
last  stage  of  his  public  career,  chequered  as  it  was — and  I  told 
him  in  private  that  chequered  it  would  be — when  he  was  differing 
from  those  with  whom  he  had  been  so  long  connected,  and 
from  purely  public-spirited  feelings  was  adopting  a  course  which 
was  so  galling  and  unpleasing  to  them — I  told  him,  I  say,  that 
he  must  turn  from  the  storm  without  to  the  sunshine  of  an 
approving  conscience  within.  Differing  as  we  may  differ  on  the 
point  whether  he  was  right  or  wrong,  disputing  as  we  may 
.  dispute  on  the  results  of  his  policy,  we  must  all  agree  that  to  the 
cause  wliich  he  believed  to  be  advantageous  to  his  country  he 
firmly  adhered,  and  that  in  pursuing  it  he  made  sacrifices 
compared  with  which  all  the  sacrifices  exacted  from  public  men 
by  a  sense  of  public  duty,  which  I  have  ever  known  or  read  of, 
sink  into  nothing.'  Such  was  the  leader  whom  Mr.  -Gladstone  had 
faithfully  followed  for  many  years.  In  his  own  tribute  to  his 
late  chief  in  the  House  of  Commons,  some  of  the  emotion  which 
naturally  arose  in  his  breast  after  the  loss  of  one  so  eminent 
found  vent  in  words.  Supporting  Mr.  Hume's  motion,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone said : — 

'  I  am  quite  sure  that  every  heart  is  much  too  full  to  allow  us,  at  a  period  so 
early,  to  enter  upon  a  consideration  of  the  amount  of  that  calamity  with  which 
the  country  has  been  visited  in  his,  I  must  .even  now  say,  premature  death  ;  for 
though  lie  has  died  full  of  years  and  full  of  honours,  yet  it  is  a  death  which  our 
human  eyes  will  icgard  as  premature ;  because  we  had  fondly  hoped  that,  in  what- 
ever position  he  was  placed,  by  the  weight  of  his  character,  by  the  splendour  of 
his  talents,  by  the  purity  of  Ins  virtues,  he  would  still  have  been  spared  to  render 
to  his  country  the  most  essent  ial  services.  I  will  only,  sir,  quote  those  most  touch- 
ing and  feeling  lines  wliich  were  applied  by  one  of  the  greatest  poets  of  this  country 
to  the  memory  of  a  man  great  indeed,  but  yet  not  greater  than  Sir  Robert  Peel  :— 

"  Now  is  (be  stately  column  broke, 
The  beacon  light  is  quenched  in  smoke ; 
The  trumpet's  silver  voice  is  still ; 
The  warder  silent  on  the  hill.  "  * 

Sir,  I  will  add  no  more— in  saying  this  I  have,  perhaps,  said  too  much.  It  might  have 
been  better  had  I  simply  confined  myself  to  seconding  the  motion.  I  am  sure  tho 
tribute  of  respect  which  we  now  offer  will  be  all  the  more  valuable  from  the  silence 

*  Sir  Walter  Scott's  lines  on  William  Pitt,  which  will  be  found  in  the  introduction 
to  the  First  Canto  of  Marmion. 


A  MEMORABLE  DECADE  -mi-isso.  iiu 

with  which  the  motion  is  received,  and  which  I  well  know  has  not  arisen  from  the 
want,  but  from  the  excess,  of  feeling  on  the  part  of  members  of  this  House.' 

After  the  death  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  began  the  disintegration  of 
Ihe  party  distinguished  by  his  name.  Several  of  its  members 
formally  joined  the  Conservative  ranks  ;  but  others,  such  as  Sir 
James  Graham,  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert,  held 
themselves  aloof  both  from  the  Whigs  and  the  Tories.  They  did 
not  feel  themselves  at  liberty  at  once  to  throw  in  their  lot  with 
the  former,  for  Conservative  traditions  still  exercised  considerable 
influence  over  them,  and  they  could  not  join  the  latter,  as  they 
were  already  the  subjects  of  strong  liberalising  tendencies.  From 
this  time  forward,  and  almost  until  Sir  James  Graham's  death, 
eleven  years  afterwards,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  greatly  indebted  to 
that  statesman  for  his  growth  in  the  principles  and  the  adminis- 
trative art  in  politics.  Although  by  no  means  always  a  popular, 
Sir  James  Graham  was  eminently  a  practical  statesman,  skilled 
in  the  routine  of  Parliamentary  life,  and  capable  of  greatly 
influencing  and  impressing  younger  politicians  with  strongly- 
developed  business  aptitudes.  Indeed,  the  influence  he  wielded 
over  man}  of  his  contemporaries  appears  to  have  been  much 
greater  than  that  exercised  by  men  of  more  commanding  talents 
in  the  world  of  statesmanship.  His  knowledge  of  Parliamentary 
tactics  made  him  a  power ;  and  it  was  said  of  him  that  if  he  could 
be  prevailed  upon  to  speak  in  the  course  of  a  great  debate,  his 
speech  was  worth  fifty  votes.  His  Parliamentary  lore  was  dis- 
played with  such  advantage  in  the  Committee  on  Privilege,  in 
reference  to  the  right  of  the  Lords  to  interfere  on  a  money  bill, 
that  he  averted  a  collision  between  the  two  Houses  of  the  Legis- 
lature. He  was  confessedly — said  an  estimate  formed  of  him 
upon  his  death — the  best  educated  and  most  thoroughly  accom- 
plished statesman  of  the  period,  though  in  regard  to  particular 
endowments  he  was  inferior  to  several  other  distinguished  men. 
No  contemporary  speaker  was  able  so  entirely  to  command  the 
undivided  attention  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  appears, 
however,  to  have  had  two  serious  defects  -  in  the  first  place,  his 
great  understanding  was  not  balanced  by  an  equally  strong 
judgment;  and,  secondly,  he  suffered  from  a  moral  timidity 
which  paralysed  him  at  the  most  anxious  and  critical  moments. 
However  great  may  have  been  the  indebtedness  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
to  Sir  James  Graham,  if  the  former  had  not  been  possessed  of  far 
wider  sympathies — to  say  nothing  of  superior  special  intellectual 
qualities — than  his  political  mentor,  he  could  never  have 
conceived  and  executed  those  important  legislative  Acts  by 
which  his  name  will  now  chiefly  be  remembered. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  NEAPOLITAN  PRISONS. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  Visit  to  Naples— Letters  to  Lord  Aberdeen  on  the  Despotism  of  the 
Neapolitan  Government — Opposition  Deputies  Imprisoned — 'The  Negation  of 
God  erected  into  a  System  of  Government' — Description  of  the  Prisons — The 
Case  of  Poerio — Mr.  Gladstone's  Second  Letter  to  Lord  Aberdeen — His  Charges 
substantially  correct — The  matter  brought  before  the  House  of  Commons — Lord 
Palmerston's  reply — Character  of  the  Answers  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  Pamphlet — 
Official  Reply  of  the  Neapolitan  Government — Completely  inadequate  in  its  Nature 
— Examination  of  the  Document. — Mr.  Gladstone  supported  in  his  Charges — 
Results  of  his  Intervention — The  Struggles  for  Italian  Independence — Work  of 
Cavour  and  Garibaldi — The  Movement  assisted  by  Mr.  Gladstone. 

FOR  several  months  in  the  course  of  the  winter  of  1850-51,  Mr. 
Gladstone  resided  at  Naples,  circumstances  which  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  himself  described  as  '  purely  domestic  '  having  taken 
him  thither.  The  results  of  this  residence  in  the  Neapolitan 
capital  were  destined  to  acquire  a  more  than  even  European 
celebrity.  Having  learned  that  a  large  number  of  the 
citizens  of  Naples,  who  had  formed  the  Opposition  in  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  had  been  exiled  or  imprisoned  by 
King  Ferdinand,  and  that  upwards  of  twenty  thousand  of 
that  monarch's  subjects  (as  reported)  had  been  thrown 
into  prison  on  a  charge  of  political  disaffection,  Mr. 
Gladstone's  sympathies  were  immediately  enlisted  on  behalf 
of  the  oppressed  Neapolitans.  The  question  possessed  both 
a  humanitarian  and  a  political  aspect,  though  in  the  outset  it 
was  upon  the  former  ground  that  Mr.  Gladstone  felt  himself 
impelled  to  attempt  the  redress  of  evils  which  were  a  scandal  to 
the  name  of  civilisation  in  Europe. 

England  and  the  Continent  shortly  rang  with  his  denunciations 
of  the  Neapolitan  system  of  Government.  Having  first  carefully 
inquired  into  the  truth  of  the  statements  made,  only  to  attest 
their  accuracy,  Mr.  Gladstone  published  two  letters  on  the 
subject,  addressed  to  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen.  In  the  first  of  these, 
he  disclaimed  any  idea  of  having  gone  to  Naples  for  the  purpose 
of  political  criticism  or  censorship,  to  look  for  grievances  in  the 
administration  of  the  Government,  or  to  propagate  ideas  belong- 


THE    NEAPOLITAN    PRISONS.  i2i 

ing  to  another  meridian.  But  after  a  residence  of  three  or  four 
months  in  the  southern  city,  he  had  returned  home  with  a  deep 
sense  of  the  duty  upon  him  to  make  some  endeavour  to  mitigate 
the  horrors  amidst  which  the  Government  of  Naples  was  carried 
on.  Three  reasons  had  chiefly  led  him  to  adopt  the  present 
course :  '  First,  that  the  present  practices  of  the  Government  of 
Naples,  in  reference  to  real  or  supposed  political  offenders,  are  an 
outrage  upon  religion,  upon  civilisation,  upon  humanity,  and 
upon  decency.  Secondly,  that  these  practices  are  certainly,  and 
even  rapidly,  doing  the  work  of  Republicanism  in  that  country 
— a  political  creed  which  has  little  natural  or  habitual 
root  in  the  character  of  the  people.  Thirdly,  that  as  a 
member  of  the  Conservative  party  in  one  of  the  great 
family  of  European  nations,  I  am  compelled  to  remember  that 
that  party  stands  in  virtual  and  real,  though  perhaps  uncon- 
scious, alliance  with  all  the  established  Governments  of  Europe 
as  such ;  and  that,  according  to  the  measure  of  its  influence, 
they  suffer  more  or  less  of  moral  detriment  from  its  reverses,  and 
derive  strength  and  encouragement  from  its  successes.' 

Passing  over  the  important  prefatory  consideration  whether 
the  actual  Government  of  the  Two  Sicilies  was  one  with  or 
without  a  title,  one  of  law  or  one  of  force,  Mr.  Gladstone  came 
to  the  real  purpose  of  his  letter.  His  charge  against  the 
Neapolitan  Government  was  not  one  of  mere  imperfection,  not 
corruption  in  low  quarters,  not  occasional  severity,  but  that  of 
incessant,  systematic,  deliberate  violation  of  the  law  by  the 
power  appointed  to  watch  over  and  maintain  it.  In  this, 
perhaps  the  most  impassioned  passage  of  his  letter,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone formulates  his  indictment :—  - 

'It  is  such  violation  of  human  and  written  law  as  this,  carried  on  for  the  purpose 
of  violating  every  other  law,  unwritten  and  eternal,  human  and  divine ;  it  is  the 
wholesale  persecution  of  virtue,  when  united  with  intelligence,  operating  upon 
such  a  scale  that  entire  classes  may  with  truth  be  said  to  be  its  object,  so  that  the 
Government  is  in  bitter  and  cruel,  as  well  as  utterly  illegal,  hostility  to  whatever 
in  the  nation  really  lives  and  moves,  and  forms  the  main  spring  of  practical  pro- 
gress and  improvement;  it  is  the  awful  profanation  of  public  religion,  by  its 
notorious  alliance  in  the  governing  powers  with  the  violation  of  every  moral  rule 
under  the  stimulants  of  fear  and  vengeance ;  it  is  the  perfect  prostitution  of  the 
judicial  office  which  has  made  it,  under  veils  only  too  threadbare  and  transparent, 
the  degraded  recipient  of  the  vilest  and  clumsiest  forgeries,  got  up  wilfully  and 
deliberately,  by  the  immediate  advisers  of  the  Crown,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  peace,  the  freedom,  aye,  and  even,  if  not  by  capital  sentences,  the  life  of  men 
amongst  the  most  virtuous,  upright,  intelligent,  distinguished,  and  refined  of  the 
whole  community;  it  is  the  savage  and  cowardly  system  of  moral  as  well  as  in  a 
lower  degree  of  physical  torture,  through  which  the  sentences  obtained  from  the 
debased  courts  of  justice  are  carried  into  effect. 

The  effect  of  all  this  is  a  total  inversion  of  all  the  moral  and  social  ideas.  Law, 
instead  of  being  respected,  is  odious.  Force,  and  not  affection,  is  the  foundation  of 
government.  There  is  no  association,  but  a  violent  antagonism,  between  the  idea 
of  freedom  and  that  of  order.  Hie  governing  power,  which  tenches  of  itself  that. 
it  is  the  image  of  God  upon  earth,  is  clothed  in  the  view  of  (In-  overwhelming 


122  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

majority  of  the  thinking  public  with  all  the  vices  for  its  attributes.  I  have  seen 
and  heard  the  strong  and  too  true  expression  used,  "  This  is  the  negation  of  God 
erected  into  a  s3Tstem  of  Government."  '  * 

There  was  a  general  belief  that  the  political  prisoners  in  the 
kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies  numbered  between  fifteen  or  twenty 
and  thirty  thousand  ;  but  as  the  Government  withheld  all  means 
of  information  the  exact  numbers  could  not  be  given.  From 
inquiries  made  Mr.  Gladstone  believed  that  twenty  thousand  was 
not  an  unreasonable  estimate.  In  Naples  alone  there  were  some 
hundreds  under  indictment,  capitally.  He  had  been  inclined  to 
regard  as  monstrous  and  incredible  a  statement  that  nearly  all 
those  who  formed  the  Opposition  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  under 
the  Constitution  were  in  prison  or  exile ;  but  he  was  confronted 
with  a  list  in  detail  which  too  fully  proved  the  truth  of  the  asser- 
tion. Out  of  140  deputies — this  being  the  average  of  those  who 
came  to  Naples  to  exercise  the  functions  of  the  Chamber — 76  had 
been  either  arrested  or  had  gone  into  exile.  So  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  Naples  had  '  consummated  its  audacity  by  putting  into 
prison,  or  driving  into  banishment  undergone  for  the  sake  of 
escaping  prison,  an  actual  majority  of  the  representatives  of 
the  people.' 

So  much  for  the  numbers  of  those  incarcerated.  But  the 
mode  of  procedure,  also,  was  arbitrary  in  the  extreme.  The  law 
of  Naples  required  that  personal  liberty  should  be  inviolable, 
except  under  a  warrant  from  a  court  of  justice.  Yet  in  utter 
defiance  of  this  law  the  Government  watched  the  people,  paid 
domiciliary  visits,  ransacked  houses,  seized  papers  and  effects, 
and  tore  up  floors  at  pleasure  under  pretence  of  searching  for 
arms,  imprisoned  men  by  the  score,  by  the  hundred,  by  the 
thousand,  without  any  warrant  whatever,  sometimes  without  even 
any  written  authority  at  all,  or  anything  beyond  the  word  of  a 
policeman,  constantly  without  any  statement  whatever  of  the 
nature  of  the  offence.  Charges  were  fabricated  to  get  rid  of 
inconvenient  persons.  Perjury  and  forgery  were  resorted  to  in 
order  to  establish  charges,  and  the  whole  mode  of  conducting 
trials  was  a  burlesque  of  justice.  Describing  the  dungeons,  Mr. 
Gladstone  says,  '  The  prisons  of  Naples,  as  is  well  known,  are 
another  name  for  the  extreme  of  filth  and  horror.  I  have  really 
seen  something  of  them,  but  not  the  worst.  This  I  have  seen, 
my  Lord  :  the  official  doctors  not  going  to  the  sick  prisoners,  but 
the  sick  prisoners,  men  almost  with  death  on  their  faces,  toiling 
up-stairs  to  them  at  that  charnel-house  of  the  \ricaria,  because 
the  lower  regions  of  such  a  palace  of  darkness  are  too  foul 

and  loathsome   to  allow  it  to  be   expected  that    professional 

\ 

*  *E  la  neyazione  di  Dio  eretta  a  sistema  di  yoverntS 


THE    NEAPOLITAN    PRISONS.  123 

men  should  consent  to  earn  bread  by  entering  them.'      The  diet 
was  abominable,  and  the  filth  of  the  prisons  unendurable.     After 
narrating  the  hardships  of  one  Pironte,  formerly  a  judge,  and  of 
the  Baron  Porcari,  Mr.  Gladstone  deals  with  the  case  of  the  distin- 
guished patriot,  Carlo  Poerio.  He  was  a  refined  and  accomplished 
gentleman,  a  copious  and  elegant  speaker,  a  respected  and  blame- 
less  character,  yet  he  had    been   arrested   and   condemned  for 
treason.  After  a  pretty  full  examination  of  his  case,  the  writer  said, 
'  The  condemnation  of  such  a  man  for  treason  is  a  proceeding 
just  as  conforma.ble  to  the  laws  of  truth,  justice,  decency,  and 
fair  play,  and  to  the  common  sense  of  the  community — in  fact, 
just  as  great  and   gross   an   outrage   on    them   all— as   would 
be  a  like  condemnation  in  this  country  of  any  of  our  best- 
known  public  men — Lord  John  Eussell,  or   Lord  Lansdowne, 
or   Sir    James   Graham,   or    yourself.'     There   was    no    name 
dearer  to  the  English  nation  than  was  that  of  Poerio   to  his 
Neapolitan  fellow-countrymen.     The  case  of  Settembrini   was 
also  a  mournful   and    remarkable    one.     The   capital   sentence 
passed  upon   him  was  not  executed,  but  he  was   reserved   for 
a  fate  much  harder—  double  irons  for  life  on   a   remote   sea- 
girt rock,  and  it  was  feared  that  he  was  directly  subjected  to 
physical  torture.    The  mode  specified  was  that  of  thrusting  sharp 
instruments  under  the  finger  nails.     Mr.  Gladstone  narrates  in 
detail  the  iniquitous  proceedings  in  connection  with  Poerio,  who 
had   been   tried   and   condemned   on   the   sole   acusation   of  a 
worthless  character  named  Jervolino.     Yet  Poerio  would  have 
been  acquitted  by  a  division  of  four  to  four  of  his  judges,  had  not 
Navarro  (who   sat  as  a  judge  while  directly  concerned  in  the 
charge  against  the  prisoner),  by  the  distinct  use  of  intimidation, 
procured  the  number  necessary  for  a  sentence.     A  statement  is 
furnished,  on  the  authority  of  an  eye-witness,  as  to  the  inhu- 
manity with  Avhich  invalid  prisoners  were  treated  by  the  Grand 
Criminal  Court  at   Naples ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone  also  minutely 
describes  the  manner  of  the  imprisonment  of  Poerio  and  sixteen 
of  his  co-accused.    Each  prisoner  bore  a  weight  of  chain  amount- 
ing to  thirty-two  pounds,  and  for    no    purpose  whatever  were 
these  chains  undone.     All  the  prisoners  were  confined  night  and 
day  in  a  small  room,  which   may  be  described  as   amongst  the 
closest  of  dungeons.    But.  Poerio  was  condemned  after  this  to  even 
a  still  lower  depth  of  calamity.    '  Never  before  have  I  conversed,' 
says  Mr.  Gladstone,  speaking  of  Poerio,  '  and  never  probably 
shall  I  converse  again,  with  a  cultivated  and  accomplished  gentle- 
man, of   whose  innocence,  obedience  to  law,  and  love  of  his 
country,  I  was  as  firmly  and  as  rationally  assured  as  of  your 
lordship's  or  that  of  any  other  man  of  the  very  highest  character, 


124  WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

whilst  he  stood  before  me  amidst  surrounding  felons,  and  clad  in 
the  vile  uniform  of  guilt  and  shame.  But  he  is  now  gone  where 
he  will  scarcely  have  the  opportunity  even  of  such  conversation. 
I  cannot  honestly  suppress  my  conviction  that  the  object  in  the 
case  of  Poerio,  as  a  man  of  mental  power  sufficient  to  be  feared, 
is  to  obtain  the  scaffold's  aim  by  means  more  cruel  than  the 
scaffold,  and  without  the  outcry  which  the  scaffold  would 
create.'  Mr.  Gladstone  concluded  his  letter  by  saying  that  it 
was  time  either  the  veil  should  be  lifted  from  scenes  fitter  for 
hell  than  for  earth,  or  that  some  considerable  mitigation  should 
be  voluntarily  adopted. 

The  second  letter  to  Lord  Aberdeen  was  the  sequel  to  the  first. 
In  it  the  writer  said  he  had  been  anxious,  in  the  first  instance, 
that  all  that  was  possible  in  the  way  of  private  representation  and 
remonstrance  should  be  attempted ;  and  he  did  not  regret  the 
course  he  had  taken,  though  it  entailed  serious  delays.  Meeting 
the  natural  inquiry  why  he  should  simply  appear  in  his  personal 
capacity  through  the  press,  instead  of  inviting  to  this  grave  and 
painful  question  the  attention  of  that  House  of  Parliament  to 
which  he  belonged,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  he  had  advisedly 
abstained  from  mixing  up  his  statements  with  any  British 
agencies  or  influences  which  were  official,  diplomatic,  or  political. 
The  claims  and  interests  which  he  had  in  view  were  either  wholly 
null  and  valueless,  or  they  were  broad  as  the  extension  ot  the 
human  race,  and  long  lived  as  its  duration.  As  to  his  general 
charges  he  had  nothing  to  retract.  He  stood  upon  the  conviction 
that  his  representations  had  not  been  too  highly  charged  and 
that  the  most  disgraceful  circumstances  were  those  which,  rested 
upon  public  notoriety,  or  upon  his  own  personal  knowledge.  It 
was  alleged  that  he  had  greatly  overstated  the  number  ot 
prisoners  ;  and  though  his  own  calculation  was  founded  on  reason- 
able opinion,  he  would  give  the  Neapolitan  Government  the  full 
benefit  of  the  contradiction.  The  number  oi  political  prisoners, 
in  itself,  was  a  secondary  feature  of  the  case ;  if  they  were  fairly 
and  legally  arrested,  fairly  and  legally  treated  before  trial — fairly 
and  legally  tried,  that  was  the  main  matter.  He  was  aware  that, 
for  the  honour  of  human  nature,  statements  such  as  he  had 
made  should  in  the  first  instance  be  received  with  incredulity. 
Men  ought  to  be  slow  to  believe  that  such  things  could  happen, 
and  happen  in  a  Christian  country,  the  seat  of  almost  the  oldest 
European  civilisation.  But  though  thus  disposed  in  the  outset, 
he  hoped  they  would  not  bar  their  minds  to  the  entrance  of  the 
light,  however  painful  were  the  objects  it  might  disclose.  The 
general  probability  of  his  statements  could  not,  unfortunately, 
be  gainsaid.  Having  established  this,  he  proceeds  to  set  forth 


NEAPOLITAN    PRISONS.  12S 

certain  material  points  connected  with  the  political  position  of 
the  Government  of  Naples.  He  examines  the  articles  of  the 
Neapolitan  Constitution,  and  contrasts  them  with  the  actual 
government  of  the  country,  in  contradiction  and  defiance, 
at  every  point,  of  its  indisputable  and  fundamental  law. 
He  also  shows,  from  a  catechism  in  vogue,  the  debased 
ideas  concerning  moral,  political,  and  religious  questions  taught 
to  the  youths  of  Naples.  He  concludes,  however,  by  exempting 
— regarding  them  as  a  body — the  clergy  of  the  Komaii 
Catholic  Church  from  implication  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Government. 

As  a  natural  consequence,  these  letters  excited  great 
indignation  in  this  country,  the  proceedings  of  the  Neapo- 
litan Government  being  utterly  repugnant  and  abhorrent 
to  the  feelings  of  every  true  Englishman.  Before  the  House 
of  Commons  was  prorogued,  attention  was  drawn  to  Mr. 
Gladstone's  statements.  Sir  De  Lacy  Evans  put  the  following 
question  to  the  Foreign  Secretary : — '  From  a  publication 
entitled  to  the  highest  consideration,  it  appears  that  there 
are  at  present  above  20,000  persons  confined  in  the  prisons 
of  Naples  for  alleged  political  offences ;  that  these  prisoners 
have,  with  extremely  few  exceptions,  been  thus  immured 
in  violation  of  the  existing  laws  of  the  country,  and  without 
the  slightest  legal  trial  or  public  inquiry  into  their  respec- 
tive cases ;  that  they  include  a  late  Prime  Minister  and 
a  majority  of  the  late  Neapolitan  Parliament,  as  well  as 
a  large  proportion  of  the  most  res  pectable  and  intelligent 
classes  of  society  ;  that  these  prisoners  are  chained  two  and 
two  together ;  that  these  chains  are  never  undone,  day  or 
night,  for  any  purpose  whatever,  and  that  they  are  suffering 
refinements  of  cruelty  and  barbarity  unknown  in  any  other 
civilised  country.  It  is,  consequently,  asked  if  the  British 
Minister  at  the  Court  of  Naples  has  been  instructed  to  employ 
his  good  offices  in  the  cause  of  humanity,  for  the  diminu- 
tion of  these  lamentable  severities,  and  with  what  result  ?  * 
Lord  Palmerston  replied  that  her  Majesty's  Government  had 
received  with  pain  a  confirmation  of  the  impressions  which 
had  been  created  by  various  accounts  they  had  received  from 
ot'aer  quarters,  of  the  very  unfortunate  calamitous  condition 
of  the  kingdom  of  Naples.  The  British  Government,  however, 
had  not  deemed  it  a  part  of  their  duty  to  make  any  formal 
representations  to  the  Government  of  Naples  on  a  matter  that 
related  entirely  to  the  internal  affairs  of  that  country.  *  At  the 
same  time,'  his  lordship  continued,  '  Mr.  Gladstone — whom  I 
may  freely  name,  though  not  in  his  capacity  of  a  member  of 


126  WILLIAM    EWART    GLAt>STOtf£. 

Parliament — has  done  himself,  I  think,  very  great  honour 
by  the  course  he  pursued  at  Naples,  and  by  the  course  he 
has  followed  since  ;  for  I  think  that  when  you  see  an 
English  gentleman,  who  goes  to  pass  a  winter  at  Naples,  instead 
of  confining  himself  to  those  amusements  that  abound  in  that 
city,  instead  of  diving  into  volcanoes  and  exploring  excavated 
cities — when  we  see  him  going  to  courts  of  justice,  visiting 
prisons,  descending  into  dungeons,  and  examining  great  numbers 
of  the  cases  of  unfortunate  victims  of  illegality  and  injustice 
with  a  view  afterwards  to  enlist  public  opinion  in  the  endeavour 
to  remedy  those  abuses — I  think  that  is  a  course  that 
does  honour  to  the  person  who  pursues  it  ;  and  concurring 
in  feeling  with  him  that  the  influence  of  public  opinion  in 
Europe  might  have  some  useful  effect  in  setting  such 
matters  right,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  send  copies  of  his 
pamphlet  to  our  Ministers  at  the  various  Courts  of  Europe, 
directing  them  to  give  to  each  Government  copies  of  the 
pamphlet,  in  the  hope  that,  by  affording  them  an  opportunity 
of  reading  it,  they  might  be  led  to  use  their  influence  in 
promoting  what  is  the  object  of  my  hon.  and  gallant  friend — a 
remedy  for  the  evils  to  which  he  has  referred.'  This  announce- 
ment by  the  Foreign  Secretary  was  warmly  cheered  by  the 
House.  A  few  days  afterwards  Lord  Palmerston  was  requested 
by  Prince  Castelcicala  to  forward  the  reply  of  the  Neapolitan 
Government  to  the  different  European  Courts  to  which  Mr. 
Gladstone's  pamphlet  had  been  sent.  His  lordship,  with  his 
wonted  courage  and  independent  spirit,  replied  that  he  '  must 
decline  being  accessory  to  the  circulation  of  a  pamphlet  which, 
in  my  opinion,  does  no  credit  to  its  writer,  or  the  Government 
which  he  defends,  or  to  the  political  party  of  which  he  professes 
to  be  the  champion.'  He  also  informed  the  Prince  that  infor- 
mation received  from  other  sources  led  him  to  the  conclusion 
that  Mr.  Gladstone  had  by  no  means  overstated  the  various  evils 
which  he  had  described  ;  and  he  (Lord  Palmerston)  regretted  that 
the  Neapolitan  Government  had  not  set  to  work  earnestly  and 
effectually  to  correct  the  manifold  and  grave  abuses  which 
clearly  existed. 

The  replies  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  pamphlet  were  both  virulent 
and  numerous.  They  appeared  in  London,  Paris,  Turin,  and 
Naples.  M.  Jules  Gondon,  editor  of  the  Univers,  took  up  the 
cause  of  the  Government  which  Mr.  Gladstone  had  sucessfully 
assailed  ;  but  the  value  of  his  reply  may  be  gauged  from  the  con- 
cluding sentence  of  his  work,  in  which  he  describes  the  Sovereign 
of  Naples  as  follows : — '  Oui,  je  m'etois  Tenferme  dans  les 
limites  de  la,  verite  la  plus  riyoureuse,  en  appelant  Ferdinand 


THE    NEAPOLITAN    PRISONS.  12? 

//.  le  plus  digne  et  le  meilleur  des  Rois  !  '*  M.  Gondon  wrote 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  bigoted  son  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  his  work  evidently  proves  him  to  have  been  much 
more  concerned  that  the  virtues  of  that '  most  religious  monarch  ' 
King  Ferdinand  should  have  been  called  into  question,  than  he 
Avas  over  the  sufferings  of  thousands  of  men  who  had  been 
unjustly  convicted,  and  condemned  to  languish  in  the  prisons  of 
Naples.  Another  French  critic,  M.  Alphonse  Balleydier,  also 
replied  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  but  in  a  similar  strain.  In  high- 
sounding  periods  (which  did  nothing  to  remove  the  impressions 
that  Mr.  Gladstone's  revelations  had  created)  he  attacked  both 
the  writer  of  the  pamphlet  and  Lord  Palmerston  with  extra- 
ordinary bitterness  and  disingenuousness.  He  attributed  much 
of  what  had  been  said  against  King  Ferdinand  to  the  spite  of 
the  democrats,  who  had  never  forgiven  him  for  having  dared  to 
dispute  his  crown  with  them,  and  to  vanquish  them.  He  denied 
the  right  of  Lord  Palmerston  to  constitute  himself  a  judge  of 
the  Neapolitan  Government,  and  demanded,  '  Mais  qu'importe 
la  verite  a  Lord  Palmerston^  qu'importe  Inexactitude  des 
faits  a  celui  dont  la  conduite  politique  se  regie  sur  le 
mensonge  1 '  f  These  answers  were,  in  truth,  no  answers  at  all, 
but  pamphlets  written  from  the  controversial  point  of  view, 
because  something  was  necessary  to  be  said  by  way  of  defence. 
And  the  professed  corrections  they  made  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
statement  did  not  touch  the  real  basis  of  the  question.  The 
writer  announced  in  his  second  letter  that  to  such  contradictions 
of  his  allegations  as  were  not  subject  to  be  verified,  cross- 
examined,  or  exposed,  he  should  decline  to  attend.  One  answer 
was  put  forward,  however,  which  demanded  some  attention,  viz., 
the  official  reply  of  the  Neapolitan  Government.^ 

To  this,  accordingly,  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  himself,  in  a 
pamphlet  published  in  the  following  year,  1852.  He  hastened 
to  place  the  reply  point  by  point  in  the  scales  along  with  his  own 
accusations.  The  reply  was  in  reality  a  tacit  admission  of  the 
accuracy  of  nine-tenth  parts  of  the  statements  in  the  letters  to 
Lord  Aberdeen.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  proceeded  to  enumerate  the 
few  retractations  which  he  had  to  make,  and  which  were  five  in 
number.  He  had  been  in  error  as  to  the-prisoner  Settembrini 
having  been  tortured,  and  also  as  to  his  having  been  condemned 

*  La  Terreur  dans  le  Royaume  de  Naples.  Lettre  au  Riylit  Honorable  W.  E.  Glad- 
stone, membre  du  Parlement  Jiritannigue,  en  rejionse  d  ses  deux  Itttres  a  lord  Aberdeen. 
J'ar  Jules  Gondon.  Paris. 

t  La  Verite  sur  les  Affaires  de  Naples:  Refutation  des  Lettret  de  M.  Gladstone. 
Par  Alphonse  Balleyilier.  Paris. 

J  Itasseyna  deyli  Errori  e  delle  Fallacie  pullicate  dal  Sia.  Gladstone,  in  due  sue 
Lettere  indiritte  al  Conte  Aberdeen.  Napoli,  tilamjwia  del  Fibreno,  1851. 


128  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

to  double  irons  for  life  ;  the  statement  that  six  judges  had  been 
dismissed  at  Keggio  upon  presuming  to  acquit  a  batch  of  political 
prisoners  required  modifying  to  three  ;  seventeen  invalids  had  not 
been  massacred  in  the  prison  of  Procida  during  a  revolt,  as  stated ; 
and  certain  prisoners  alleged  to  have  been  still  incarcerated  afte<; 
acquittal  had  been  released  after  the  lapse  of  two  days.  These 
were  the  only  modifications  he  had  to  make  in  his  previous 
statements.  Not  one  amongst  the  whole  list  of  his  accusations 
rested  on  hearsay,  and  he  now  proceeded  to  demonstrate  how 
small  and  insignificant  a  fraction  of  error  had  made  its  way  into 
his  letters.  He  fearlessly  asserted  that  corporal  agony  was 
inflicted,  and  that  without  judicial  authority,  by  the  Neapolitan 
police  in  the  prisons.  Settembrini,  a  political  prisoner,  was 
confined  in  a  small  room  with  eight  other  prisoners.  One  of 
the  latter  boasted  of  having  murdered,  at  different  times,  thirty- 
five  persons.  Several  of  these  exploits  he  had  committed  upon 
his  prison  companions,  and  the  murders  in  this  Ergastolo  had 
exceeded  fifty  in  a  single  year.  Although  in  the  massacre  at 
Procida  invalids  were  not  slain,  yet  prisoners  who  took  refuge 
and  hid  under  beds  were  dragged  forth  and  shot  in  cold  blood  by 
the  gendarmi  after  order  had  been  restored.  The  work  of 
slaughter  was  twice  renewed,  and  two  officers  received  promotion 
or  honours  for  that  abominable  enormity. 

Dealing  with  the  points  in  which  the  Neapolitan  Government 
had  controverted  the  substance  of  his  inculpatory  statements,  Mr. 
Gladstone  found  no  cause  to  recede  from,  but  rather  to  heighten 
those  statements.  After  examining  thoroughly  various  points  of 
detail,  he  defended  at  length  his  statement  as  to  the  enormous 
number  of  the  prisoners.  One  sample. of  the  blunders  made  by 
his  critics  may  be  given.  M.  Gondon  had  published  a  romantic 
account  of  Poerio's  career,  his  connection  with  Mazzini  at  Paris, 
his  contributions  to  the  Giovine  Italia,  &c.,  whereas  Poerio  never 
knew  Mazzini,  never  was  at  Paris,  never  wrote  a  line  in  the 
Giovine  Italia.  All  the  replies  had  failed  to  prove  him  wrong 
in  any  of  his  substantial  charges.  *  The  arrow  has  shot  deep  into 
the  mark,'  observed  Mr.  Gladstone, '  and  cannot  be  dislodged.  But 
I  have  sought,  in  once  more  entering  the  field,  not  only  to  sum 
up  the  state  of  the  facts  in  the  manner  nearest  to  exactitude,  but 
likewise  to  close  the  case  as  I  began  it,  presenting  it  from  first  to 
last  in  the  light  of  a  matter  which  is  not  primarily,  or  mainly, 
political,  which  is  better  kept  apart  from  Parliamentary 
discussion,  which  has  no  connection  whatever  with  any  peculiar 
idea  or  separate  object  or  interest  of  England,  but  which 
appertains  to  the  sphere  of  humanity  at  large,  and  well  deserves 
the  consideration  of  every  man  who  feels  a  concern  for  the 


THE    NEAPOLITAN    PRISONS.  129 

well-being  of  his  race,  in  its  bearings  on  that  well-being;  on  the 
elementary  demands  of  individual  domestic  happiness ;  on  the 
permanent  maintenance  of  public  order ;  on  the  stability  of 
thrones  ;  on  the  solution  of  that  great  problem  which,  day  and 
night  in  its  innumerable  forms,  must  haunt  the  reflections  of 
every  statesman  both  here  and  elsewhere,  how  to  harmonise  the 
old  with  the  new  conditions  of  society,  and  to  mitigate  the 
increasing  stress  of  time  and  change  upon  what  remains  of  this 
ancient  and  venerable  fabric  of  the  traditional  civilisation  oi 
Europe.'  Although  the  question  had  been  asked  whether  a 
Government  '  could  be  induced  to  change  its  policy  because 
some  individual  or  other  had  by  lying  accusations  held  it  up 
to  the  hatred  of  mankind,'  yet  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  upon  the  challenge  of  a  mere  individual,  the 
Government  of  Naples  had  been  compelled  to  plead  before 
the  tribunal  of  general  opinion,  and  to  admit  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  that  tribunal.  It  was  to  public  sentiment  that 
the  Neapolitan  Government  was  paying  deference  when  it 
resolved  on  the  manly  course  of  an  official  reply  ;  and  he  hoped 
that  further  deference  would  be  paid  to  that  public  sentiment 
in  the  complete  reform  of  its  departments  and  the  whole  future 
management  of  its  affairs.  After  a  consideration  of  the  political 
position  of  the  throne  of  the  Two  Sicilies  in  connection  with  its 
dominions  on  the  mainland,  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  concluded  his 
examination  of  the  official  reply  of  the  Neapolitan  Govern- 
ment : — '  I  express  the  hope  that  it  may  not  become  a  hard 
necessity  to  keep  this  controversy  alive  until  it  reaches  its 
one  possible  issue,  which  no  power  of  man  can  permanently 
intercept ;  1  express  the  hope  that  while  there  is  time, 
while  there  is  quiet,  while  dignity  may  yet  be  saved  in  showing 
mercy,  and  in  the  blessed  work  of  restoring  Justice  to  her  seat, 
the  Government  of  Naples  may  set  its  hand  in  earnest 
to  the  work  of  real  and  searching,  however  quiet  and  unosten- 
tatious, reform  ;  that  it  may  not  become  unavoidable  to  reite- 
rate these  appeals  from  the  hand  of  power  to  the  one  common 
heart  of  mankind ;  to  produce  those  painful  documents, 
those  harrowing  descriptions,  which  might  be  supplied  in 
rank  abundance,  of  which  I  have  scarcely  given  the  faintest 
idea  or  sketch,  and  which,  if  they  were  laid  from  time  to  time 
before  the  world,  would  bear  down  like  a  delrge  every  effort  at 
apology  or  palliation,  and  would  cause  all  that  has  recently  been 
made  known  to  be  forgotten  and  eclipsed  in  deeper  hojrors  yet ; 
lest  this  strength  of  offended  and  indignant  humanity  should  rise 
up  as  a  giant  refreshed  with  wine,  and,  while  sweeping  away 
these  abominations  from  the  eye  of  Heaven,  should  sweep  away 

K 


136  WILLIAM    EWAHT    GLADSTONE. 

along  with  them  things  pure  and  honest,  ancient,  venerable, 
salutary  to  mankind,  crowned  with  the  glories  of  the  past,  and 
still  capable  of  bearing  future  fruit.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  not  left  single-handed  in  the  defence  of  his 
original  letters  to  Lord  Aberdeen.  There  was  published  anony- 
mously A  Detailed  Exposure  of  1he  Apology  put  forth  by  the 
Neapolitan  Government —a.  remarkably  able  and  conclusive 
pamphlet.*  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  acknowledged  the  carefulness 
and  knowledge  with  which  this  reply  was  written.  The  author 
examined  the  official  answer  point  by  point,  showing  its  utter 
inadequacy  to  meet  Mr.  Gladstone's  charges.  He  thanked  the 
authors,  prompters,  and  distributors  of  the  Government  defence, 
the  more  so  because  of  their  imprudent  step  in  answering  at  all. 
There  was  '  no  Machiavel  in  the  Neapolitan  Cabinet,'  or  he 
would  have  advised  them  with  cutting  irony,  *  Let  others  write, 
but  do  you  answer  nothing.  Be  content  with  having  beaten 
down  by  armed  violence  the  liberties  you  gnai'anteed  by  oaths. 
Be  content  with  the  fact  of  oppression  upholding  the  fact  of 
perjury.  Be  wise  and  be  silent.' 

Although  Mr.  Gladstone's  pamphlets  struck  a  powerful  yet 
indirect  blow  at  Neapolitan  despotism,  and  thus  contributed 
towards  the  great  movement  for  a  regenerated  and  a  united 
Italy,  his  original  objects  were  not  immediately  gained. 
If  France  and  England  had  unitedly  brought  strong  pressure  to 
bear  iipon  the  Government  of  Naples,  substantial  redress  might 
possibly  have  been  obtained ;  but  such  joint  action  was  not  at 
once  forthcoming.  In  a  note  appended  to  the  fourteenth  edi- 
tion of  his  letters,  Mr.  Gladstone  stated  that  by  a  royal  decree  of 
the  2  7th  of  December,  1858,  ninety-one  political  prisoners  therein 
named  had  their  punishment  commuted  into  perpetual  exile 
from  the  kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies  ;  but  a  Ministerial  order  of 
January  the  9th,  1859,  directed  that  they  should  be  conveyed  to 
America.  Out  of  these  ninety-one  prisoners  no  fewer  than 
fourteen  had  died  long  before  in  dungeons  ;  such  as  Emilio  Mazza, 
who  died  in  1851  ;  Luigi  Lanza  and  Father  Girolamo  da  Car- 
dinale,  a  Capucin,  who  died  in  1854  ;  Giuseppe  Dardano,  who  died 
in  1855;  and  others.  Sixty-six  embarked  on  the  16th.ot 
January,  and  were  taken  to  Cadiz,  where  they  were  shipped  on 
board  an  American  sailing  vessel,  which  was  to  have  conveyed 
them  to  New  York,  but  eventually  landed  them  at  Cork. 
Eleven  more  were  kept  behind,  either  because  it  was  afterwards 
thought  advisable  not  to  release  them,  as  in  the  case  of  Longo 
and  Delli  Franci,  two  artillery  officers,  who  were  still  in  the 

*  Longmans,  1852. 


THE    NEAPOLITAN    PRISONS.  131 

dungeons  of  Gaeta ;  or  because  the  prisoners  were  too  ill  to 
be  moved,  as  was  the  case  with  Pironti,  who  was  paralytic ;  or 
because  they  were  in  some  provincial  dungeons  too  far  from 
Naples.  Such  was  the  fate  of  some  of  the  patriots  officially 
liberated  by  Ferdinand's  successor,  Francis  II. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here,  while  we  are  treating  of  Italian 
questions,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  executed  and  published  in  1851  a 
translation  of  Farini's  important  and  bulky  work,  The  Roman 
State,  from  1815  to  1850.  In  a  letter  from  the  author  to  his 
translator,  the  former  said  that  he  had  dedicated  the  concluding 
volume  of  his  work  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  who,  by  his  love  of  Italian 
letters,  and  by  his  deeds  of  Italian  charity,  had  established  a 
relationship  with  Italy  in  the  spirit  of  those  great  Italian  writers 
who  had  been  their  masters  in  eloquence,  in  civil  philosophy, 
and  in  national  virtue,  from  Dante  and  Macchiavelli  down 
to  Alfieri  and  Gioberti.  Signor  Farini  endorsed  the  charges 
made  by  Mr.  Gladstone  against  the  Neapolitan  Government. 
'  The  scandalous  trials  for  high  treason,'  he  observed,  still  continue 
at  Naples ;  accusers,  examiners,  judges,  false  witnesses,  all  are 
bought ;  the  prisons,  those  tombs  of  the  living,  are  full ;  two 
thousand  citizens,  of  all  ranks  and  conditions,  are  already 
condemned  to  the  dungeons ;  as  many  to  confinement ;  double 
that  number  to  exile  ;  the  majority  guilty  of  no  crime  but  that 
of  having  believed  in  the  oaths  made  by  Ferdinand  II.'  But,  in 
truth,  nothing  more  was  needed  to  press  home  the  indictment. 

Italy,  generally,  was  at  the  period  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  visit  to 
Naples—  and,  indeed,  had  been  for  some  time  previously — in  a 
disturbed  condition.  Italian  nationality  was  already  the  cry  of 
many  ardent  patriots,  and  the  whole  of  northern  Italy  was 
chafing  under  the  galling  yoke  of  Austria.  The  Sicilians  were 
eventually  reduced  to  subjection,  after  a  noble  struggle  on  their 
part,  and  Brescia  and  Rome  fell  before  the  overwhelming  Austrian 
power.  In  the  south,  however,  Venice  bravely  prolonged  the 
contest  for  independence,  though  unfortunately  ineffectually. 
We  have  seen  the  infamous  measures  which  the  King  of  Naples 
adopted  for  the  suppression  of  every  aspiration  after  liberty  in 
his  dominions.  This  system  of  misgovernment  went  on  for  some 
years  longer,  and  was  the  principal  cause  of  the  revolutionary 
movements  which  continually  disturbed  the  Italian  peninsula. 
Meanwhile,  Count  Cavour  was  working  for  the  independence  of 
Italy,  and  in  April,  1856,  he  addressed  to  the  British  and  French 
Governments  a  protest  against  the  failure  of  the  Paris  Conference 
to  settle  the  Italian  question.  Italy,  he  said,  had  been  disturbed 
for  the  last  seven  years,  during  which  a  violent  system  of 
repression  had  prevailed.  A  settlement  had  been  hoped  tor  from 

K2 


132  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  Conference,  but,  as  this  had  failed,  he  feared  that  the  com- 
motions would  break  out  with  greater  excitement  than  ever. 
Remonstrances  were  afterwards  made  with  the  King  of  Naples 
and  his  Ministers,  but  these  were  of  no  avail,  only  drawing  forth 
an  assertion  of  the  liberty  of  the  Sovereign  to  deal  with  his 
subjects  as  he  pleased.  France  and  England  accordingly  with- 
drew their  representatives  from  Naples. 

The  storm  shortly  afterwards  broke.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
follow  in  detail  the  noble  struggles  for  Italian  independence, 
which  are  matter  of  recent  and  familiar  history.  In  1860  the 
brilliant  successes  of  Garibaldi  drove  Francis  II.  into  a 
condition  ot  terror.  Like  all  evil  men,  when  faced  with  tht 
consequences  of  their  misdeeds,  he  made  the  most  lavish  pro- 
testations of  amendment,  and  promised  liberal  reforms.  But  it 
was  now  too  late.  The  victorious  General  pushed  forward,  and 
the  work  of  liberation  proceeded  apace.  A  decree  was  ultimately 
issued  by  Garibaldi,  stating  that  the  Two  Sicilies,  which  had 
been  redeemed  by  Italian  blood,  and  which  had  freely  elected  him 
their  dictator,  formed  an  integral  part  of  one  and  indivisible  Italy, 
under  the  constitutional  king  Victor  Emmanuel  and  his  descen- 
dants. One  by  one  the  great  questions  connected  with  Italian 
unity  were  solved.  The  dethronement  and  expulsion  from  hi* 
kingdom  of  Francis  II.  were  the  just  and  legitimate  fruits  of  the 
hateful  policy  pursued  by  himself  and  his  predecessor.  Count 
Cavour  was  the  brain,  as  Garibaldi  was  the  hand,  of  that  mighty 
movement  which  resulted  in  the  unity  of  Italy ;  but,  as. 
Englishmen,  we  may  take  pride  in  the  fact  that  not  the  least, 
amongst  the  precipitating  causes  of  this  movement  was  the 
fearless  exposure  by  Mr.  Gladstone  of  the  cruelties  and  tyrannies 
of  the  Neapolitan  Government. 

Lord  Palmerston,  indeed,  reflected  the  national  sentiment  of 
England  when  he  declared  from  his  place  in  the  House  of 
Commons  that  Mr.  Gladstone  had  done  himself  honour  by  the 
course  he  had  thus  pursued  in  relation  to  the  Neapolitan  prisons. 
He  had  lifted  his  voice  with  energy  and  effect  on  behalf  of 
oppressed  humanity,  and  in  condemnation  of  one  of  the  worst 
and  most  despotic  Governments  that  have  ever  afflicted  mankind. 
This  episode  remains,  and  ever  will  remain — in  the  estimation 
both  of  his  fellow-countrymen  and  the  friends  of  justice  and 
freedom  throughout  the  world — one  of  the  brightest  in  his  career. 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

MR.  GLADSTONE'S  FIRST  BUDGET. 

Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Conservative  Party — The  Session  of  1851 — Papa!  Aggression 
— The  Government  losing  Popularity — Ecclesiastical  Titles  Bill — Speech  of  Mr. 
Gladstone — Dismissal  of  Lord  Palmerston — Defeat  of  the  Russell  Government — 
Lord  Derby  forms  a  Ministry— Death  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington — Meeting  of  the 
New  Parliament — A  Free  Trade  Debate — Mr.  Sidney  Herbert's  Rebuke  of  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer — A  Dramatic  Scene — Mr.  Disraeli's  Budget — 
Attacked  by  Mr.  Gladstone — Defeat  and  Resignation  of  the  Government — Lord 
Aberdeen  takes  office — Mr.  Gladstone  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer— Opposition 
to  his  Re-election  for  Oxford  University — Returned  by  a  Substantial  Majority 
— Policy  of  the  Aberdeen  Ministry — Mr.  Gladstone's  Scheme  for  the  Reduction 
of  the  National  Debt — His  First  Budget — Eloquently  Expounded — Its  Effect  upon 
the  House — Details  of  the  Financial  Statement — Masterly  Analysis  of  the  Income- 
tax — Comprehensive  Character  of  the  Budget — Opposition  on  the  Question  of  the 
Income-tax — The  Budget  passes — Its  Reception  by  the  Press  and  the  Country — 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  a  worthy  Successor  of  Pitt  and  Peel. 

BEFORE  discussing  the  brilliant  financial  measures  of  1853, 
which  caused  Mr.  Gladstone's  name  to  be  associated  with  those 
of  Pitt  and  of  Peel,  it  is  of  importance  to  touch,  however 
briefly,  on  the  sessions  of  1851  and  1852.  It  was  during  this 
period  that  Mr.  Gladstone  became  finally  alienated  from  the 
Conservative  party,  although  he  did  not  throw  himself  completely 
into  the  Liberal  ranks  until  some  year  $  afterwards.  The  precise 
date  at  which  he  ceased  to  be  nominally  a  Conservative  cannot 
be  assigned,  for  Mr.  Gladstone  has  himself  stated  that  so  late  as 
1851  he  had  not  formally  left  the  Tory  party.  Nevertheless  his 
advance  towards  Liberalism  in  the  sessions  above-named  was  very 
pronounced.  There  was  certainly  a  marked  declination  from  the 
old  Conservative  standard.  His  trusted  leader  was  dead,  and 
there  were  questions  coming  to  the  front  which  he  felt  demanded 
from  him  something  more  than  the  non  possumus  of  his  early 
political  creed. 

A  few  days  after  the  opening  of  Parliament,  in  1851,  Lord 
John  Russell  moved  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill  to  counteract  the 
aggressive  policy  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  country  was  well- 
nigh  in  a  condition  of  panic  in  consequence  of  Papal  aggression, 
and  Lord  John  Russell  had  given  an  impetus  to  the  popular 
feeling  by  his  famous  Durham  letter.  For  four  days  the  House 


134  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

of  Commons  debated  the  question,  and  at  length  the  Premier's 
motion  was  carried  by  395  votes  against  63.  This  enormous 
majority  attested  the  existing  wide-spread  fear  of  Romish 
machinations  ;  but  before  the  measure  thus  approved  could  be 
carried  through  the  House,  political  events  of  an  important 
nature  transpired.  The  Ministerial  party  was  to  a  great  extent 
demoralised,  while  the  Conservatives  were  strong  and  compact, 
and  had  received  the  temporary  adhesion  of  the  Peelites.  The 
deep  distress  which  prevailed  in  the  agricultural  districts  induced 
Mr.  Disraeli  to  renew  his  motion  upon  the  burdens  on  land  and 
the  inequalities  of  taxation,  and  accordingly  he  brought  forward 
a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  introduce  measures  for  the  alleviation  of  the  distress 
without  delay.  The  Government  admitted  that  there  was  a 
prevalence  of  distress,  but  denied  that  it  was  increasing.  They 
advanced  statistics  proving  that  pauperism  had  greatly  declined 
in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom — England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland. 
The  revenue  had  increased  so  as  to  reach  the  unexampled 
amount  of  £70,000,000,  and  commerce  was  in  a  most  prosperous 
condition.  Sir  James  Graham  stigmatised  the  motion  as  an 
attempt  to  turn  out  the  Administration,  to  dissolve  Parliament, 
and  to  return  to  Protection.  Ministers,  however,  only  obtained 
the  small  majority  of  14  in  a  House  consisting  of  548  members. 
An  actual  defeat  of  the  Government  occurred  on  the  20th  of 
February,  upon  Mr.  Locke  King's  motion  to  introduce  a  bill  for 
assimilating  the  county  franchise  to  that  of  the  boroughs.  Lord 
John  Russell  spoke  against  the  resolution,  but  it  was  carried 
by  100  against  52.  The  Government  also  lost  prestige  by  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's  budget,  introduced  on  the  17th 
of  February.  It  demanded  a  renewed  lease  for  three  years 
of  the  unpopular  income-tax,  but  promised  a  partial  remission 
of  the  window  duties,  together  with  some  relief  to  the  agricul- 
turists. Later  in  the  session,  the  first  financial  statement 
having  been  stifled,  a  second  budget  was  produced.  A  house-tax 
was  imposed,  and  the  bonus  to  the  agriculturists  withdrawn. 
The  window-tax  was  also  repealed,  but  the  income-tax  was 
re-demanded  for  three  years.  Although  the  main  features  of 
the  budget  were  accepted  by  the  House,  the  Government 
sustained  several  defeats  on  minor  financial  questions,  which 
tended  still  further  to  diminish  their  popularity. 

In  February,  Lord  John  Russell  having  determined  to  retire, 
Lord  Stanley  was  sent  for  by  the  Queen,  but  was  unable  to  form 
a  Ministry ;  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen  was  next  summoned,  but  the 
penal  measures  against  the  Roman  Catholics  being  unpalatable 
to  the  Peelites,  he  declined  to  take  office.  The  crisis  ended  in 


MR.    GLADSTONE'S    FIEST    BUDGET.  135 

Lord  John  Russell's  consenting  to  retain  his  position.  The 
Ecclesiastical  Titles  Bill  was  now  pushed  forward.  This  measure 
'encountered  the  strong  opposition  of  almost  all  the  men  who 
had  assisted  in  removing  those  restrictions  on  the  religious 
liberty  of  Englishmen  which  Lord  John  Russell  had  done  more 
perhaps  than  any  living  man  to  take  away.'  But,  besides 
this,  the  measure  was  so  emasculated  as  to  be  viewed  with  little 
satisfaction"  by  the  staunch  Protestants,  while  to  the  Roman 
Catholics  it  appeared  only  in  the  light  of  an  insult.  The  Peelites 
were  most  strongly  opposed  to  the  bill. 

The  debate  on  the  second  reading  was  one  of  the  longest 
Parliamentary  discussions  which  had  occurred  for  many  years. 
Sir  James  Graham  delivered  an  effective  speech  against  the  bill, 
but  perhaps  the  most  powerful  oration  on  the  same  side  came 
from  Mr.  Gladstone..  He  said  he  chose  to  rest  upon  the  fact  that 
our  Constitution  was  strong  enough  to  resist  any  aggression  by 
any  power  whatsoever.  If  they  attempted  to  defend  the  Church  of 
England  by  temporal  legislation,  they  would  utterly  fail.  If  the 
Papal  authorities  had  interfered  with  the  temporal  affairs  of 
the  country,  in  a  manner  not  permitted  to  any  other  religious 
body,  legislation  Avas  not  only  permissible  and  just,  but 
demanded.  But  till  that  could  be  shown,  we  had  no  right 
to  interfere.  Referring  to  the  vaunting  and  boastful  character 
of  the  Papal  documents,  Mr.  Gladstone  condemned  this  spirit, 
but  he  asked  whether  it  was  just  to  make  our  Roman 
Catholic  fellow-subjects  suffer  for  language  for  which  they  were 
not  responsible  ?  The  bill  was  most  inadequate  for  its  purpose, 
and  he  proceeded  to  analyse  its  provisions.  Because  the 
Roman  Catholics  recognised  the  Pope  as  their  spiritual  head, 
this  did  not  justify  us  in  interfering  with  their  religious  freedom. 
The  friends  of  the  bill  must  show  that  the  bishops  were  not  spiritual 
officers,  but  appointed  for  temporal  purposes,  before  there  was 
ground  for  interference  :  and  if  the  appointment  of  bishops, 
per  se,  was  a  spiritual,  not  a  temporal  act,  why  exempt  the 
Scottish  bishops  ?  There  was  nothing  in  the  rescript  to  show 
that  it  possessed  any  temporal  character,  and  therefore  there 
was  not  a  shadow  of  ground  for  the  bill.  Mr.  Gladstone  next 
pointed  out  the  effect  which  such  a  measure  would  have  upon 
the  two  parties  existent  in  the  Romish  community.  The  Roman 
Catholic  laity  and  secular  clergy,  who  were  the  moderates,  had 
for  several  centuries  been  struggling  for  the  appointment  of 
diocesan  bishops,  while  the  regulars  and  cardinals  at  the  Vatican 
— the  extreme  party — had  persistently  struggled  against  it.  By 
adopting  the  proposed  legislation,  the  Roman  Catholics  would  be 
driven  back  upon  the  Pope,  and  consequently  become  alienated 


136  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

and  estranged  from  ourselves.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  concluding, 
said  that  the  opponents  of  the  bill,  though  in  a  minority,  were 
strong  in  the  consciousness  of  a  strong  cause.  They  had  justice 
on  their  side,  and  believed  that  public  opinion  would  soon 
follow. 

The  division  list  reflected  the  temper  of  the  time.  The  Govern- 
ment obtained  an  overwhelming  majority,  the  numbers  1  eing — 
For  the  second  reading  of  the  bill,  438  ;  against,  95.  *  But  in  this 
small  minority  were  many  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the 
House — men  who  had  always  been  true  to  the  principles  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty— Gladstone,  Koundell  Palmer,  Bright, 
Cobden,  Hume,  Graham,  Milner  Gibson,  and  others.  The  bill, 
though  opposed  in  its  subsequent  stages,  eventually  passed. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  1851,  Lord  Palmerston  was  dismissed 
from  the  office  of  Foreign  Secretary,  on  the  ground  that  he  had 
on  various  occasions  acted  independently  of  his  colleagues.  While 
the  Cabinet  had  passed  a  resolution  to  abstain  from  the  expres- 
sion of  opinions  in  approval  or  disapproval  of  the  recent  coup 
d'etat  in  France,  it  was  complained  that  Lord  Palmerston  had, 
both  in  public  despatches  and  private  conversation,  spoken 
favourably  of  the  policy  adopted  by  Louis  Napoleon.  In  the 
following  February  the  Militia  Bill  came  on  for  discussion,  and 
upon  an  amendment  moved  by  Lord  Palmerston  the  Government 
were  defeated.  Lord  John  Russell  resigned,  and  Lord  Derby  suc- 
ceeded. The  latter  made  unsuccessful  overtures  to  Mr.  Gladstone 
to  join  his  Ministry :  in  the  irony  of  events,  it  was  destined 
that  the  Derby  Administration  should  not  be  supported,  but 
virtually  driven  out  of  office,  by  Mr.  Gladstone. 

A  Militia  Bill,  and  some  other  measures—  chiefly  of  a  social 
and  sanitary  character — were  passed,  and  then  the  Government 
dissolved,  being  in  a  minority  in  the  House.  During  the  recess, 
England  was  called  upon  to  lament  the  death  of  the  great  Duke 
of  Wellington,  who  passed  away  on  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  of 
September.  A  public  funeral  was  awarded  to  the  victor  of 
Waterloo,  and  on  the  assembling  of  Parliament  many  eloquent 
tributes  were  paid  to  his  memory.  Less  ornate  than  some  other 
speeches,  Mr.  Gladstone's  eulogy  of  the  Duke  was  valuable  as 
drawing  out  the  special  lessons  to  be  deduced  from  a  career  like 
his — a  life  which  had  been  extended  by  Providence  to  a  green 
old  age,  and  which  had  ended  full  of  honours.  Here  is  a  passage 
from  the  address : — 

'  While  many  of  the  actions  of  his  life,  while  many  of  the  qualities  he  possessed, 
are  unattainable  by  others,  there  are  lessons  which  we  may  all  derive  from  the 
life  and  actions  of  that  illustrious  man.  It  may  never  be  given  to  another  subject 
of  the  British  Crown  to  perform  services  so  brilliant  as  he  performed ;  it  may  never 
be  given  to  another  man  to  hold  the  sword  which  was  to  gain  the  independence  of 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    FIRST    BUDGET.  137 

Europe,  to  rally  the  nations  around  it,  and  while  England  saved  herself  by  her 
constancy,  to  save  Europe  by  her  example ;  it  may  never  be  given  to  another  man, 
after  having  attained  such  eminence,  after  such  an  unexampled  series  of  victories, 
to  show  equal  moderation  in  peace  as  he  has  shown  greatness  in  war,  and  to  devote 
the  remainder  of  his  life  to  the  cause  of  internal  and  external  peace  for  that 
country  which  he  has  so  served;  it  may  never  be  given  to  another  man  to  have 
equal  authority  both  witli  the  Sovereign  he  served,  and  with  the  Senate  of  which 
he  was  to  the  end  a  venerated  member;  it  may  never  be  given  to  another  man  after 
such  a  career  to  preserve  even  to  the  last  the  full  possession  of  those  great  faculties 
with  which  he  was  endowed,  and  to  carry  on  the  services  of  one  of  the  most 
important  departments  of  the  State  with  unexampled  regularity  and  success,  even  to 
the  latest  day  of  his  life.  These  are  circumstances,  these  are  qualities,  which  may 
never  occur  again  in  the  history  of  this  country.  But  there  are  qualities  which 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  displayed,  of  which  we  may  all  act  in  humble  imitation  : 
that  sincere  and  unceasing  devotion  to  our  country ;  that  honest  and  upright 
determination  to  act  for  the  benefit  of  the  country  on  every  occasion ;  that  devoted 
loyalty,  which,  while  it  made  him  ever  anxious  to  serve  the  Crown,  never  induced 
him  to  conceal  from  the  Sovereign  that  which  he  believed  to  be  the  truth  ;  that 
devotedness  in  the  constant  performance  of  duty ;  that  temperance  of  his  life, 
which  enabled  him  at  all  times  to  give  his  mind  and  his  faculties  to  the  services 
which  he  was  called  on  to  perform  ;  that  regular,  consistent,  and  unceasing  piety  by 
which  he  was  distinguished  at  all  times  in  his  life;  these  are  qualities  that  are 
attainable  by  others,  and  these  are  qualities  which  should  not  be  lost  as  an  example.' 

The  new  Parliament,  which  had  not  strengthened  the  hands 
of  the  Government,  assembled  in  November.  A  debate  which 
opened  on  the  23rd  demands  some  mention  for  its  extraordinary 
incidents.  Mr.  Villiers  proposed  a  resolution  affirming  that 
the  improved  condition  of  the  people  had  been  mainly  owing 
to  commercial  legislation,  find  especially  to  the  Act  of  1846  for 
the  free  importation  of  foreign  corn,  and  that  the  principle 
of  Free  Trade  ought  to  be  consistently  extended  and  carried 
out.  Mr.  Disraeli  regarded  this  motion  as  a  vote  of  want  of 
confidence,  and  in  the  course  of  the  long  discussion  which 
ensued,  accepted  an  amendment  suggested  by  Lord  Palmerston. 
Lord  John  Russell  held  that  the  real  question  at  issue  was  Free 
Trade  or  Protection,  and  the  Peelites  warmly  vindicated  the 
policy  of  their  deceased  leader.  Mr.  Villiers's  motion  was 
negatived  by  336  to  256  ;  and  Lord  Palmerston's  amendment — 
which  affirmed  that  the  principle  of  unrestricted  competition, 
together  with  the  abolition  of  protecting  taxes,  had  diminished 
the  cost  and  increased  the  supply  of  the  chief  articles  of  food,  and 
so  brought  about  the  improved  state  of  the  country — was  adopted 
by  468  to  53.  During  the  debate,  Mr.  Disraeli — whose  power 
of  forgetfulness  of  the  past  is  one  of  the  most  fortunate  ever 
conferred  upon  a  statesman — declared  that  the  main  reason  why 
his  party  had  opposed  Free  Trade  was  not  that  it  would  injure 
the  landlord,  nor  the  farmer,  but  that  '  it  would  prove  injurious 
to  the  cause  of  labour. '  He  also  added,  amidst  exclamations  of 
astonishment  and  cries  of  '  Oh,  oh! '  that  'not  a  single  attempt 
had  been  made  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  abrogate  the 
measure  of  1846.'  Mr.  Bright  and  others  having  spoken,  Mr. 


138  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Sidney  Herbert — whose  chivalrous  spirit  had  been  wounded  to 
the  quick  by  the  assaults  on  Sir  Robert  Peel — rose  to  defend 
the  great  Conservative  statesman.  His  speech  contained  one 
passage  of  scathing  invective  addressed  to  Mr.  Disraeli.  After 
expressing  his  admiration  for  Sir  Robert  Peel  as  a  politician  and 
a  political  leader,  and  his  love  for  the  man,  Mr.  Herbert 
continued,  *  I  don't  confound  hon.  gentlemen  opposite  with 
those  who  calumniated  Sir  Robert  Peel.  I  recollect,  even  at  the 
moment  when  party  strife  was  embittered  to  the  uttermost,  when 
men's  passions  rose  high,  when  great  disappointment  was  felt  at 
the  course  Sir  Robert  Peel  had  taken — even  at  that  moment  there 
were  hon.  gentlemen  opposite  who  continued  a  general  support 
to  his  Government,  and  who  never,  when  they  opposed  this  very 
bill,  either  threw  a  doubt  upon  his  motives  or  assailed  his 
integrity.  I  say,  then,  that  the  memory  of  Sir  Robert  Peel 
requires  no  vindication — his  memory  is  embalmed  in  the  grateful 
recollection  of  the  people  of  this  country  ;  and  I  say,  if  ever 
retribution  is  wanted — for  it  is  not  words  that  humiliate,  but 
deeds — if  a  man  wants  to  see  humiliation,  which  God  knows  is 
always  a  painful  sight,  he  need  but  look  there !'—  and  upon 
this  Mr.  Herbert  pointed  with  his  finger  to  Mr.  Disraeli,  sitting 
on  the  Treasury  Bench.  The  sting  of  invective  is  truth,  and 
Mr.  Herbert  certainly  spoke  daggers*if  he  'used  none ;'  yet  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  sat  impassive  as  a  Sphinx.  There 
were  those  even  upon  the  Government  benches  who  admitted 
the  truth  of  the  charges  which  called  forth  Mr.  Herbert's 
dramatic  condemnation.* 

Early  in  December,  Mr.  Disraeli,  in  an  exhaustive  speech 
extending  over  five  hours  and  a  quarter,  brought  forward  his 
budget.  Its  leading  features  may  be  shortly  indicated.  It 
proposed  to  remit  a  portion  of  the  taxes  upon  malt,  tea,  and 
sugar ;  and,  in  order  to  counterbalance  these  losses  to  the 
revenue,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  proposed  to  extend 
the  income-tax  to  funded  property  and  salaries  in  Ireland,  and 
to  fix  the  point  of  exemption  on  industrial  incomes  at  £100  a-year 
and  on  incomes  from  property  at  £50,  the  rate  in  Schedules 
A  and  C  being  as  before  7d.  in  the  pound,  and  in  B,  D,  and  E  5£d. 
It  was,  moreover,  proposed  to  expend  the  house-tax  to  houses  rated 
at  £10  a-year  and  upwards,  instead  of  £20,  as  well  as  to  increase 
the  rate  of  the  assessment.  Private  houses  then  paid  9d.  and 

*  In  1846, 1849,  and  1850,  on  four  or  five  distinct  occasions,  Mr.  Disraeli  declared 
the  Free  Trade  policy  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  a  failure,  and  in  one  of  his  speeches  he 
described  that  statesman's  career  as  '  one  great  appropriation  clause.'  Mr.  Bernal 
Osborne  expressed  his  astonishment  that  Mr.  Disraeli,  'in  a  November  session  in 
1852,  and  with  a  face  which  he  never  saw  equalled  in  the  theatre,  dared  to  tell  the 
House  that  he  had  never  attempted  to  reverse  the  policy  of  Free  Trade  !' 


MR.    GLADSTONE'S    FIEST    BUDGET.  139 

shops  6d.  in  the  pound ;  and  Mr.  Disraeli  proposed  that  the 
former  should  pay  Is.  6d.  and  the  latter  Is.  The  tax  would 
then  amount  in  the  whole  to  about  £150,000  a-year  less  than  the 
window  duty.  To  meet  the  extra  expenditure  of  £2,100,000, 
the  Chancellor  would  have  half  a  year's  income-tax,  £2,500,000. 
He  calculated  that  in  1854-55  there  would  be  a  loss  arising  from 
the  various  remissions,  together  with  an  increase  of  £600,000  in 
the  estimates,  of  £3,587,000,  while  the  Ways  and  Means  would 
amount  to  £3,510,000. 

Both  the  exemptions  and  remissions  in  this  budget  excited 
great  opposition,  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  a  speech  which  extracted 
admiration  for  its  energy  and  luminosity — but  which  was  also 
regarded  by  some  as  almost  too  bitter  and  pungent — fiercely 
assailed  the  scheme.  The  debate  was  prolonged  over  several 
sittings,  and  towards  its  conclusion  Mr.  Disraeli,  in  reply, 
attacked  several  members  of  the  House,  but  especially  Sir 
James  Graham,  with  unusual  acerbity.  In  rebuking  him, 
Mr.  Gladstone  began  by  telling  the  right  hon.  gentleman 
that  he  was  not  entitled  to  charge  with  insolence  men  of 
as  high  position  and  of  as  high  character  in  the  House 
as  himself.  Having  been  prevented  by  the  cheers  of  the 
House  from  completing  this  sentence,  Mr.  Gladstone  thus 
concluded : — '  I  must  tell  the  right  hon.  gentleman  that  he  is 
not  entitled  to  say  to  my  right  hon.  friend,  the  member  for 
Carlisle,  that  he  regards  but  does  not  respect  him.  And  I  must 
tell  him  that  whatever  else  he  has  learnt — and  he  has  learnt  much 
— he  has  not  learnt  to  keep  within  those  limits  of  discretion,  of 
moderation,  and  of  forbearance  that  ought  to  restrain  the 
conduct  and  language  of  every  member  in  this  House,  the  dis- 
regard of  which,  while  it  is  an  offence  in  the  meanest  amongst  us, 
is  an  offence  of  tenfold  weight  when  committed  by  the  leader  of 
the  House  of  Commons.'  The  whole  debate  was  conducted  with 
an  exceptional  amount  of  personal  feeling  on  both  sides  of  the 
House.  Mr.  Gladstone  insisted  that  the  income-tax  was  the  first 
question  to  be  discussed,  inasmuch  as  the  Government  proposed 
its  reconstruction  as  well  as  its  extension  ;  but  he  condemned  the 
whole  financial  scheme  as  unsound  and  delusive,  and  if  the  House 
gave  it  its  sanction,  he  predicted  that  the  day  would  come  when 
the  vote  would  be  looked  back  upon  with  bitter  but  ineffectual 
repentance. 

That  day,  however,  was  destined  never  to  appear,  a  result 
chiefly  due  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  opposition  to  the  Government 
proposals.  His  crushing  expost  of  the  blunders  of  the  budget 
was  almost  ludicrous  in  its  completeness,  and  it  was  universally 
felt  that  the  scheme  could  not  survive  his  brilliant  onslaught. 


140  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

The  resolution  respecting  the  house  duty  was  put  to  the  vote 
on  the  loth  of  December,  when  the  numbers  were — For  the 
Government,  286  ;  against,  305 — majority  against  the  Ministry, 
19.  From  this  debate  may  be  said  to  date  that  actual  and 
formal  political  antagonism  between  Lord  Beaconsfield  and  Mr. 
Gladstone  whose  record  now  extends  over  a  generation.  It  may 
have  been  foreshadowed  in  previous  debates,  but  it  was  the 
session  of  1852  which  first  witnessed  these  distinguished  states- 
men pitted  against  each  other  as  political  leaders  and  rivals. 

Lord  Derby  resigned  in  consequence  of  the  defeat  on  the 
budget,  and  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen  was  called  upon  to  form  a 
Ministry.  There  was  but  one  possible  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  he  accordingly  acceded  to  the 
office.  He-elections  were  necessary  in  the  case  of  those  members 
of  the  new  Ministry  who  had  seats  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  again  appealed  to  his  University  to  return 
him,  and  endorse  his  acceptance  of  office  under  the  Earl  of 
Aberdeen.  But  the  right  lion,  gentleman  speedily  discovered 
that  he  had  made  many  enemies  by  his  obvious  tendencies 
towards  Liberal-Conservatism.  He  had  given  decisive  indica- 
tions that  he  held  less  firmly  the  old  traditions  of  that  unbending 
Toryism  of  which  he  was  once  the  most  promising  representative. 
Mr.  Gladstone's  seat  at  Oxford  was  accordingly  warmly  con- 
tested. 

In  the  outset,  some  difficulty  was  experienced  in  procuring  a 
candidate  of  strong  Conservative  principles.  The  Marquis  of 
Chandos  was  first  applied  to,  but  he  declined  to  oppose  Mr. 
Gladstone,  and  at  length  an  opponent  was  found  in  Mr.  Dudley 
Perceval,  of  Christ  Church,  son  of  the  Eight  Hon.  Spencer 
Perceval.  The  nomination  took  place  on  the  4th  of  January. 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  proposed  by  Dr.  Hawkins,  Provost  of  Oriel, 
and  Mr.  Perceval  by  Archdeacon  Denison.  In  accordance  with 
custom  at  University  elections,  neither  candidate  was  present. 
The  opposition  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  was  based 
chiefly  on  his  votes  on  ecclesiastical  questions,  and  on  his 
acceptance  of  office  in  a  hybrid  Ministry.  The  Times,  writing 
sarcastically  of  Mr.  Perceval,  described  him  as  '  a  very  near 
relative  of  our  old  friend  Mrs.  Harris.  To  remove  any  doubt 
on  this  point,  let  him  be  exhibited  at  Exeter  Hall  with  document- 
ary evidence  of  his  name,  existence,  and  history  ;  his  First-class, 
his  defeat  at  Finsbury,  his  "  talents, "  his  principles.  If  we 
must  go  to  Oxford  to  record  our  votes,  it  would  at  least  be 
something  to  know  that  we  were  voting  against  a  real  man,  and 
not  a  mere  name.'  The  Morning  Chronicle  affirmed  that  a  section 
of  the  Carlton  Club  were '  making  a  tool  of  the  Oxford  Convocation 


ME.    GtlAbSfONfi'S    FlBST    BUDGET".  141 

for  the  purpose  of  the  meanest  and  smallest  political  rancour 
against  Mr.  Gladstone.' 

Two  days  after  the  nomination,  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  Chairman  of  his 
Election  Committee : — *  Unless  I  had  a  full  and  clear  conviction 
that  1he  interests  of  the  Church,  whether  as  relates  to  the 
legislative  functions  of  Parliament,  or  the  impartial  and  wise 
recommendation  of  fit  persons  to  her  Majesty  for  high 
ecclesiastical  offices,  were  at  least  as  safe  in  the  hands  of  Lord 
Aberdeen  as  in  those  of  Lord  Derby  (though  I  would  on  no 
account  disparage  Lord  Derby's  personal  sentiments  towards  the 
Church),  I  should  not  have  accepted  office  under  Lord  Aberdeen. 
As  regards  the  second,  if  it  be  thought  that  during  twenty  years 
of  public  Life,  or  that  during  the  latter  part  of  them,  I  have  failed 
to  give  guarantees  of  attachment  to  the  interests  of  the  Church 
—  to  such  as  so  think  I  can  offer  neither  apology  nor  pledge.  To 
those  who  think  otherwise,  I  tender  the  assurance  that  I  have 
not  by  my  recent  assumption  of  office  made  any  change  whatever 
in  that  particular,  or  in  any  principles  relating  to  it.'  The  poll 
lasted  for  fifteen  days,  and  at  its  close  Mr.  Gladstone  was  found 
to  have  been  returned  by  a  substantial  majority.  The  numbers 
were — Gladstone,  1,022  ;  Perceval,  898 — majority  of  124.  Mr. 
Gladstone  had  large  majorities  in  Christ  Church,  Balliol,  and 
Exeter;  Mr.  Perceval  had  small  majorities  in  Queen's  New,  St. 
John's,  Wadharn,  and  Magdalen  Hall.  Of  Professors,  74  voted  for 
Gladstone,  and  only  15  for  Mr.  Perceval,  while  12  were  neutral. 

On  the  assembling  of  Parliament,  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen 
announced  in  the  House  of  Lords  that  the  measures  of  the 
Government  would  be  both  Conservative  and  Liberal,  for  both 
were  necessary.  At  home,  their  mission  would  be  to  maintain 
and  extend  Free  Trade  principles,  and  to  pursue  the  commercial 
and  financial  system  of  the  late  Sir  Kobert  Peel.  With  regard 
to  foreign  affairs,  it  was  their  earnest  desire  to  secure  the  general 
peace  of  Europe,  without  any  relaxation  of  the  defensive 
measures  which  had  lately  been  undertaken. 

Before  introducing  his  budget,  on  the  8th  of  April,  Mr. 
Gladstone  unfolded  his  scheme  for  the  reduction  of  the  National 
Debt.  This  took  the  form  of  fifteen  resolutions,  divided  into 
three  parts.  The  funded  debt  stood  in  1852  at  £765,126,682, 
and  the  unfunded  debt  at  £17,742,800.  By  the  Chancellor's 
first  operation  he  proposed  to  liquidate  a  number  of  minor 
stocks,  including  the  bank  annuities  of  1726,  the  three  per  cent, 
annuities  of  1751,  and  the  South  Sea  stock  and  annuities. 
These  stocks  furnished  a  total  amount  of  £0,500,000,  and  being 
different  in  denomination,  needlessly  complicated  the  debt.  He 


142  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

offered  to  convert  the  stocks  into  new  securities,  or  to  pay  them 
off,  at  the  option  of  the  holders,  and  he  calculated  that  on  the 
former  process,  by  the  reduction  of  a  quarter  per  cent,  in  the 
interest,  a  permanent  saving  would  be  effected  of  £25,000  per 
annum,  while  if  the  stocks  were  paid  off  altogether,  the  saving 
would  be  far  greater.  By  the  second  series  of  resolutions  Mr. 
Gladstone  proposed  to  deal  with  the  Exchequer  bonds  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  secure  a  saving  of  one  per  cent.  Thirdly,  he  desired 
'  to  effect  the  voluntary  commutation  of  the  three  per  cent, 
consols  and  the  three  per  cent,  reduced,  amounting  altogether 
to  £500,000,000,  into  one  or  other  of  two  new  stocks  which  he 
proposed  to  create,  and  which  would  be  as  like  each  other  as 
possible  in  their  conditions,  so  that  the  fund-holders  would  pro- 
bably be  induced  to  take  portions  of  both.' 

These  resolutions  were  not  only  supported  by  the  general 
adherents  of  the  Government,  but  also  by  the  most  prominent 
Radical  members  in  the  House,  and  in  the  end  were  adopted. 
That  the  new  Finance  Minister  had  not  miscalculated  the  advan- 
tages of  his  scheme  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  after  it  came  into 
operation,  and  before  the  outbreak  of  'the  Crimean  war,  the  debt 
had  been  reduced  by  no  less  a  sum  than  £,11533,581.  At  the 
commencement  of  1854  the  funded  debt  of  the  country  stood  at 
£755,311,701  ;  and  the  unfunded  debt  at  £16,024,100. 

On  the  18th  of  April  the  House  of  Commons  listened  spell- 
bound to  the  details  of  a  budget  which,  for  statesmanlike 
breadth  of  conception,  had,  perhaps,  never  been  surpassed,  and 
has  not  since  been  equalled.  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  for  five  hours 
with  the  greatest  ease  and  perspicuity,  and  without  begetting  in 
the  minds  of  his  audience  the  slightest  feeling  of  ennui.  Even 
while  dealing  with  the  most  abstruse  financial  details,  the 
orator's  command  of  language  never  failed  him.  A  contem- 
porary writer  states  that  he  never  once  paused  for  a  word  during 
the  whole  of  the  five  hours,  and  awards  to  him  the  palm  of  an 
unsurpassed  fluency  and  a  choice  diction.  'The  impression 
produced  upon  the  minds  of  the  crowded  and  brilliant  assembly 
by  Mr.  Gladstone's  evident  mastery  and  grasp  of  the  subject  was, 
that  England  had  at  length  found  a  skilful  financier,  upon  whom 
the  mantle  of  Peel  had  descended.  The  cheering  when  the  right 
hon.  gentleman  sat  down  was  of  the  most  enthusiastic  and 
prolonged  character,  and  his  friends  and  colleagues  hastened  to 
tender  him  their  warm  congratulations  upon  the  distinguished 
success  he  had  achieved  in  his  first  budget.'  When  the  louder 
plaudits  had  subsided,  a  hum  of  approbation  still  went  round  the 
House,  and  extended  even  to  the  fair  occupants  of  the  ladies' 
gallery. 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    FiUST    BtfDGlET.  143 

Mr.  Gladstone  began  his  statement  by  submitting  to  the  com- 
mittee the  account  of  the  country.  The  revenue,  he  observed, 
had  been  estimated  by  Mr.  Disraeli  at  £51,625,000,  but  at  the 
termination  of  the  financial  year  it  was  actually  no  less  than 
£53,089,000,  showing  an  increase  of  £1,464,000.  The  expendi- 
ture, which  had  been  estimated  at  £51,163,000,  had  only  reached 
£50,782,000 ;  so  that  altogether  there  was  a  surplus  of  income 
over  expenditure  to  the  amount  of  £2,460,000.  But  it  would 
be  a  precipitate  inference  to  conclude  that  the  whole  of  this 
amount  was  available  for  the  remission  of  taxation.  No  less  than 
€1,400,000,  or  nearly  three-fifths  of  the  surplus,  had  already  been 
disposed  of  by  votes  of  the  House  for  the  defence  of  the  country, 
and  by  the  charges  on  account  of  miscellaneous  services.  After 
all  necessary  deductions,  and  making  allowance  for  fluctuations 
in  the  revenue,  there  would  only  be  a  balance  of  £700,000.  The 
total  estimated  expenditure  for  1853-54  was  £52,183,000  ;  and 
the  total  estimated  income  for  the  year  £52,990,000.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone then  proceeded  to  state  that  the  relief  desired  by  the  West 
Indian  interests  could  not  be  granted,  nor  could  any  change  in 
the  law  be  proposed  in  the  nature  of  an  equalisation  of  spirit 
duties  as  between  colonial  and  domestic  produce. 

Anticipating  the  most  striking  passages  of  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer's  exposition,  it  will  be  convenient  here  to  sum- 
marise the  leading  features  of  the  Budget.  The  surplus  in  round 
numbers — without  making  allowance  for  uncertainties  in 
revenue— amounted  to  £805,000.  This  it  was  proposed  to 
increase  to  £2,149,000,  by  the  imposition  of  new  taxes  estimated 
to  yield  £1,344,000  during  the  current  year,  but  whose  ultimate 
production  was  anticipated  to  be  as  follows: — Extension  oi 
income-tax  to  all  incomes  between  £100  and  £150  per  annum, 
at  the  rate  of  5d.  per  pound,  £250,000  ;  extension  of  income-tax 
to  Ireland,  £460,000— giving  (after  deducting  the  loss  by 
exemption  on  account  of  life  assurance)  a  net  increase  in  the 
income-tax  of  £590,000  ;  extension  of  legacy  duty  to  real  pro- 
perty, £2,000,000;  increase  in  spirit  duties,  £136,000;  and 
increase  in  alteration  from  scale  of  licences  to  brewers  and 
dealers  in  tea,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  soap,  £1 1 3,000.  But  from 
the  total  gain  of  £3,139,000  was  to  be  deducted  the  interest 
upon  £4,000,000,  the  amount  of  the  debt  due  from  Ireland  in 
connection  with  the  establishment  of  the  Poor  Law  system  and 
the  visitation  of  the  famine,  which  it  was  proposed  entirely  to 
forego,  and  for  which  she  had  hitherto  been  liable  to  an  annual 
charge  of  £245,000.  Taking  the  other  side  of  the  account,  the 
intended  reduction  of  taxation  was  as  follows : — Abolition  of  the 
soap  tax,  £1,126,000 ;  reduction  of  the  duty  on  life  assurance, 


144  WILLIAM    EWAEt   GLADSTONE. 

£29,000  ;  reduction  in  the  scale  of  receipt  stamps,  £155,000  ; 
reduction  of  duty  on  indentures  of  apprenticeship,  attorneys' 
certificates,  and  articles  of  apprenticeship,  £50,000  ;  reduction  of 
advertisement  duty  and  abolition  of  stamp  duties  upon  news- 
paper advertisement  supplements,  £160,000  ;  reduction  of  duty 
on  hackney  carriages,  £26,000 ;  reduction  of  tax  on  men- 
servants,  £87,000 ;  reduction  of  tax  on  private  carriages, 
£95,000 ;  reduction  of  tax  on  horses  and  ponies  (less  alteration 
of  duty  on  dogs),  £108,000  ;  alteration  in  the  post-horse  duties, 
£54,000;  reduction  of  colonial  postage  to  a  uniform  rate  of 
sixpence,  £40,000 ;  reduction  of  the  tea  duty  (which  was 
ultimately  to  descend  to  one  shilling),  £3,000,000  ;  reduction  of 
duties  on  apples,  cheese,  &c..  £262,000 ;  reduction  of  duties  on 
one  hundred  and  thirty-three  minor  articles  of  food,  £70,000;  and 
abolition  of  duties  on  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  other  minor 
articles  of  food,  £53,000.  Speaking  in  round  numbers,  the  total 
amount  of  relief  by  these  reductions  was  £5,300,000,  though  for 
the  actual  financial  year  it  was  limited  to  £2,568,000.  .The  loss 
to  the  revenue,  after  allowing  for  increased  consumption,  was  thus 
£1,656,000.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  order  to  meet 
this  loss,  proposed  new  taxes  for  the  same  period  which  would 
yield  £1,344,000,  making,  with  the  surplus  already  calculated  of 
£805,000,  an  available  aggregate  of  £2,149,000.  Consequently, 
on  the  5th  of  April,  1854,  a  favourable  balance  of  £493,000  was 
still  to  be  anticipated.  Nor  were  these  various  estimates  at  all 
sanguine,  judging  from  the  actual  financial  condition  of  the 
country.  But  he  dipped  too  deeply  into  the  future.  In  1854 
the  balance  between  the  taxes  imposed  and  those  taken  off 
would  give  an  additional  £220,000  in  favour  of  the  country ; 
while  between  that  period  and  1860,  when  the  £6,140,000  of 
income-tax  was  to  be  surrendered,  the  saving  from  the  reduction 
of  the  three  and  a  quarter  per  cents,  and  the  lapse  of  the  long 
annuities,  and  of  a  large  amount  of  terminable  annuities,  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  render  its  re-imposition  unnecessary. 
But  more  than  this ;  arguing  from  past  experince,  the  revenue 
would  have  entirely  recovered  itself,  so  that  the  savings,  as  they 
accrued,  would  be  applicable  to  new  reductions.  These  bright 
financial  prospects  were,  unfortunately,  doomed  to  be  clouded 
by  events  which  even  the  most  sagacious  could  scarcely  at  this 
time  be  expected  to  foresee. 

The  most  masterly  and  effective  portion  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
speech  was  that  in  which  he  dealt  with  the  income-tax.  He 
reminded  the  House  of  what  this  tax  had  done  for  the  country  in 
times  of  national  emergency  and  peril,  and  ask  3d  them  to 
consider  what  it  might  do  again,  if  it  pleased  God  that  those 


MR.    GLADSTONE'S    FIRST    BUDGET.  145 

times  of  peril    should   return.     *  It  was   in   the  crisis  of  the 
revolutionary   war   that,   when   Mr.  Pitt  found  the  resources   of 
taxation  were   failing   under  him,  his  mind  fell  back  upon  the 
conception    of  the   income-tax  ;   and   when   he   proposed  it   to 
Parliament,  that  great  man,  possessed  with  his  great  idea,  raised 
his  eloquence  to  an  unusual  height  and  power.'     The  speaker 
then  briefly  sketched  the   results  which  had  been  achieved   by 
this  colossal  engine  of  finance,  which  was  in  full  force  from  1806 
to  1815.     The  average  annual  expenses  of  war  and  government 
during   these   years,  together  with    the  charge   upon   the  debt 
contracted  before  1793,  was  £65,794,000  ;  while,  in  consequence 
of  the   income-tax,  the   revenue  of  the  country  (which  before 
1798  amounted  only  to  £20,626,000)  amounted  to  £63,790,000. 
The    deficiency  was    thus    reduced   from    fifteen    millions,  or 
thereabouts,  to  two  millions.     After  citing  some  other  figures, 
showing  the  potency  of  the  income-tax  as  a  means  of  raising 
money,  Mr.  Gladstone  dwelt  upon  the  great  ends  it  had  answered 
in  times  of  war,  and  then  examined  the  composition  of  the  tax, 
as  well  as  the  charge  that  gross  inequality  was  its  leading  charac- 
teristic.    As  to  the  questions  raised  by  the  two  classes  of  payers, 
the  owners  of  land  and  houses  and  those  engaged  in  trade,  he  would 
pass  by  the  inquiry  whether  there  ought  to  be  any  difference  what- 
ever between  the  two  classes;  but  he  conclusively  showed  that, 
according  to  a  rational  estimate,  land  paid  at  that  moment  nine- 
pence  and  trade  sevenpence  in  the  pound ;  and  he  asked  any 
moderate  man  whether,  if  he  were  now  about  to  establish  a  different 
rate  of  payment  between  the  two  classes,  he  would  think  of  making 
the  difference  greater  than  it  existed  at  that  moment?     The 
speaker  entered  his  protest  against  the  averaging  of  classes,  stating 
that  some  trades  were  worth  twenty-five  years'  purchase,  while 
others  were  not  worth  more  than  five,  four,  or  three  years'  purchase. 
How  were  they  to  average  the  interest  of  a  trade  worth  three  and 
another   worth  twenty-five  years'  purchase?     As    regarded  the 
state  of  the  case  between  land  and  trade,  there  was  no  sufficient 
ground  to  attempt  the  reconstruction  of  the  income-tax.     Her 
Majesty's  Government  were  opposed  to  the  breaking-up  of  the 
tax;  such  a  policy  would  inevitably  lead  them  into  a  quagmire. 
To  relinquish  it  was  altogether  safe,  because  it  was  altogether 
honourable;  but  to  break  it  up  was  to  encourage  the  House  of 
Commons  to  venture  upon  schemes  which  might  look  well  on 
paper,  and  were  calculated  to  serve  the  purpose  of  the  moment, 
but   which    would    end  in  the   destruction    of  the   tax    by  the 
absurdities  and   iniquities  which  they  involved.     The  Govern- 
ment,   while   recognising   the    fact    that   the   income-tax   was 
an  engine  of  gigantic  power  for  great  national  purposes,  were 

L 


146  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

of  opinion,  from  the  circumstances  attending  its  operation,  that 
it  was,  perhaps,  impossible,  and  certainly  not  desirable,  to  main- 
tain it  as  a  portion  of  the  permanent  and  ordinary  finances  of 
the  country.  Its  inequality  was  a  fact  important  in  itself;  the 
inquisition  it  entailed  was  a  most  serious  disadvantage ;  and  the 
frauds  to  which  it  led  were  evils  which  it  was  not  possible  to 
characterise  in  terms  too  strong.  '  Depend  upon  it,  when  you 
come  to  close  quarters  with  this  subject,  when  you  come  to 
measure  and  see  the  respective  relations  of  intelligence  and 
labour  and  property,  and  when  you  come  to  represent  these 
relations  in  arithmetical  results,  you  are  undertaking  an  opera- 
tion which  I  should  say  it  was  beyond  the  power  of  man  to 
conduct  with  satisfaction,  but  which,  at  any  rate,  is  an  operation 
to  which  you  ought  not  constantly  to  recur  ;  for  if,  as  my  hon. 
friend  once  said  very  properly,  this  country  could  not  bear  a 
revolution  once  a  year,  I  will  venture  to  say  that  it  could  not 
bear  a  reconstruction  of  the  income-tax  once  a  year.  Whatever 
you  do  in  regard  to  the  income-tax  you  must  be  bold,  you  must 
be  intelligible,  you  must  be  decisive.  You  must  not  palter  with 
it.  If  you  do,  I  have  striven  at  least  to  point  out  as  well  as 
my  feeble  powers  will  permit  the  almost  desecration  I  would 
say,  certainly  the  gross  breach  of  duty  to  your  country,  of  which 
you  will  be  found  guilty,  in  thus  jeopardising  one  of  the  most 
valuable  among  all  its  material  resources.  I  believe  it  to  be 
of  vital  importance,  whether  you  keep  this  tax  or  whether  you 
part  with  it,  that  you  should  either  keep  it  or  leave  it  in  a  state 
in  which  it  would  be  fit  for  service  in  an  emergency,  and  that  it 
will  be  impossible  to  do  if  you  break  up  the  basis  of  your 
income-tax.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  next  observed  that  what  the  Government  wished 
to  do  was  to  put  an  end  to  the  uncertainty  that  prevailed  respecting 
the  income-tax,  and  to  take  etfectual  measures  to  mark  the  tax 
as  a  temporary  one.  In  detailing  the  proposed  modes  of  its 
future  operation,  he  was  met  with  signs  of  dissatisfaction  from 
the  Opposition  benches,  for  which,  however,  he  declared  himself 
prepared.  The  Government  proposition  was  to  renew  the 
income-tax  for  two  years,  from  April,  1853,  to  April,  1855,  at 
the  rate  of  7d.  in  the  pound.  From  April,  1855,  it  would  be 
enacted  for  two  more  years  at  6d.  in  the  pound,  and  then  for 
three  more  years  from  April,  1857,  at  5d.  Under  this  proposal 
the  income-tax  would  expire  on  the  5th  of  April,  1860.  The 
means  were  then  detailed  for  creating  a  fund  by  which,  in  con- 
junction with  the  existing  surplus,  an  extensive  and  beneficial 
remission  of  taxes  might  be  accomplished.  The  various  items 
of  increase  and  reduction  in  taxation  have  already  been  given, 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    FIRST    BUDGET.  147 

and  we  will  therefore  only  add  the  conclusion  of  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer's  memorable  speech  : — 

'If  the  Committee  have  followed  me,  they  will  understand  that  we  stand  on  the 
principle  that  the  income-tax  ought  to  be  marked  as  a  temporary  measure;  that 
the  public  feeling  that  relief  should  be  given  to  intelligence  and  skill  as  compared 
with  property  ought  to  be  met,  sind  may  be  met ;  that  the  income-tax  in  its 
operation  ought  to  be  mitigated  by  every  rational  means,  compatible  with  its 
integrity,  and,  above  all,  that  it  should  be  associated  in  the  last  term  of  its 
existence,  as  it  was  in  the  first,  with  those  remissions  of  indirect  taxation  which 
have  so  greatly  redounded  to  the  profit  of  this  country,  and  have  set  so  admirable 
an  example — an  example  that  has  already  in  some  quarters  proved  contagious  to 
other  nations  of  the  earth.  These  are  the  principles  on  which  we  stand,  and  the 
figures.  I  have  shown  you  that  if  you  grant  us  the  taxes  which  we  ask,  the 
moderate  amount  of  £2,500,(MK)  in  the  whole,  and  much  less  than  that  sum  for  the 
present  year,  you,  or  the  Parliament  which  may  bo  in  existence  in  1860,  will  be  in 
the  condition,  if  you  so  think  fit,  to  part  with  the  income-tax.  I  am  almost  afraid 
to  look  at  the  clock,  shamefully  reminding  me,  as  it  must,  how  long  I  have  tres- 
passed on  the  time  of  the  House.  All  I  can  say  in  apology  is,  that  I  have  endea- 
voured to  keep  closely  to  the  topics  which  I  had  before  me — 

" — immensum  spatiis  confecimus  aequor, 
Bt  jam  tempus  equmn  fumantia  solvere  colla." 

These  are  the  proposals  of  the  Government.  They  may  be  approved  or  they  may 
be  condemned,  but  I  have  this  full  confidence,  that  it  will  be  admitted  that  we 
have  not  sought  to  evade  the  difficulties  of  the  position:  that  we  have  not  con- 
cealed those  difficulties  either  from  ourselves  or  from  others;  that  we  have  not 
attempted  to  counteract  them  by  narrow  or  flimsy  expedients;  that  we  have 
prepared  plans  which,  if  you  will  adopt  them,  will  go  some  way  to  close  up  many 
vexed  financial  questions,  which,  if  not  now  settled,  may  be  attended  with  public 
inconvenience,  and  even  with  public  danger,  in  future  years  and  under  less 
favourable  circumstances ;  that  we  have  endeavoured,  in  the  plans  we  have  now 
submitted  to  you,  to  make  the  path  of  our  successors  in  future  years  not  more 
arduous  but  more  easy;  and  I  may  be  permitted  to  add  that,  while  we  have  sought 
to  do  justice  to  the  great  labour  communily  of  England  by  furthering  their  relief 
from  indirect  taxation,  we  have  not  been  guided  by  any  desire  to  put  one  class 
against  another.  We  have  felt  we  should  best  maintain  our  own  honour,  that  we 
should  best  meet  the  views  of  Parliament,  and  best  promote  the  interests  of  the 
country,  by  declining  to  draw  any  invidious  distinction  between  class  and  class, 
by  adopting  it  to  ourselves  as  a  sacred  aim  to  diffuse  and  distribute  the  burdens 
with  equal  and  impartial  hand;  and  we  have  the  consolation  of  believing  that  by 
proposals  such  as  these  we  contribute,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  not  only  to  develope  the 
material  resources  of  the  country,  but  to  knit  the  various  parts  of  this  great  nation 
yet  more  closery  than  ever  to  that  Throne  and  to  those  institutions  under  which  it 
is  our  happiness  to  live.' 

When  the  long-continued  cheering  which  followed  this 
speech  had  subsided,  the  feeling  of  admiration  for  the 
brilliant  manner  in  which  Ihe  budget  had  been  propounded  was 
succeeded  by  one  of  speculation  upon  its  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages. Members  required  time  to  grasp  the  details  of  so 
comprehensive  a  scheme.  Mr.  Hume  alluded  to  the  extensive 
changes  proposed,  and  although  he  rejoiced  over  one  great  resolve 
manifested  in  the  statement — the  determination  to  carry  out 
the  principles  of  Free  Trade — he  regretted  the  manner  in  which 
the  question  of  the  income-tax  had  been  taken  up.  The 
Government  allowed  some  days  for  the  House  to  digest  the  pro- 
positions of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  on  the  25th  of 
April  they  came  on  for  discussion. 

L2 


U8  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

The  first  question  raised  was  that  of  the  income-tax.     Sir  E. 
Bulwer  Lytton  proposed  an  amendment  to  the  effect  that  the 
continuance   of  the   income-tax,   with  its  extension  to  classes 
which  had  hitherto  been  exempt  from  its  operation,  was  alike 
unjust    and    impolitic.     The     debate   that   ensued    was   very 
animated.     Mr.  Cobden,  and  Mr.  Hume  also,  wished  for  such  a 
reduction  in  the  expenditure  of  the  country  as  would  render  the 
objectionable    impost  unnecessary.      Mr.  Cardwell   maintained 
that  the  scheme  was  replete  with  comfort  and  happiness  to  the 
people,  and  Mr.  Lowe  said  that  it  was  conceived  in  no  servile 
spirit.     Mr.  Disraeli  supported  the  amendment  on  the  ground 
that  the  proposals  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  added  to 
the  burdens  on  land,  while  they  lightened  those  which  pressed  on 
particular  classes.      He  held  that  such  privileged  classes  were 
always  a  source  of  the  greatest  danger  to  a  nation,  and  for  him- 
self he  could  see  no  difference  between  a  privileged  noble  and  a 
privileged  tobacconist.      The   right  hon.   gentleman  took   the 
opportunity  of  attacking  Lord  John  Russell,  whom  he  charged 
with  having  thrown   over  the   Whig  party,  and   with  having 
accepted  a  subordinate  office  under  former  subordinate  officers 
of  Sir  Robert  Peel.     Lord  John  Russell,  in  his  reply,  showed  the 
inconsistency  of  Mr.  Disraeli  in  supporting  an  amendment  which 
left  the  burdens  on  land  just  where  they  were,  and  lowered  the 
rate  of  tax  in  favour  of  trades  and  professions.     He  concluded 
with  a  panegyric  upon  Mr.  Gladstone,  who,  he  said,  was  to  be 
envied   amongst    English   Finance   Ministers.     If,   in  order  to 
achieve  his  ends,  it  had  been  his  fortune  to  live  before  his  age,  his 
lordship  trusted  he  would  find  his  reward  in  the  approbation  and 
support  of  the  House,  and  in  the  gratitude  of  an  admiring  people. 
On  a  division  being  taken,  the  numbers  were — For  the  Govern- 
ment plan,  323  ;  agninst,  252 — majority  for  Ministers,  71.     The 
defeat  of  Sir  E.  J3ulwer  Lytton's   amendment    was  a  virtual 
endorsement  of  the  budget.   It  Avas  now  safe  in  its  main  features, 
and  it  finally  passed  the   House  of  Commons  on  the  27th  of 
June. 

It  is  seldom  that  a  venture  of  such  magnitude  as  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's first  budget  meets  with  unequivocal  success.  But  from 
the  outset  the  plan  was  received  with  unusual  favour ;  and,  being 
'  supported  by  a  strong  majority  in-doors,  and  wafted  forwards  by 
a  favourable  breeze  of  popular  confidence  from  without,  it  was 
carried  over  all  opposition,  with  such  modifications  only  as  its 
author  saw  reason  to  admit.  It  was  felt  by  all  classes  of 
persons  throughout  the  country  that  its  financial  operations 
were  now  directed  by  a  master-hand  ;  that  the  work  which 
Peel  had  so  ably  commenced  was  being  carried  out  by  Gladstone, 


MR.    GLADSTONE'S    FIRST    BUDGET.  149 

not  in  a  spirit  of  servile  imitation,  but  with  a  bold  originality 
of  conception,  and  a  happy  force  and  eloquence  of  expression, 
which  placed  him  fully  on  a  level  with  the  lamented  statesman 
whose  work  he  was  successfully  endeavouring  to  complete.  The 
people  therefore  submitted  cheerfully  to  the  burden  of  a  heavy 
and  oppressive  tax,  in  the  full  conviction  that  the  continuance 
of  it  was  necessary  in  order  to  enable  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  to  place  the  national  finances  on  a  footing  which 
would  increase  the  wealth  and  well-being  of  all  classes  of  the 
people.'* 

The  satisfaction  with  which  the  budget_was  received  by  the 
House  was  echoed  by  the  press  and  the  country  generally.  Mr. 
Gladstone  had  not  only  conceived  a  scheme  for  the  reduction  of 
the  National  Debt,  whereby  the  heavy  burdens  which  accrued 
during  Mr.  Pitt's  time  should  be  successfully  attacked;  but  it 
was  showjn  with  regard  to  his  budget  proposal,  that,  notwith- 
standing the  increased  taxation,  a  man  with, "say,  £120  per 
annum,  was  really  better  off  through  these  changes,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  remissions  upon  a  vast  number  of  articles  of  daily 
consumption,  and  the  total  abolition  of  the  duty  upon  others. 
The  whole  scheme  was  regarded  as  the  most  able,  far-sighted, 
and  practicable  of  financial  measures  since  Robert  Peel's  famous 
budget  of  1844.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  his  plan,  laid  aside  all 
questions  of  party,  and  those  alluring  baits  by  which  he  mi<vM 
have  acquire;!  an  unbounded  popularity,  and  legislated  for  the 
whole  country — for  England  in  the  future  as  well  as  in  in  • 
present.  The  scheme  first  astonished,  and  then  pleased  and 
satisfied  the  people ;  and  the  unfortunate  events  which  shortly 
afterwards  transpired — preventing  the  fruition  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's fiscal  policy  at  this  period — cannot  deprive  it  of  its 
high  statesmanlike  qualities.  It  demonstrated  what  marvellous 
results  a  capable  financier  could  achieve  under  the  regime  of 
Free  Trade. 

*  The  History  of  England  from  the  Year  1830.    By  the  Rev.  W.  N.  Molesworth, 
M.A. 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

THE  CRIMEAN   WAR. 

Gathering  of  the  Storm— Policy  of  the  British  Government — Lord  John  Russell's 
Despatch  on  the  Holy  Places--Kusso-Turkish  Negotiations — Mr.  Gladstone  on 
the  Situation — The  Czar's  Manifesto — Fruitless  Intervention  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon — War  Inevitable — Action  of  tha  Aberdeen  Cabinet — Its  Desire  for 
Peace — National  Sentiment  for  War — The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's  War 
Budget — Approved  by  the  House — Great  Britain  and  France  declare  war  against 
Russia — Further  Financial  Proposals — Mr.  Gladstone's  Defence  of  his  Scheme — It 
is  assailed  unsuccessfully  by  the  Opposition — Prorogation  of  Parliament. 

THE  year  1853  opened  with  the  gathering  of  ominous  clouds 
in  the  East.  Englishmen  look  back  to  the  stormy  period  which 
ensued  with  mixed  feelings — admiration  for  the  bravery  dis- 
played by  our  gallant  troops  in  the  Crimea,  and  humiliation  over 
the  mistakes  and  disasters  which  attended  the  course  of  English 
policy.  The  Czar  Nicholas  was  in  the  outset  responsible  for  the 
bloodshed  which  followed,  for  the  diplomatic  acts  of  Kussia 
left  no  doubt  as  to  her  ulterior  designs  upon  Turkey.  It  is 
necessary  to  recapitulate  briefly  the  events  of  this  period  in 
order  to  appreciate  clearly  Mr.  Gladstone's  attitude  upon 
foreign  affairs,  and  to  ascertain  the  position  assumed  by  the 
Government  of  which  he  was  a  member.  The  doctrine  of 
British  interests  in  the  East  is  one  of  which  we  have  heard  a 
good  deal  in  recent  years,  but  to  trace  its  origin  is  a  matter 
of  superlative  difficulty.  Mr.  Gladstone,  however,  must  be  held 
to  be  right  in  his  contention  that  this  doctrine  of  British  interests, 
as  involving  the  sole  necessity  of  upholding  the  Ottoman  Empire, 
in  its  perfect  and  complete  integrity,  was  not  the  avowed  doctrine 
of  the  British  Government  in  the  proceedings  immediately  an- 
terior to  the  Crimean  war.  The  support  and  countenance  which 
Great  Britain  gave  to  Turkey  would  have  been  extended  towards 
any  other  Power  which  had  been  unjustly  menaced  by  a  powerful 
neighbour.  A  wide  difference  of  opinion  has  always  existed,  and 
always  will  exist,  as  to  the  precise  grounds  upon  which  England 
undertook  the  Crimean  war.  Some  assert  it  to  have  been  '  a  war 
for  British  interests  founded  upon  the  traditional  policy  of 
maintaining  the  Porte,  with  all  its  crime?,  in  its  "  integrity  and 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  151 

independence,"  as  the  proper  bulwark  of  our  own  sway  in  India. 
Others  have  thought  that  we  undertook  the  war  upon  a  ground 
certainly  more  chivalrous ;  that,  seeing  a  weaker  country 
oppressed  by  a  stronger  one,  we  generously  interfered  on  behalf 
of  the  weaker.'  The  truth  may  fairly  be  affirmed  to  lie  in  the 
blending  of  the  two  motives ;  for,  as  Mr.  Gladstone  has  observed, 
1  unless  the  Sovereign  and  her  Consort,  with  their  matchless 
opportunities  of  knowledge,  were  absolutely  blindfolded,  the 
policy  which  led  us  into  that  war  was  that  of  repressing  an 
offence  against  the  public  law  of  Europe,  but  only  by  the  united 
authority  of  the  Powers  of  Europe.'  France,  and  subsequently 
Sardinia,  joined  Avith  us  in  resisting  a  policy  fraught  with  danger 
to  the  future  peace  of  the  Continent.  The  Prince  Consort  justly 
described  the  aim  of  the  war  to  be  that  of  putting  a  termination 
to  a  policy  which  not  only  threatened  the  existence  of  the  Otto- 
man Empire,  but,  by  making  all  the  countries  bordering  on  the 
Black  Sea  dependencies  of  Russia,  seriously  endangered  the 
balance  of  power. 

In  January,  1853,  Lord  John  Russell  wrote  his  despatch  on  the 
subject  of  the  Holy  Places.  The  difficulties  which  had  arisen  with 
respect  to  these  places  already  threatened  disturbance  to  the 
peace  of  Europe,  and  they  were  the  primal  origin  of  the  ensuing 
Avar.  France  and  Russia  were  at  this  period  at  daggers  drawn 
with  regard  to  the  question  of  ecclesiastical  privileges  at 
Jerusalem.  Upon  this  particular  difference,  England  was  bound 
to  admit  that  Russia  had  right  on  her  side  ;  but  by-and-by  the 
nft  widened.  At  the  beginning  of  June  fruitless  negotiatio.  s 
took  place  between  Prince  Menschikoff  and  the  Porte  as  to  the 
guarantees  required  by  Russia  in  favour  of  the  Greek  Church. 
At  their  conclusion,  the  Prince  insisted  upon  the  concession  to 
Russia  of  the  protectorate  and  civil  jurisdiction  over  the  Greek 
subjects  of  the  Porte.  The  Sultan  returned  a  decided  negative 
to  this  demand,  and  Prince  Menschikoff  departed  for  St. 
Petersburg.  The  Czar  approved  of  all  the  acts  of  his  representa- 
tive, and  sent  an  ultimatum  to  the  Porte.  Turkey  still  proved 
recalcitrant,  and  the  Russian  forces  at  once  prepared  to  occupy 
the  Danubian  Principalities. 

On  the  2nd  of  July,  negotiations  having  completely  failed,  the 
Russian  troops  effected  a  double  passage  across  the  Pruth,  taking 
simultaneous  possession  of  the  provinces  of  Moldavia  and 
Wallachia.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  had  prefaced  this  step  by  a 
manifesto  stating  that  the  occupation  of  these  Principalities  was 
indispensable  to  guarantee  Russia  the  re-establishment  of  her 
rights,  but  that  it  was  not  to  be  considered  as  a  declaration  of 
war.  It  was  still  hoped  that  hostilities  would  be  averted,  but  on 


152  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

the  4th  of  October  London  was  startled  by  a  telegraphic  despatch 
announcing  that  the  Sultan  had  formally  declared  war  against 
Russia.  On  the  12th  of  the  same  month  Mr.  Gladstone 
attended  the  inauguration  of  a  statue  to  Sir  Robert  Peel  at 
Manchester.  At  this  period  of  excitement,  when  meetings  and 
conferences  for  and  against  war  were  already  being  held,  it  was 
natural,  and  indeed  almost  imperative,  that  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  should  make  some  reference  to  the  great  question 
then  agitating  the  public  mind.  He  alluded  to  the  designs  of 
Russia,  describing  her  as  a  Power  which  threatened  to  override  all 
the  rest,  and  to  prove  a  source  of  danger  to  the  peace  of  the  world. 
This  disastrous  state  of  affairs  would  be  precipitated  by  the  over- 
throw of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  and  against  this  result  England 
had  determined  to  set  herself  at  whatever  cost.  The  Government 
did  not  desire  war — a  calamity  which  stained  the  face  of  nature 
with  human  gore,  gave  loose  rein  to  crime,  and  took  bread  from 
the  people.  '  No  doubt,'  the  speaker  continued,  i  negotiation  is 
repugnant  to  the  national  impatience  at  the  sight  of  injustice 
and  oppression ;  it  is  beset  with  delay,  intrigue,  and  chicane ; 
but  these  are  not  so  horrible  as  war,  if  negotiation  can  be  made 
to  result  in  saving  this  country  from  a  calamity  which  deprives 
the  nation  of  subsistence,  and  arrests  the  operations  of  industry. 
To  attain  that  result,  if  possible — still  to  attain  it,  if  still 
possible,  which  is  even  yet  their  hope — her  Majesty's  Ministers 
have  persevered  in  exercising  that  self-command  and  that  self- 
restraint,  which  impatience  may  mistake  for  indifference,  feeble- 
ness, or  cowardice,  but  which  are  truly  the  crowning  greatness 
of  a  great  people,  and  which  do  not  evince  the  want  of  readiness 
to  vindicate,  when  the  time  comes,  the  honour  of  this  country.' 
These  weighty  words  emphatically  prove  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his 
colleagues  did  not  contemplate  entering  upon  the  impending 
war  with  '  a  light  heart.'  They  felt  profoundly  the  responsibility 
which  threatened  to  devolve  upon  them.  Already  the  popular 
voice  was  beginning  to  make  itself  heard,  charged  with  indigna- 
tion against  Russia,  and  clamouring  for  active  measures  in 
support  ol  Turkey. 

One  passage  in  this  Manchester  speech  completely  dis- 
proves the  assertion,  frequently  made  since  1876,  that  at 
the  time  of  the  Crimean  War,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  a  blind  sup- 
porter either  of  Ottoman  rule  or  of  the  integrity  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire  as  such.  He  expressly  stated  that  the  Govern- 
ment were  not  engaged  in  maintaining  the  independence  and 
integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  as  those  Avords  might  be  used 
with  reference  to  the  integrity  and  independence  of  England  or 
of  France.  He  further  referred  to  the  anomalies  of  the  Eastern 


THE    CEIMEAN    WAR.  153 

Empire,  the  political  solecism  of  a  Mussulman  faith  exercising 
a  dominion  over  twelve  millions  of  our  fellow-creatures,  the 
weakness  inherent  in  the  nature  of  the  Turkish  Government,  and 
the  eventualities  that  surrounded  the  future  of  that  dubious 
empire,  though  he  added  that  these  were  not  the  things  with 
which  any  British  Government  had  then  to  deal.  This  much 
will,  therefore,  be  allowed,  that  nearly  a  generation  before  the 
period  of  the  '  Bulgarian  atrocities,'  Mr.  Gladstone  admitted  and 
deplored  the  corruptions  of  the  Turkish  Government,  and  the 
anomalous  relations  existing  between  the  Porte  and  its  Christian 
subjects. 

The  Emperor  of  Kussia  issued  a  manifesto  to  his  people  on  the 
1st  of  November,  18  J4,  declaring  that  he  had  earnestly  sought 
for  peace,  but  that,  owing  to  the  '  blind  obstinacy '  of  the  Ottoman 
Porte,  war  was  forced  upon  him.  Hostilities  were  shortly  after- 
wards rapidly  precipitated.  A  Note,  proposed  collectively  by 
the  European  Powers  to  Russia,  and  known  as  the  Vienna  Note, 
was  accepted  by  Eussia ;  but  being  subsequently  objected  to  by 
Turkey,  the  signatory  Powers  threw  it  over.  Negotiations  were 
then  resumed,  and  towards  the  close  of  the  year  a  new  document, 
drawn  up  at  Constantinople  and  approved  by  England  and  the  other 
Powers,  was  presented  to  Eussia.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  rejected 
this  second  Note  in  January,  1854,  and  in  two  months  from  that 
time  war  was  an  actuality.  In  England,  the  press  and  the  people, 
with  few  exceptions,  were  unanimous  in  their  feeling  of  hostility 
to  Eussia.  The  Government  was  supported  in  its  warlike 
resolution  by  a  rush  of  national  feeling  and  enthusiasm  rarely 
exhibited.  The  allied  fleets  had  already  entered  the  Black  Sea 
in  the  month  of  January,  which  also  witnessed  that  execrable 
act  on  the  part  of  the  Eussians  known  as  the  massacre  of 
Sinope.  The  Czar  cut  the  Gordian  knot  of  a  complicated  series 
of  negotiations  hy  assuming  a  firm  and  resolute  attitude,  and  on 
the  28th  of  March,  England  formally  declared  war  against 
Eussia. 

A  final  effort  to  preserve  peace  had  been  made  by  the 
Emperor  Napoleon,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Czar,  and  dated 
January  29th.  This  letter  fully  explained  the  position  of  France 
in  the  great  European  imbroglio  which  had  arisen,  and  set  forth 
the  reasons  why  she  would  be  compelled  to  act  as  the  ally  of 
England  in  the  event  of  hostilities.  The  two  Powers  had 
assumed  a  protective  but  passive  attitude  towards  Turkey,  but 
the  affair  of  Sinope  forced  them  to  take  a  more  defined  position. 
'  It  was  no  longer  our  policy  that  received  a  check  in  that  affair  ; 
it  was  our  military  honour.  The  cannon-shots  of  Sinope  have 
echoed  mournfully  in  the  hearts  of  all  those  who,  in  England 


154  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

and  in  France,  have  a  strong  sense  of  the  national  dignity.' 
Hence  the  order  given  to  the  allied  squadrons  to  enter  the 
Black  Sea,  to  prevent — by  force,  if  necessary — the  recurrence 
of  a  similar  event.  The  Emperor  Napoleon  went  on  to  say  that 
if  the  Czar  desired  a  pacific  solution  to  the  existing  difficulties, 
an  armistice  might  at  once  be  signed,  things  could  resume  their 
diplomatic  course,  and  all  the  belligerent  forces  could  retire  from 
the  places  whither  motives  of  war  had  called  them.  But  matters 
had  gone  too  far  for  reasonable  appeals  of  this  kind.  The  Czar 
was  obstinate,  and  a  telegraphic  despatch  was  received  in  Paris 
from  the  French  representative  at  St.  Petersburg,  consisting  of 
these  few  but  ominous  words,  *  I  return  with  refusal. '  War  was 
now  inevitable,  and  the  French  became  the  warm  and  enthusiastic 
allies  of  England. 

Some  critics  of  the  Aberdeen  Ministry  have  severely  condemned 
that  Government  for  the  course  upon  which  it  now  entered. 
The  members  of  the  Peace  Society  were  naturally  foremost,  in 
their  efforts  to  secure  peace  ;  and  a  deputation  even  went  to  St. 
Petersburg  with  a  view  of  securing  this  object.  It  should  be 
borne  in  mind,  in  estimating  the  responsibilities  of  Ministers  at 
this  period,  tbat  the  tone  of  the  public  mind  of  England  was 
hurrying  them  forward  witli  surprising  rapidity.  Lord  Aberdeen 
and  Mr.  Gladstone  were  both  averse  to  war.  The  former  had, 
indeed,  a  holy  horror  of  war  in  the  abstract,  and — as  Mr.  King- 
lake  has  pointed  out — he  was  especially  averse  to  a  war  with 
Russia,  not  only  by  reason  of  the  impressions  of  his  early  life, 
but  because  of  the  relations  of  mutual  esteem  which  had  long 
existed  between  the  Emperor  Nicholas  and  himself ;  he  also 
anticipated  evil  to  Europe  by  a  forcible  breaking  up  of  the  ties 
established  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna  and  riveted  by  the  Peace 
of  Paris.  The  Premier  bad,  in  fact,  gone  so  far  in  the  early 
stage  of  the  Eastern  difficulty  as  to  resolve  not  to  remain  at  the 
head  of  the  Government  unless  he  could  maintain  peace.  The 
only  phrase  which  can  now  be  used  to  describe  his  policy  at  this 
period  is  that  he  *  drifted  '  into  war.  He  did  not  wish  it ;  he 
deplored  it ;  and  yet  he  was  gradually  borne  on  towards  it, 
without  being  able  to  take  the  retrograde  steps  he  desired.  But 
there  was  also  Mr.  Gladstone,  perhaps  the  next  conspicuous 
member  of  his  Cabinet,  equally  averse  to  war.  On  humanitarian 
as  well  as  on  national  grounds,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
was  opposed  to  the  arbitrament  of  arms.  That  war,  moreover, 
was  costly,  and  added  greatly  to  the  burdens  of  the  people,  was 
an  argument  to  which  he  gave  due  weight,  but  he  was  still  more 
deeply  swayed  by  those  loftier  principles  which  made  him 
a.'dently  cling  to  the  chances  of  peace.  The  brilliant  historian 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAE.  155 

of  the  Crimean  war  thus  describes  him  at  this  period,  and  depicts 
the  feelings  with  which  the  course  of  his  immediate  career  was 
regarded  by  the  country : — 

'  If  he  was  famous  for  the  splendour  of  his  eloquence,  for  his  unaffected  piety, 
and  for  his  blameless  life,  he  was  celebrated  far  and  wide  fora  more  than  common 
liveliness  of  conscience.  He  had  once  imagined  it  to  be  his  duty  to  quit  a  Govern- 
ment, and  to  burst  through  strong  ties  of  friendship  and  gratitude,  by  reason  of  a 
thin  shade  of  difference  on  the  subject  of  white  or  brown  sugar.  It  was  believed 
that,  if  he  were  to  commit  even  a  little  sin,  or  to  imagine  an  evil  thought,  he  would 
instantly  arraign  himself  before  the  dread  tribunal  which  awaited  him  within  his 
own  bosom;  and  that,  his  intellect  being  subtle  and  microscopic,  and  delighting  in 
casuistry  and  exaggeration,  he  would  be  likely  to  give  his  soul  a  very  harsh  trial, 
and  treat  himself  as  a  great  criminal  for  faults  too  minute  to  be  visible  to  the 
naked  eyes  of  laymen.  His  friends  lived  in  dread  of  his  virtues  as  tending  to 
make  him  whimsical  and  unstable,  and  the  practical  politicians,  perceiving  that 
he  was  not  to  be  depended  upon  for  party  purposes,  and  was  bent  upon  none  but 
lofty  objects,  used  to  look  upon  him  as  dangerous — used  to  call  him  behind  his 
back  a  good  man — a  good  man  in  the  worst  sense  of  the  term.'  * 

Here  we  have  stated  that  view  of  Mr.  Gladstone  which  has 
always  been  held  by  those  politicians  who  are  the  disciples  of 
the  doctrine  of  expediency.  Mr.  Gladstone,  from  his  earliest 
appearance  in  political  life,  has  always  thrown  over  the  conven- 
tional doctrines  of  politics,  when  they  threatened  to  interfere 
with  his  unswerving  conscientiousness,  and  taken  his  stand  upon 
what  he  believed  to  be  the  strict  principles  of  right  and  justice. 
He  has,  of  course,  with  other  statesmen,  made  mistakes  :  cehi  va 
sans  dire.  In  1853  he  reconciled  these  principles  of  right  and 
justice  with  the  dread  necessity  which  had  arisen  in  Europe. 
War,  he  came  to  see,  was  inevitable,  and  even  peace-loving  men 
must  bow  to  a  fate  that  is  inexorable.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  presence  of  Lord  Aberdeen  and  Mr.  Gladstone  in  the 
Cabinet  was  a  guarantee  that  peace  would  be  prolonged  to  the 
very  utmost  limit  of  time,  and  that  only  the  gravest  necessity 
would  reconcile  them  to  retaining  office  at  this  momentous 
period. 

But  in  truth  the  question  of  peace  or  war  had  passed  out  of 
the  hands  of  these  statesmen,  and  of  any  individuals,  however 
great  their  power.  There  was  already  felt  the  flow  of  a  wave 
of  public  opinion  which  swept  the  Ministry  onward.  It  was 
no  longer  a  question  whether  war  could  be  avoided — the 
people  of  England  demanded  it  with  a  fervour  and  an 
unanimity  rarely  witnessed  in  the  annals  of  the  country.  On 
the  one  great  and  broad  principle  of  resistance  to  the 
threatened  overwhelming  power  of  Kussia  is  that  war  now 
to  be  defended.  It  was  a  defensive  war,  undertaken  in  the 
interests  of  Europe,  against  the  aggressive  and  domineering 
policy  of  the  Cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg.  English  statesmen 

*  The  Invasion  of  the  Crimea.    By  Alex.  William  Kinglake. 


156  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

regretted  the  necessity  which  drove  England  to  assume  the  part 
of  policeman  in  Europe,  but  the  actual  circumstances  of  the 
time,  combined  with  the  future  prospects  of  the  various 
European  States — and  especially  those  immediately  concerned 
in  the  Eastern  Question—  demanded  that  she  should  not  shirk 
her  responsibilities.  It  is  not  upon  England  that  the  blame 
can  fall  for  that  terrible  visitation  of  the  Angel  of  Death  (to 
borrow  an  image  of  Mr.  Bright's),  whose  wings  were  shortly  heard 
rustling  upon  the  darkened  horizon  of  Eastern  Europe.  History 
has  even  now  written  with  unerring  finger  the  name  of  him  who 
lit  the  flame  of  carnage  in  Europe.  And  Providence  ordained  in 
this,  as  in  other  striking  examples  of  unjust  war  levied  in  the 
course  of  the  history  of  the  human  race,  that — if  not,  literally, 
still  in  effect — he  who  took  the  sword  should  perish  by  the 
sword.  The  Emperor  Nicholas,  though  he  fell  not  upon  the 
battle-field,  is  understood  to  have  died  of  chagrin,  and  his  end 
was  undoubtedly  hastened  by  the  disasters  which  befell  his 
armies  in  the  Crimea. 

Mr.  Gladstone  has  been  so  long  known  as  a  Minister  who  has 
uniformly  desired  the  prosperity  of  his  country,  that  we  can  well 
understand  the  poignant  regrets  he  must  have  felt  over  the 
paralysation  of  British  industry,  and  an  arrested  commercial 
progress,  which  were  the  natural  result  of  a  declaration  of  war. 
A  war  in  which  Russia  and  Turkey  in  the  East,  and  England 
and  France  in  the  West,  are  concerned,  must  of  necessity  be 
fraught  with  serious  consequences  to  the  whole  of  Europe.  No 
longer  were  smiling  harvests  to  gladden  the  face  of  nature  in 
those  districts  which  formed  the  seat  of  war;  the  peasant  from 
the  fruitful  fields  of  France  was  to  leave  his  occupation,  and 
exchange  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  of  peace  for  those  of  Avar  ;  the 
English  toiler  in  docks,  workshops,  and  factories  was  doomed  to 
see  the  course  of  his  labour  arrested,  and  to  hear  his  children  cry 
for  the  bread  which  was  ruthlessly  destroyed  by  the  devastating 
influence  of  war.  Yet,  though  England  foresaw  the  evils  which 
must  necessarily  follow  from  the  expected  war,  with  one  voice — 
scarcely  broken  by  the  cries  of  a  small  minority  in  favour  of 
abstention — she  called  aloud  for  the  chastisement  of  the  disturber 
of  the  peace  of  Europe.  Ministers  could  scarcely  commit  error 
in  following  the  lead  of  a  national  sentiment  so  emphatically 
expressed ;  if  they  did,  it  is  an  error  which  history  has  already  con- 
doned, and  as  regards  the  individual  members  of  Lord  Aberdeen's 
Cabinet,  none  can  be  found  to  challenge  the  disinterestedness  and 
purity  of  their  motive.  To  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  the  dire  necessity 
must  have  seemed  painfully  hard.  Instead  of  that  relief  of  taxa- 
tion to  which  he  had  looked  forward,  he  was  called  upon  to 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  157 

prepare  a  war  budget.  The  increase  of  revenue  which  had  unex- 
pectedly fallen  in,  and  which  amounted  to  upwards  of  a  million 
sterling,  was  alienated  from  its  peaceful  purposes,  and,  in  addition, 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  found  himself  compelled  to 
increase  the  income-tax,  the  spirit  duties,  and  the  malt-tax.  He 
had  hoped  to  meet  the  popular  wishes,  moreover,  by  a  remission 
of  the  sugar  duty,  but  this  financial  boon  must  now  be  postponed. 
Faced  by  no  ordinary  difficulties,  Mr.  Gladstone's  fertility  in 
resource  was  again  apparent  at  this  juncture.  He  conceived  a 
scheme  by  which  the  country  should  not  be  permanently 
burdened  with  the  expenses  of  the  impending  war.  Prince 
Albert,  in  a  letter  to  Baron  Stockmar,  referred  to  this  plan. 
Mr.  Gladstone  desired  to  pay  for  the  war  out  of  current  revenue, 
provided  it  did  not  require  more  than  ten  millions  sterling 
beyond  the  ordinary  expenditure.  In  order  to  meet  this  extra 
charge,  however,  he  had  no  option  but  to  increase  the  taxes. 
Mr.  Disraeli — in  duty  bound,  perhaps,  as  the  mouthpiece  of  a 
strong  Opposition — propounded  a  different  scheme.  He  desired 
to  borrow,  thus  increasing  the  Debt ;  he  was  opposed  to  the  im- 
position of  any  fresh  taxes.  4  The  former  course,'  said  the  Prince 
Consort  to  his  friend,  '  is  manly,  statesmanlike,  and  honest ; 
the  latter  is  convenient,  cowardly,  and  perhaps  popular.'  But  in 
a  remarkable  manner  the  people  of  England  rose  to  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  situation.  They  approved  the  plans  of  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  though  fraught  with  temporary 
inconvenience.  Mr.  .-Gladstone  had  not  misinterpreted  the 
feeling  of  the  country.  It  was  ready  to  bear  the  burden 
which  it  in  reality  called  down  upon  itself,  and  to  meet, 
as  they  occurred,  the  expenses  of  the  war.  Never  was 
patriotism  more  strongly  displayed  than  at  this  period.  A 
Minister  may  frequently  acquire  popularity  by  leaving  to 
succeeding  generations  the  discharge  of  those  pecuniary  liabilities 
which  arise  in  connection  with  exceptional  events.  But  Mr. 
Gladstone  fought  against  this  policy.  Though,  as  he  said, 
'  every  good  motive  and  every  bad  motive,  combated  only  by  the 
desire  of  the  approval  of  honourable  men  and  by  conscientious 
rectitude — every  motive  of  ease,  of  comfort,  and  of  certainty 
spring  forward  .in  his  mind  to  induce  a  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  to  become  the  first  man  to  recommend  a  loan ' — he 
resisted  the  temptation,  and  was  rewarded  by  the  support  of 
Parliament  and  the  country. 

Under  circumstances  widely  different,  therefore,  from  those 
attending  his  first  financial  statement,  Mr.  Gladstone  pro- 
duced his  budget  of  1854.  His  prognostications  of  the  previous 
year  had  been  exceeded  by  the  results  of  the  revenue.  He 


158  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

estimated  the  income  for  the  year  1853-54 — after  all  reductions 
should  have  been  effected — at  £52,990,000.  The  actual  receipts 
were  £54,025,000,  showing  an  excess  of  £1,035,000.  Moreover, 
not  only  did  the  revenue  thus  largely  exceed  the  estimate,  but 
the  expenditure  fell  short  of  it  by  no  less  than  £1,012,000,  the 
two  items  together  furnishing  a  surplus.of  £2,047,000.  On  the 
6th  of  March  the  budget  was  introduced.  The  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  announced  with  regard  to  the  estimate  for  the  war  in 
the  East,  that  it  was  impossible  to  say  it  would  suffice  for  the 
wants  of  the  whole  year.  The  measure  which  he  then  proposed 
was  to  vote  for  extraordinary  military  expenditure  a  sum  of 
£1,250,000.  There  was  a  deficiency  of  nearly  three  millions  to 
provide  for,  and  even  this  did  not  exhaust  the  whole  cost  of  the 
war.  *  But  while  he  hoped  that  this  sum  might  be  raised  without 
returning  to  the  higher  duties  on  various  articles  which  had 
recently  been  diminished,  he  urged  strongly  that  it  should  not  be 
raised  by  resorting  to  a  loan,  and  so  throwing  the  burden  on 
posterity.  Such  a  course  was  not  required  by  the  necessities  of 
the  country,  and  was  therefore  not  worthy  of  its  adoption.  No 
country  had  played  so  much  as  England  at  this  dangerous  game 
of  mortgaging  the  industry  of  future  generations.  It  was  right 
that  those  who  make  war  should  be  prepared  to  make  the  sacri- 
fices needed  to  carry  it  on ;  the  necessity  for  so  doing  was  a  most 
useful  check  on  mere  lust  of  conquest,  and  would  lead  men  to 
make  war  with  the  wish  of  realising  the  earliest  prospects  of  an 
honourable  peace.'  Mr.  Gladstone  then  went  on  to  speak  generally 
of  the  war,  and  the  following  passage  of  his  speech  was  warmly 
applauded : — 

'  We  have  entered  upon  a  great  struggle,  but  we  have  entered  upon  it  under 
favourable  circumstances.  We  have  proposed  to  you  to  make  great  efforts,  and 
you  have  nobly  and  cheerfully  backed  our  proposals.  You  have  already  by  your 
votes  added  nearly  40,000  men'to  the  establishments  of  the  country  ;  and  takin  g 
into  account  changes  that  have  actually  been  carried  into  effect  with  regard  to 
the  return  of  soldiers  from  the  Colonies,  and  the  arrangements  which,  in  the  present 
state  of  Ireland,  might  be  made — but  which  are  not  made — with  respect  to  the 
constabulary  force,  in  order  to  render  the  military  force  disposable  to  the  utmost 
possible  extent,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  we  have  virtually  an  addition  to 
the  disposable  forces  of  the  country,  by  land  and  by  sea,  at  the  present  moment,  as 
compared  with  our  position  twelve  months  ago,  to  the  extent  of  nearly  50,000  men. 
This  looks  like  an  intention  to  carry  on  your  war  with  vigour,  and  the  wisli  and 
hope  of  her  Majesty's  Government  is,  that  that  may  be  truly  said  of  the  people  of 
England,  with  regard  to  this  war,  which  was,  I  am  afraid,  not  so  truly  said  of 
Charles  II.  by  a  courtly  but  great  poet,  Dryden — 

"  He  without  fear  a  dangerous  war  pursues, 
Which  without  rashness  he  began  before." 

That,  we  trust,  will  be  the  motto  of  the  people  of  England ;  and  you  have  this 
advantage,  that  the  sentiment  of  Europe,  and  we  trust  the  might  of  Europe,  is  with 
you.  These  circumstances — though  we  must  not  be  sanguine,  though  it  would 
be  the  wildest  presumption  for  any  man  to  say,  when  the  ravages  of  European  war 
had  once  begun,  where  and  at  what  point  it  would  be  stayed — these  circumstances 
justify  us  in  cherishing  the  hope  that  possibly  this  may  not  be  a  long  war.' 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  159 

The  speaker  held  that  there  were  economical  reasons  and  also 
moral  reasons  why  the  House  should  adhere  to  the  sound  policy 
of  raising  the  supplies  within  the  year.  Coming  to  the  gist  of  his 
plan,  the  Government  proposed,  he  said,  to  repair  the  deficiency 
of  £2,840,000,  and  to  provide  a  moderate  margin  besides,  by 
increasing  the  income-tax  by  one-half,  levying  the  whole  addition 
for  and  in  respect  of  the  first  moiety  of  the  year — in  other  words, 
to  double  the  tax  for  the  half-year.  He  took  the  amount  of  the 
income-tax  for  1854-55  at  £6,275,000 ;  a  moiety  of  that  sum 
was  £3,137,500  ;  but,  in  the  case  of  the  income-tax,  the  cost 
of  collection  diminished  in  proportion  as  the  amount  increased, 
and  he  took  the  real  moiety  consequently  at  £3,307,000,  which 
would  make  the  whole  produce  of  the  income-tax  £9,582,000. 
The  aggregate  income  for  1854-55  would  then  amount  to 
£56,656,000,  and  the  expenditure  being  estimated  at 
£56,186,000,  a  small  surplus  would  be  left  of  £470,000.  Mr. 
Gladstone  next  announced  a  proposed  financial  reform  of  some 
importance  to  the  commercial  community.  It  was  designed  to 
abolish  the  distinction  then  existing  between  home  and  foreign 
drawn  bills,  making  them  pay  the  same  rate  of  tax.  As  the  addi- 
tions to  the  revenue  could  not  be  realised  before  Christmas, 
whereas  a  large  portion  of  war  expenditure  must  be  provided  for 
in  the  next  quarter,  he  laid  on  the  table  of  the  House  a  resolution 
for  a  vote  of  £1,750,000  for  an  issue  of  Exchequer  bills.  This 
would  enable  the  Government  to  provide  for  the  interval.  He 
did  not  anticipate  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  exercise  this 
permission  to  its  full  extent ;  but  if  it  should  be,  the  unfunded 
debt  would  only  stand  as  it  stood  twelve  months  before,  when  its 
amount  was  £17,750,000,  as  compared  with  £16,000,000  for  the 
current  period. 

In  the  course  of  the  discussion  which  ensued,  Mr.  Hume 
approved  the  principle  that  the  revenue  should  be  raised  within 
the  year,  on  the  ground  that  those  who  had  urged  the  Govern- 
ment to  a  war  whose  propriety  could  not  be  judged  should  bear 
their  share  of  its  burdens.  Mr.  Disraeli  announced  that  he 
should  not  oppose  the  vote,  as  the  House  was  bound  to  support 
her  Majesty  in  all  just  and  necessary  wars;  but  he  protested 
against  the  doctrine  that  in  a  prolonged  contest  we  should  rely 
upon  taxation  alone  to  raise  the  requisite  supplies,  or  that  even 
in  resorting  to  taxation  it  might  not  be  necessary  to  rely  upon 
indirect  as  well  as  upon  direct  taxation. 

The  resolution  for  doubling  the  income-tax  was  passed  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  without  discussion  or  division,  on  the  20th 
of  March;  but  on  the  report  being  brought  up  the  following  day, 
an  animated  debate  unexpectedly  occurred.  Sir  H.  Willoughby 


160  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

moved  an  amendment  to  the  effect  that  the  collection  of  the 
additional  moiety  extend  over  the  whole  year,  and  not  be  levied 
during  the  first  half  of  the  year.  Sir  F.  Baring  regarded  the 
proposition  involved  in  the  budget  as  the  best  arrangement 
which  could  have  been  made ;  but  Mr.  Disraeli  contended  that 
the  Government  were  justified  in  demanding  increased 
taxes  to  provide  for  a  war  only  upon  the  condition  of  proving 
that  the  war  was  unavoidable.  This  they  had  not  done. 
He  replied  to  the  objection  that  no  criticism  should  be 
pronounced  on  the  Ministerial  policy  unless  the  critic  were  pre- 
pared to  propose  a  vote  of  no  confidence ;  and  he  urged  that  it 
was  apparent  the  Government  had  no  confidence  in  the  House, 
or  even  in  themselves.  He  also  contrasted  the  expressions  oi 
different  Ministers  at  different  times  to  show  how  loose  and  con- 
flicting had  been  their  opinions  on  the  great  question  of  peace  01 
war.  The  Opposition  leader  declared  that  the  war  had  been 
brought  about  by  this  divergence  of  opinion.  A  united  Cabinex 
would  have  averted  it  altogether  ;  it  was  a  coalition  war. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  reply  to  this  speech  was  an  obvious  one. 
He  observed  that  the  omission,  on  the  part  of  his  rival,  to 
propose  a  vote  of  want  of  confidence  was  defended  upon  the 
very  grounds  that  should  have  prompted  it ;  and  he  characterised 
the  conclusion  to  which  Mr.  Disraeli  had  landed  his  argument  as 
*  illogical  and  recreant.'  He  then  vindicated  at  length  his 
financial  policy  as  regarded  the  reduction  of  interest  on 
Exchequer  bills,  the  conversion  of  stock,  and  the  partial  employ- 
ment of  the  Treasury  balances  in  buying  up  the  public  debt ; 
concluding  by  explaining  his  motives  in  asking  that  the  whole 
increase  in  the  income-tax  should  be  paid  within  the  first  six 
months.  The  amendment  was  negatived ;  the  report  of  the 
resolution  was  agreed  to,  and  a  bill  was  ordered  to  be  brought 
in.  On  the  30th  of  March  the  bill  was  read  a  third  time,  and 
passed  by  the  House  of  Commons. 

The  Emperor  of  Eussia  having  refused  to  return  an  answer  to 
the  demand  made  upon  him  by  Great  Britain  and  France  to 
evacuate  the  Danubian  Principalities,  the  Allies  (as  we  have  seen) 
made  a  formal  declaration  of  war  on  the  28th  of  March.  The 
British  people  entered  upon  the  contest  with  hope  and  courage. 
Everything  seemed  to  presage  a  speedy  termination  to  the  war ; 
but  it  was  discovered  that  the  Emperor  Nicholas  was  not  so 
deficient  in  resources  as  had  been  represented.  The  conflict 
which  had  begun  must  necessarily  be  a  protracted  and  an 
expensive  one.  There  probably  never  was  a  contineiital  monarch — 
not  even  the  first  Napoleon — so  execrated  in  England  as  the  Czar, 
to  crush  whom  English  income-tax  payers  now  cheerfully  contri- 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  161 

bated,  at  the  rate  of  fourteenpence  in  the  pound,  to  the  National 
Exchequer.  The  two  Houses  of  Parliament  discussed  her 
Majesty's  Message  on  the  31st  of  March.  Mr.  Bright  failed  to 
impress  the  members  of  the  Lower  House  with  his  arguments 
against  the  war,  while  Lord  Palmerston  roused  the  same  audience 
to  a  high  pitch  of  enthusiasm  by  his  vindication  of  the  policy 
which  had  been  pursued  by  the  Government,  and  by  his  review 
of  the  tremendous  interests,  national  and  European,  which  were 
at  stake.  Between  the  8th  of  February  and  the  1st  of  May,  some 
25,000  English  troops  had  been  conveyed  to  their  destination  in 
the  Crimea.  Hostilities  had  commenced,  and  with  a  bitterness 
of  feeling  rarely  paralleled  in  the  annals  of  war. 

The  war  thus  initiated  entailed  on  England  an  exceed- 
ingly heavy  expenditure,  and  on  the  8th  of  May  accord- 
ingly the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  brought  forward 
additional  proposals  in  connection  with  his  war  budget. 
Adverting  to  the  necessity  which  had  existed  for  demanding  a 
doubled  income-tax  at  a  time  when  war  was  not  declared,  he 
said  it  was  then  impossible  for  the  Government  to  form  a  trust- 
worthy estimate  of  the  expenses  of  the  war.  In  moving  his 
resolution  for  an  increased  income-tax,  he  had  asked  what  was 
at  the  time  known  to  be  requisite,  but  had  also  guarded  himself 
by  stating  that  his  demand  was  not  adequate  to  the  purposes  of 
war.  He  now  asked  for  the  means  of  satisfactorily  carrying  on 
the  struggle.  Before  unfolding  his  plans,  Mr.  Gladstone  defended 
himself  against  the  accusations  of  having  mismanaged  the 
unfunded  debt,  and  of  having  made  a  bad  bargain  in  paying  off 
the  holders  of  South  Sea  Stock.  The  ne\v  Navy,  Army,  and 
Ordnance  Estimates,  with  an  additional  £500,000  for  the  militia, 
would,  he  said,  absorb  £6,000,000 ;  but  he  had  also  to  provide 
for  charges  as  yet  unknown,  and  should  be  compelled  to  ask  for 
£6,850,000  in  addition  to  what  had  been  already  granted.  This 
would  have  to  be  raised  by  taxation,  and  it  was  proposed  to 
repeat  the  operation  which  had  already  been  performed  upon  the 
income-tax.  The  former  operations  had  yielded  from  this  source 
£9,582,000,  and  the  addition  would  give  £3,250,000— in  all, 
from  this  source,  £12,832,000.  This  augmentation  would  be 
asked  for  the  period  of  the  war,  and  should  it  terminate — 
which  he  prayed  God  might  grant — during  the  existence  of 
the  tax  under  the  Act  of  1853,  the  augmentation  would  cease. 
In  this  way  he  calculated  that  two-thirds  of  the  expenses  would 
be  provided  for.  Touching  the  remainder,  there  was  some  diffi- 
culty. Government  could  not  propose  any  other  direct  tax, 
neither  could  they  resort  to  the  assessed  taxes.  As  regarded 
indirect  taxes,  they  had  resolved  not  to  alter  the  system  of 

M 


162  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

postage,  which  had  been  so  prosperous  and  beneficial.  Nor  did 
Government  intend  to  reimpose  taxes  which  had  been  taken  off. 
They  must  go  to  the  consumer  in  the  least  oppressive  and 
injurious  way.  It  was  proposed  to  repeat  the  operation  of  last  year 
on  Scotch  and  Irish  spirits,  and  to  augment  the  duty  in  Scotland 
by  Is.  per  gallon,  and  in  Ireland  by  8d.  This  would  be  a  gain 
to  the  Exchequer  of  £450,000.  By  a  new  classification  of  the 
sugar  duties,  £700,000  would  be  raised.  When  Mr.  Gladstone 
proceeded  to  announce  that  it  was  proposed  to  augment  the  duty 
on  malt,  considerable  sensation  was  apparent  amongst  the  Oppo- 
sition, who  gave  expression  to  their  disapprobation.  The 
speaker,  however,  went  on  to  say  that  he  considered  we  might 
fairly  come  upon  the  wealthy  for  the  first  charges  of  the  war, 
but  that  a  national  war  ought  to  be  borne  by  all  classes.  The 
malt-tax  pressed  on  all,  and  as  it  was  easily  collected,  and 
required  no  increased  staff  for  the  purpose,  it  seemed  to  fulfil 
the  conditions  which  should  be  sought  for.  The  malt-tax  stood, 
in  round  figures,  at  2s.  9d.  per  bushel,  and  he  proposed  to  raise 
it  to  4s.,  which  would  still  leave  it  lower  than  it  was  in  1810,  and 
less  than  half  what  it  was  from  1 804  to  1816,  during  the  great  war 
struggle.  Taking  the  consumption  at  forty  million  bushels,  this 
would  give  £2,450,000.  The  united  amounts  thus  to  be  obtained 
by  increased  income-tax,  spirit  duty,  sugar  duty,  and  malt  duty 
would  be  £6,850,000,  which  was  the  required  sum.  Mr.  Gladstone 
next  stated  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  resource  for 
extraordinary  contingencies,  and  for  a  possible  rapid  increase  in 
the  rate  of  war  expenditure.  He  explained  and  vindicated  his 
policy  with  regard  to  the  issue  of  Exchequer  bonds,  and  unfolded 
his  plan  for  providing  the  further  interim  funds  which  would  be 
required.  He  would  take  authority  to  confirm  the  contracts  for 
the  Exchequer  bonds  of  the  Class  A,  and  power  to  issue  a  second 
series.  He  would  also  take  power  to  issue  two  millions  of 
Exchequer  bills,  and  so  many  more  as  should  not  be  taken  on  the 
four  millions  of  Exchequer  bonds.  This  would  give  a  command 
of  £5,500,000,  and  the  total  sum  of  £66,746,000  of  revenue,  set 
against  £63,039,000  of  expenditure,  would  show  for  the  year  a 
margin  which  he  would  for  safety  put  at  three  millions  and  a 
half. 

Such  is  a  digest  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  proposals  in  this  urgent 
financial  crisis,  and  after  stating  the  mode  of  proceeding  with 
his  plan,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  turned  to  answer  the 
charges  made  by  the  opponents  of  the  Government.  'It 
was  hardly  necessary,'  he  observed,  'to  meet  the  absurd 
accusation  of  want  of  foresight  as  to  the  inevitability  of 
war,  or  to  defend  themselves  for  having  believed  that  a 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAft.  163 

Sovereign  of  Europe  was  a  man  of  honour;  but  he  met  the 
equally  ridiculous  charge  of  having  abandoned  public  revenue, 
by  asking  in  what  state  Government  had  found  the  revenue  when 
the  income-tax  itself  was  in  peril,  because  Mr.  Disraeli  had 
thought  it  consistent  with  his  duty  to  his  Sovereign  and  his 
country  to  promise  a  remodelling  of  that  tax  without  having 
formed  any  plan  for  the  purpose.  The  man  who  did  that  was 
the  one  who  surrendered  public  revenue.'  Mr.  Gladstone 
claimed  that  the  Government  had  re-established  that  tax ;  and 
he  thanked  the  House  for  the  aid  of  its  generous  confidence, 
whereby  various  financial  reforms  had  been  secured.  He  con- 
cluded by  justifying  himself  at  length  for  rejecting  the  counsel 
which  had  recommended  a  loan  for  the  expenses  of  the  war. 
Recapitulating  the  history  of  Mr.  Pitt's  enormous  and  costly 
loans,  he  warned  the  House  against  the  system,  advising 
Parliament  to  struggle  against  it  as  long  as  possible.  Mr.  Pitt 
himself,  he  added,  discovered  his  error,  and  afterwards  made 
gallant  efforts  to  redeem  it.  While  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
in  the  great  wars  at  the  commencement  of  the  century  was 
covering  the  name  of  England  with  fresh  glories,  our  fathers 
were  making  noble  struggles  to  bear  the  current  expenses 
of  the  war ;  and  he  wished  his  hearers  to  show  themselves  worthy 
of  such  sires.  The  country  was  at  that  moment  prosperous, 
and  could  afford  some  sacrifice.  The  Minister  observed 
finally  that  such  was  the  vigour,  and  such  the  elasticity  of 
our  trade,  that  even  under  the  disadvantages  of  a  bad  harvest, 
and  under  the  pressure  of  war,  the  imports  from  day  to  day, 
and  almost  from  hour  to  hour,  were  increasing,  and  the  very 
last  papers  laid  on  the  table  showed  that  within  the  closing 
three  months  of  the  year  there  were  £250,000  increase  in  the 
exports.  In  view  of  these  circumstances,  and  while  the  effects  of 
the  war  had  not  as  yet  seriously  touched  the  people,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  fully  justified — in  the  opinion  of  most  critics  of  his 
financial  policy — in  proposing  that  the  expenses  of  the  war 
should  be  met  as  they  were  incurred. 

The  speech  in  which  these  proposals  were  made  occupied 
three  hours  and  a  half;  at  its  conclusion  the  Opposition  chiefs 
were  evidently  taken  by  surprise.  The  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  had  not  only  regaled  the  House  with  his  accustomed 
eloquence,  but  had  sketched  a  bold  and  masterly  financial  policy. 
Mr.  Disraeli  agreed  to  the  resolutions  only  on  the  understand- 
ing that  a  full  opportunity  should  be  afforded  for  the  discussion 
of  the  principle  embodied  in  them.  On  the  following  Monday, 
May  15th,  on  the  order  for  the  second  reading  of  the  Excise 
Duties  (Malt  and  Spirits)  Bill,  Mr.  Cayley  moved  to  defer 


164  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  second  reading  for  six  "months.  A  discussion  ensued,  in 
which  the  Government  policy  was  severely  criticised  by  Sir 
E.  Bulwer  Lytton,  Sir  John  Pakington,  and  others.  Lord 
John  Russell  replied  in  very  pointed  and  effective  style. 
The  question  before  the  House  was,  whether,  when  a 
formidable  military  power  threatened  to  swallow  up  one  of  our 
allies,  one  shilling  and  threepence  a  bushel  upon  malt  was  too 
great  a  sacrifice.  '  Don't  tell  me,'  said  his  lordship,  'that  the 
tax  is  so  objectionable  that  you  are  ready  to  vote  any  other,  and 
that  the  landed  interest  will  resist  this  small  addition  to  the 
malt  duty ;  tell  me  not  that  this  is  really  the  obstacle  which 
prevents  you  from  supporting  the  Government,  but  that, 
although  you  are  in  favour  of  the  war,  you  are  not  ready  to  vote 
the  necessary  supplies.'  Mr.  Disraeli  replied,  saying  that  he  still 
supported  the  policy  of  the  war,  but  that  he  objected  to  this  tax, 
not  merely  because  it  was  unjust  and  unnecessary,  but  because  it 
hampered  the  industry,  crippled  the  progress,  and  in  every  way 
injured  the  agricultural  interest  of  this  country.  The  division 
list  showed  the  temper  of  the  House,  and  its  determination  to 
uphold  the  Government,  Mr.  Cayley's  amendment  being 
negatived  by  303  votes  against  195. 

A  sharp  passage  of  arms  occurred  between  Mr.  Gladstone  and 
Mr.  Disraeli  a  few  days  afterwards.  On  the  motion  for  going 
into  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  (Exchequer  Bonds),  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  explained  the  situation  in  which 
previous  votes  of  the  House  had  left  the  financial  policy  of  the 
Government.  The  expenditure  had  been  authorised  by  decisive 
votes,  and  the  House  had  also  formally  agreed  to  the  ways 
and  means  by  which  it  was  to  be  raised.  He  now  took  the 
opinion  of  the  House  on  the  single  question,  how  the  ready  money 
that  was  wanted  should  be  obtained.  The  question  turned 
simply  upon  the  alternative  whether  it  was  most  expedient  to 
resort  to  an  issue  of  Exchequer  bills,  or  authenticate  the 
Ministerial  project  of  Exchequer  bonds.  Hereupon  Mr.  Disraeli 
rose  to  his  feet,  and,  amid  the  cheers  of  his  supporters,  charged 
the  Ministry  with  sharp  practice.  They  had  taken  votes  on  the 
plea  of  administrative  convenience,  and  these  votes  they  now 
accounted  decisive,  thus  taking  from  the  House  the  opportunity 
of  deciding  upon  the  principle  involved.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied 
that  ample  opportunity  would  be  afforded  for  discussing  the 
principles  embodied  in  the  resolutions.  On  the  resolution 
empowering  the  Government  to  issue  £2,000,000  of  Exchequer 
bonds  being  put  from  the  chair,  Mr.  T.  Baring  moved  an 
amendment  declaring  that  '  it  was  not  expedient  at  present  to 
authorise  any  further  issue  of  Exchequer  bonds  with  the 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAP..  165 

engagement  of  repayment  within  the  next  six  years.'  A.t  the 
conclusion  of  the  debate  which  ensued,  Mr.  Disraeli  again 
assailed  the  financial  policy  of  the  Government.  They  had 
committed  blunders,  he  held,  out  of  which  the  present  diffi- 
culties had  grown.  Inaccurate  and  deceptive  statements  had 
been  made  in  successive  budgets,  fallacious  estimates  were 
given  of  the  costs  of  the  war,  and  delusive  announcements 
hazarded  regarding  the  aids  that  would  be  required  to  meet 
the  growing  charges  upon  the  revenue.  'At  last  a  con- 
tinuance of  mismanagement  had  culminated  in  the  neces- 
sity for  a  loan  of  six  millions;  and  this  loan,  in  its  turn, 
was  so  mismanaged  that  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
had  offered  four  per  cent,  for  the  money,  and  yet  could  not 
get  it.  He  had  shown  himself  incompetent  to  deal  with  the 
bulls  and  bears,  and  had  been  forced  to  appeal  to  the  stags 
of  the  Stock  Exchange.  And  now  came  a  last  shift  for  raising  a 
loan  in  masquerade.'  Mr.  Gladstone  replied  to  these  charges 
seriatim,  carrying  the  sympathies  of  his  followers  warmly  with 
him.  Having  dealt  with  the  allegations  of  the  Opposition  leader, 
he  declared  that  he  stood  by  the  budget,  acknowledged  the  loyal 
spirit  in  which  the  country  responded  to  the  calls  being  made 
upon  it  for  increased  resources,  and  attributed  the  ability  to 
answer  those  calls  in  great  measure  to  the  ease  and  prosperity 
derived  from  judicious  legislation  in  former  years.  It  was  the 
Opposition  who  had  really  been  advocates  of  the  borrowing  system, 
and  'loans  in  masquerade;'  and  as  the  name  of  Pitt  had  been 
quoted  against  the  Government,  he  reminded  the  House  that  this 
had  only  reference  to  errors  which  the  great  Minister  had  himself 
confessed  and  retrieved  a  few  years  later,  while  the  Government 
had  followed  in  his  footsteps  in  the  better-advised  course  which 
he  subsequently  adopted. 

The  division  list  gave — For  the  resolution,  290 ;  for  the 
amendment,  186 — majority  for  the  Government,  104.  With 
this  division  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  financial 
proposals  collapsed.  On  the  24th  of  July,  however,  when  a 
vote  of  credit  of  £3,000,000  was  moved  by  Lord  John 
Russell  for  the  expenses  of  the  war,  Mr.  Disraeli  again  severely 
attacked  the  Government  on  the  general  question  of  their  policy, 
and  asserted  that  there  would  have  been  no  war  if  Lord  Derby 
and  himself  had  not  been  compelled  to  resign  the  conduct  of 
affairs.  He  once  more  complained  that  the  war  was  largely  due 
to  the  evil  of  a  coalition  Government. 

The  vote  of  credit  really  became  one  of  a  vote  of  confidence 
in  the  Ministry,  as  the  Prince  Consort  expressed  it  in  a  letter  to 
Baron  Stockmar.  "When  the  report  on  the  vote  of  credit  was 


166  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

brought  up,  Lord  D.  Stuart  moved  an  amendment  to  the  effect 
that  her  Majesty  should  be  requested  not  to  prorogue  Parlia- 
ment until  it  should  have  further  information  upon  the  subject. 
A  great  debate  was  expected,  but  all  parties  shrank  from 
imperilling  the  existence  of  the  Ministry ;  and  in  the  event  the 
report  was  received,  the  amendment  being  negatived  without  a 
division. 

Parliament  was  prorogued  on  the  12th  of  August,  her  Majesty 
stating  in  the  Speech  from  the  Throne  that,  in  cordial  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  her  efforts  would  be 
directed  during  the  *  recess  to  the  effectual  repression  of  that 
ambitious  and  aggressive  spirit  on  the  part  of  Russia  which  has 
compelled  us  to  take  up  arms  in  defence  of  an  ally,  and  to 
secure  the  future  tranquillity  of  Europe.' 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  (continued). 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  and  the  Peace  Party — Dissolution  of  the  European  Concert — 
Position  of  the  European  Powers  on  the  Eastern  Question — The  Policy  of  Prussia 
condemned— The  Queen  and  the  War — Dissensions  in  the  Cabinot — Management 
of  the  War — Debates  in  both  Houses — The  Disasters  in  the  Crimea — Attacks 
upon  the  Ministry— Mr.  Roebuck's  Motion  for  a  Committee  to  inquire  into  the 
Condition  of  the  English  Army  before  Sebastopol— Lord  John  Russell  resigns — 
Condition  of  things  in  the  Crimea — Mr.  Gladstone's  Defence  of  the  Government 
— Necessity  for  a  Committee — Great  Majority  against  Ministers — Collapse  of  the 
Coalition  Cabinet  of  Lord  Aberdeen— Position  of  the  Peelile  Section — Ministerial 
Negotiations — Formation  of  a  Government  under  Lord  Palmerston— Its  Difficul- 
ties— Mr.  Roebuck's  Motion — Resignation  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  Sir  J.  Graham,  and 

•  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert — Their  Defence — The  Cabinet  Reconstructed — Death  of  the 
Czar. 

AT  one  point  in  the  history  of  the  negotiations  which  preceded 

the  great  events  of  the  Crimean  War,  there  was  some  hope  that 

the  concert  between  the  four  Great  Powers — England,  France, 

Austria,  and  Prussia — would  have  succeeded  in  preserving  peace. 

It  is  true  that  the  Emperor  Nicholas  encouraged  himself  in  his 

stubborn  course  by  the  utterances  oi  Mr.  Cobden,  Mr.  Bright,  and 

other  distinguished  friends  of  peace  in  this  country,  to  whose 

speeches  he  attached  a  high  degree  of  importance.     Mr.  Cobden 

described  Turkey  as  a  decaying  country,  and  said  that  the  Turks 

could  not  be  permanently  maintained   as   a  ruling  Power  in 

Europe  ;  Mr.  Bright  took  up  the  strain,  affirming  that  Russia  was 

an  advancing  nation,  arid  that  if  England  had  not  interfered  the 

differences  between  Russia  and  Turkey  would  have  been  settled 

long  ago,  settled  by  the  concessions  of  Turkey.     Such  were  the 

expressed  opinions  of  these  popular  leaders,  and,  believing  them 

to  be  endorsed  by  a  large  body  of  their  countrymen,  the  Czar 

rigorously    pursued    his    warlike   policy,  and  began   to   doubt 

whether  after  all  England  was  serious  in  her  resolve  to  go  to 

war,  and  to  prosecute  the  threatened  struggle  to  the  end.* 

But  though  these  things  had  their  weight,  the  dissolution  of 

*  It  will  be  understood  that  the  author  is  not  at  this  moment  either  impugning 
or  endorsing  the  views  of  Mr.  Bright  and  his  friends  upon  the  Crimean  war;  ho  is 
simply  stating  their  effect.  The  supporters  of  a  peace  policy  mistook  the  spirit 
and  temper  of  the  country  in  this  great  question,  but  it  is  only  bore  justice  to 
admit  that  they  were  consistent  throughout. 


168  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  European  concert  was  another  powerful  influence  in  destroy- 
ing the  prospect  of  peace.  Prussia  and  Austria,  having 
acknowledged  upon  paper  the  justness  of  the  views  of  England 
and  France,  practically  refused  to  support  them  when  the  time 
for  doing  so  arrived.  It  is  important  briefly  to  state  the 
position  of  the  various  European  Powers  upon  the  Eastern 
Question,  when  the  crisis  came  in  March,  1854.  This  we  can 
best  do  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  :* — 

'  Austria  urged  the  two  leading  states,  England  and  France,  to  send  in  their 
ultimatum  to  Kussia,  a.nd  promised  it  her  decided  support.  She  redeemed  the 
pledge,  but  only  to  the  extent  of  a  strong  verbal  advocacy.  Without  following 
out  tlie  subsequent  detail  of  her  proceedings,  she  rendered  thereafter  to  the  Allies 
but  equivocal  and  uncertain  service ;  without,  however,  disavowing  their  policy 
either  in  act  or  word.  It  was  Prussia  which,  at  the  critical  moment,  to  speak  in 
homely  language,  bolted ;  the  very  policy  which  she  had  recommended,  she  declined 
unconditionally  to  sustain,  from  the  first  moment  when  it  began  to  assume  the 
character  of  a  solid  and  stern  reality.  In  fact,  she  broke  up  the  European  concert, 
by  which  it  was  that  France  and  England  had  hoped,  and  had  had  a  right,  to  hope, 
to  put  down  the  stubbornness  of  the  Czar,  and  to  repel  his  attack  upon  the  public 
law  of  Europe.  The  question  that  these  Allies  had  now  to  determine  was  whether, 
armed  as  they  had  been  all  along  with  the  panoply  of  moral  authority,  they  would, 
upon  this  unfortunate  and  discreditable  desertion,  allow  all  their  demands,  their 
reasonings,  their  professions  to  melt  into  thin  air.' 

The  early  policy  of  England  on  the  Oriental  Question  has 
never  been  better  stated  and  vindicated  than  it  is  here  in  few 
words.  We  had  no  selfish  ends  to  answer  by  the  war,  and,  on 
the  defection  of  Austria  and  Prussia,  might  have  shrunk  from 
encountering  Russia,  except  with  the  aid  of  those  who  had 
promised  us  their  support.  But  what  would  have  become  of 
the  traditional  glory  of  England  in  that  case  ?  She  has  ever 
been  the  friend  of  the  oppressed,  and  there  is  something  nobler 
in  fulfilling  one's  moral  obligations  than  in  fighting  for  mere 
personal  and  selfish  rights.  We  had  put  our  hand  to  the  work, 
and  could  not  go  backward.  To  have  retreated  at  the  supreme 
moment  might  have  endangered  the  permanent  peace  and  welfare 
of  Europe  ;  and  such  a  step  would  certainly  have  been  consenting 
tacitly  to  the  establishment  of  a  precedent  valuable  to  aggressive 
and  ambitious  Sovereigns  in  the  future. 

The  Prince  Consort,  in  a  letter  to  King  Leopold,  dated  the 
6th  of  November,  1854,  thus  exposed  the  dangers  attending  the 
vacillating  policy  of  Prussia : — 

'The  longer  Russia's  resistance  lasts,  and  the  longer  the  struggle  is  devolved  on 
France  and  England  alone,  the  more  compact  must  their  alliance  become.  As, 
then,  France  and  Napoleon  are  under  all  circumstances  sure  to  cherish  their 
traditional  arriere-pensees  of  territorial  aggrandisement  at  their  neighbours'  expense, 
the  risk,  as  far  as  these  neighbours  are  concerned,  certainly  is  that  England  may 
Borne  day  have  to  stand  by  and  see  things  done  which  she  herself  cannot  desire, 
but  must  uphold  in  the  interest  of  her  ally.  This  danger,  I  repeat,  Austria,  Prussia, 

*  See  Article  on  the  '  Life  of  the  Prince  Consort,'  in  the  Church  of  Enyland 
Quarterly  Review  for  January,  1878. 


THE    CEIMEAN    WAE.  169 

and  Germany  may  avert  by  acting  with  us,  not  in  the  manipulation  of  Protocols, 
which  leave  everything  to  the  exertions  of  the  Western  Powers,  and  have  no  other 
object  but  to  make  sure  that  no  harm  is  done  to  the  enemy.  Such  a  course  is 
dishonourable,  immoral,  leads  to  distrust,  and  ultimately  to  direct  hostility. 
Already  the  soreness  of  feeling  here  against  Prussia  is  intense,  nor  can  it  be  less  in 
France.  I  have  made  the  Prince  of  Prussia  aware  of  my  anxiety  on  this  head.'  * 

The  course  pursued  by  the  Grerman  Powers  was  utterly  inde- 
fensible, and  on  them  must  be  placed  the  responsibility  of  having 
failed  to  use  decisive  pressure  upon  Eussia  in  favour  of  peace. 
In  all  human  probability,  the  Czar  would  have  hesitated  in 
his  career  had  he  been  warned  to  desist  from  his  aggressions 
by  the  united  voice  of  all  the  leading  Powers  of  Europe. 

The  war  began  in  earnest,  and  on  the  21st  of  September,  1854, 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle  received  a  telegram  announcing  that 
25,000  English  troops,  25,000  French,  and  8,000  Turks  had 
landed  safely  at  Eupatoria, '  without  meeting  with  any  resistance, 
and  had  already  begun  to  march  upon  Sebastopol.' 

Yet,  popular  as  the  war  was  in  England,  there  were  symptoms 
during  the  autumn  that  Lord  Aberdeen's  Ministry — the  Grovern- 
ment  which  declared  it — was  becoming  just  the  reverse.  If 
there  were  not  absolute  dissensions  in  the  Cabinet,  there  was  a 
great  lack  of  unanimity  of  feeling  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  war. 
Ministerial  changes  had  taken  place  during  the  preceding  session  ; 
Lord  John  Russell  had  accepted  the  office  of  President  of  the 
Council ;  and  the  duties  of  War  Minister  having  become  too 
onerous  to  be  any  longer  associated  with  those  of  the  Secretary 
for  the  Colonies,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  was  created  Secretary  at 
War.  The  Queen  was  well  aware  of  the  repugnance  with  which 
Lord  Aberdeen  had  always  viewed  the  war ;  but  he  was  a  states- 
man with  whom  she  had  ever  been  upon  the  most  cordial 
relations,  and  for  whom  she  entertained  feelings  of  the  highest 
personal  esteem.  Her  communications  and  expressed  wishes 
alike  prove  that  she  was  most  desirous  the  war  should  be  prose- 
cuted with  vigour,  now  that  it  had  been  entered  upon,  and  she 
looked  to  the  Premier  to  second  her  own  hopes  and  those  of  the 
nation.  But  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  Cabinet  was  not 
entirely  at  one — a  most  unfortunate  circumstance  at  this  critical 
juncture.  Mr.  Martin  observes  upon  this  point : — 

'If  ever  a  Ministry  strong  in  its  own  counsels  and  mutual  trust,  and  strong  also 
in  Parliament,  was  necessary,  it  was  so  at  the  present  time.  But  notoriously 
discontents  reigned  within  the  Cabinet  itself.  Two  at  least  of  its  members,  Lord 
Kussell  and  Lord  Palmerston,  would  have  preferred  to  lead  rather  than  to  be  led. 
Each  had  his  partisans  within  and  without  the  Cabinet,  and  it  was  apparent  to  all 
the  world  that  no  cordi:>l  unanimity  existed  between  the  Peelite  sect:on  of  the 
Ministry  and  their  colleagues.  In  the  House  of  Commons  the  followers  of  the 
Government  showed  no  symptoms  of  coherence.  The  head  of  the  Ministry  was  a 
favourite  object  of  attack  with  them,  no  less  than  with  the  Opposition.  Nor  was 

*  Life  of  His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Consort.    liy  Theodore  Martin.    Vol.  III. 


170  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

this  met  by  that  display  of  loyalty  on  the  part  of  his  supporters  which  the  head  of 
a  Government  has  a  right  to  expect.  It  was  impossible  for  a  Ministry  thus  obviously 
not  at  one  with  itself  to  command  either  the  respect  or  the  obedience  of  the  House ; 
having  themselves  encouraged  insubordination  n gainst  their  chief,  some  of  the 
members  were  not  entitled  to  complain  if  they  found  themselves  thwarted  in 
their  measures  through  a  similar  disregard  of  party  tie  by  the  body  of  the  Liberal 
party.'  * 

The  Queen  was  most  anxious  for  the  country  to  witness  a 
united  Government,  and  the  time  must  have  been  a  peculiarly 
trying  one  for  Lord  Aberdeen.  Mr.  Gladstone  affirms  that  the 
statement  of  Mr.  Martin  to  the  effect  that  there  was  no  cordial 
unanimity  between  the  Peelite  section  of  the  Ministry  and  their 
colleagues  is  an  entire  mistake.  We  are  thus  met  by  the 
dilemma  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  statement  on  the  one  hand,  and  Mr. 
Martin's  equally  emphatic  statement  on  the  other — the  latter 
being  founded  on  documents  furnished  to  the  writer,  and  views 
expressed  to  him,  as  well  as  being  confessedly  sanctioned  by  the 
highest  personage  in  the  realm.  It  is  possible  to  harmonise  the 
two  by  reading  Mr.  Martin's  statement  in  the  light  of  a 
confession  which  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  makes,  to  the  effect  that 
1  rifts  there  were  without  doubt  in  the  imposing  structure  (of  the 
Cabinet),  but  they  were  due  entirely  to  individual  views  or 
pretensions,  and  in  no  way  to  sectional  antagonism.'  This  is 
quite  sufficient  to  account  for  the  rumours  which  arose — • 
rumours  that  discredited  the  Ministry  with  a  portion  of  the 
House  and  with  the  country.  Whether  the  differences  were 
merely  'rifts'  or  sectional  disagreements  matters  little.  Mr. 
Martin  may  have  expressed  himself  too  strongly,  but  that 
there  were  differences  between  individual  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  which  the  Court  lamented  equally  with  the  nation  at 
large,  admits  of  no  doubt.  We  may  cheerfully  admit  Mr. 
Gladstone's  contention  that  there  was  no  sectional  demarcation, 
nor  any  approach  to  it,  within  the  Cabinet ;  also  that '  not  even 
when  the  Eastern  Question  became  the  engrossing  subject  of  the 
day  was  a  sectional  division  to  be  traced.  It  may  be  true,  if 
nuances  are  to  be  minutely  investigated,  that  the  Peelite  colour 
was  on  the  whole  a  shade  or  two  more  pacific  than  the  Whig  ; 
but  even  this  is  true  of  the  leading  individuals  rather  than  of 
the  sections,  and  it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that,  of  all  the  steps 
taken  by  that  Government  during  the  long  and  complicated 
negotiations  before  the  Crimean  War,  there  was  not  one  which 
was  forced,  as  will  sometimes  happen,  by  a  majority  of  the 
Cabinet  upon  the  minority.'  Yet,  accepting  all  this,  there 
could  not  have  existed  amongst  the  members  of  the  Aberdeen 
Ministry  that  spirit  of  full  and  frank  cordiality  which  should 

*  Mr.  Martin's  Life  of  the  Prince  Consort,  Vol.  III.,  p.  90. 


THE    CRIMEAN   WAB.  171 

distinguish  a  government  in  the  time  of  a  grave  crisis.  Or,  if 
there  were  this  feeling,  how  came  it  that  the  knowledge  of  a 
variation  of  sentiment  not  only  permeated  the  ranks  of  both 
political  parties  in  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  was  widely 
disseminated  through  the  country,  but  caused  uneasiness 
likewise  in  Royal  circles  ? 

But   such  differences   as  did   exist  in  the   Ministry   became  a 
wholly   secondary   matter  when  the   management   of  the    war 
came   to  be   discussed.     Parliament  reassembled   on  the  12th 
of  December  under  circumstances  more  stirring  and  momentous 
than  any  which   had   occurred   since   the   year   of    Waterloo. 
Debates  immediately  took  place  in  both  Houses  on  the  conduct 
of  the   Ministry.     The   battles   of  the   Alma,   Balaclava,   and 
Inkermann  had  been  fought,  and  the  British  troops,  as  in  times 
past,  had  covered  themselves  with  glory.     But  this  had  been 
achieved  by  immense  sacrifices,  and  the  reports  which  reached 
England  from   the   Crimea  affecting  the  conduct  of  the  war 
were    such    as    to    cause    a    painful   feeling   throughout    the 
country,  from  the  Queen  down  to  her  meanest  subject.   The 
British  army  was  suffering  greatly,  and  to  meet  the  exigencies  of 
the  sick  and  wounded  the  fund  known  as  the  Patriotic  Fund  was 
set  on  foot.     The  country  subscribed  with  a  noble  liberality,  and 
in  fourteen  days  the  sum  of  ^15,000  was  received  at  the  Times' 
office  alone.     In  less  than  three  months  the  whole  fund  exceeded 
half  a  million,  and  by  the  time  of  its  closing  it  had  reached 
upwards  of  a  million  and  a  quarter.     Nor  was  this  all :   Miss 
Florence  Nightingale,  and  thirty-seven  lady  nurses,  proceeded  to 
the  Crimea  to  nurse  the  brave  men  who  had  been  Avounded.    '  They 
reached  Scutari  on  the  5th  of  November,  in  time  to  receive  the 
soldiers  who  had  been  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Balaclava.     On 
the  arrival  of  Miss  Nightingale,  the  great  hospital  at  Scutari — 
in  which  up  to  this  time  all  had  been  chaos  and  discomfort — was 
reduced  to  order  ;  and  those  tender  lenitives,  which  only  woman's 
thought  and  woman's  sympathy  can  bring  to  the  sick  man's 
couch,  were  applied  to  solace  and  alleviate  the  agonies  of  pain,  or 
the  torture  of  fever  and  prostration.'     A  supplementary  staff  of 
fifty  trained  nurses  afterwards  followed  Miss  Nightingale  and  her 
assistants  to  the  seat  of  war.     The  ministrations  of  these  noble 
women  form  the  brightest  episode  in  this  long  and  terrible  war  ; 
and  many  pathetic  stories  are  told  in  connection  with  the  con- 
solations they  administered  to  the  suffering  and  the  dying.     To 
many  a  brave  soldier,  apparently  a  prey  to  the  agents  of  death. 
Miss  Nightingale  became  a  veritable  angel  of  life. 

Alike  in  palace  and  in  cottage,  the  sulVi'rings  of  the  troops  had 
created  a  feeling  of  profound  sympathy  ;  but  these  sufferings  were 


172  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

aggravated  by  the  rigours  of  an  unusually  severe  winter.  The 
Queen  herself  wrote  to  Lord  Eaglan  :  '  The  sad  privations  of  the 
army,  the  had  weather,  and  the  constant  sickness,  are  causes  of 
the  deepest  concern  to  the  Queen  and  Prince.  The  braver  her 
noble  troops  are,  the  more  patiently  and  heroically  they  bear  all 
their  trials  and  sufferings,  the  more  miserable  we  feel  at  their 
long  continuance.  The  Queen  trusts  that  Lord  Eaglan  will  be 
very  strict  in  seeing  that  no  unnecessary  privations  are  incurred 
by  any  negligence  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  watch  over  their 
wants.  .  .  .  The  Queen  earnestly  trusts  that  the  large 
amount  of  warm  clothing  sent  out  has  not  only  reached  Balaclava, 
but  has  been  distributed,  and  that  Lord  Raglan  has  been  successful 
in  procuring  the  means  of  hutting  for  the  men.  Lord  Eaglan 
cannot  think  how  much  we  suffer  for  the  army,  and  how  pain- 
fully anxious  we  are  to  know  that  their  privations  are 
decreasing.'  The  Prince  Consort,  writing  to  King  Leopold  a  few 
weeks  later  said  :  '  The  present  administration  of  the  army  is  not 
to  be  defended.  My  heart  bleeds  to  think  of  it ! '  The  solicitude 
thus  felt  in  the  most  illustrious  quarters  was  shared  by  the 
country,  and  it  found  expression  on  the  re-assembling  of  Parlia- 
ment. This  was  natural  and  imperative,  even  if  no  iota  ot 
blame  in  connection  with  the  army  arrangements  in  the  Crimea 
could  be  directly  attributed  to  the  Ministry. 

Acrimonious  debates  ensued  in  the  two  Houses.  In  the  Upper 
House  the  Earl  of  Derby  severely  condemned  the  inefficient 
manner  in  which  the  war  had  been  carried  on.  '  Too  late,'  he 
said,  were  the  fatal  words  applicable  to  the  whole  conduct  of 
Government  in  the  course  of  the  war,  while  the  number  of 
troops  sent  out  had  been  quite  insufficient  to  overthrow  the 
power  of  Russia.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle,  in  reply,  while  not 
defending  all  the  steps  which  had  marked  the  conduct  of  the 
war  from  its  commencement,  said  the  Ministry  were  prepared  to 
prosecute  it  with  resolve  and  unflinching  firmness.  They  would 
not  reject  overtures  of  peace,  but  they  would  not  consent  to  any 
but  an  honourable  peace.  The  Government  had  confidence  in 
the  army,  in  the  people,  and  in  their  Allies,  and  cherished  the 
highest  hope  of  bringing  the  contest  to  a  satisfactory  issue.  In 
the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Disraeli  attacked  the  policy  of 
Ministers  from  first  to  last.  Everything  was  a  blunder  or  a 
mishap  of  some  description  or  other.  The  Government  had 
invaded  Eussia  with  25,000  men,  and  made  no  provision  for 
their  support.  With  regard  to  the  Treaty  with  Austria,  he 
threw  grave  doubts  upon  the  sincerity  of  our  new  Ally.  Mr. 
Disraeli  continued :  '  I  believe  that  this  Cabinet  of  coalition 
flattered  themselves,  and  were  credulous  in  their  flattery,  that 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  1^3 

the  tremendous  issues  which  they  have  had  to  encounter,  and 
which  must  make  their  days  and  nights  anxious,  which  have 
been  part  of  their  lives,  would  not  have  occurred.  They  could 
never  dream,  for  instance,  that  it  would  be  the  termination  of  the 
career  of  a  noble  lord  to  carry  on  war  with  Russia,  of  which  that 
noble  lord  had  been  the  cherished  and  spoiled  child.  .  . 
It  has  been  clearly  shown  that  two  of  you  are  never  of  the  same 
opinion.  You  were  candid  enough  to  declare  this,  and  it  is 
probable  that  no  three  of  you  ever  supposed  the  result  would  be 
what  it  has  been  found  to  be.' 

The  only  thing  which  sustained  the  country  under  such  a 
deplorable  state  of  affairs,  said  the  leader  of  the  Opposition,  was 
the  unparalleled  heroism  of  our  troops.  Mr.  Disraeli  concluded 
with  these  words : — *  No  Austrian  alliance ;  no  Four  Points ;  no 
secret  articles — but  let  France  and  England  together  solve  this 
great  question,  and  establish  and  secure  a  tranquillisation  of 
Europe.'  Lord  John  Eussell  retorted  in  a  speech  of  considerable 
dignity  and  power.  There  was  not  one  gleam  of  patriotism,  he 
said,  in  anything  which  had  fallen  from  the  right  hon.  gentleman. 
His  object  was  to  destroy  confidence  in  Ministers,  and  to  weaken 
the  Anglo-French  alliance.  He  justified  at  length  the  course 
of  the  Government,  and  defended  the  arrangement  which  had 
been  entered  into  with  Austria.  On  the  report  of  the  Address 
being  brought  up,  Mr.  Gladstone  furnished  details  respecting  the 
British  forces  in  the  East,  and  took  occasion  to  answer  certain 
criticisms  which  had  been  passed  upon  the  Government.  He  did 
not  lay  claim  to  impeccability  on  their  behalf,  but  they  were 
guiltless  of  the  errors  which  had  been  ascribed  to  them.  They 
had  never  supposed  that  an  impression  could  be  made  upon 
Russia  with  an  army  of  50,000  men — that  figure  only  represented 
the  number  which  could  be  carried  on  at  once  from  Varna  to  the 
Crimea.  France  had  already  despatched  to  the  seat  of  war 
between  90,000  and  95,000  men. 

On  the  15th  of  December  the  thanks  of  both  Houses  were 
formally  voted  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the  army  in  the  East, 
and  to  the  French  generals,  their  allies. 

The  Bill  for  the  Enlistment  of  Foreigners  was  subsequently 
introduced,  and  was  fiercely  attacked  by  the  opponents  of  the 
Government  in  both  Houses.  In  answer  to  Lord  Ellenborough's 
strictures  in  the  Lords,  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen  denied  that  the 
foreign  recruits  were  to  be  used  as  substitutes  for  militiamen,  or 
to  be  employed  in  this  country.  At  a  later  stage,  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  agreed  to  reduce  the  numbers  to  be  enlisted  from 
15,000  to  10,000.  In  the  House  of  Commons  the  bill  was  assailed 
by  the  Opposition,  who  were  reinforced  by  some  of  the  usual  sup- 


1*4  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

porters  of  the  Ministry.  Mr.  Disraeli,  at  the  second  stage  of  the 
bill,  announced  that  he  should  oppose  it  at  every  stage.  He 
inveighed  strongly  against  the  conduct  of  the  war  and  the 
employment  of  mercenary  troops,  and  at  the  same  time  asserted 
that  there  had  been  no  parallel  to  the  siege  of  Sebastopol  since 
the  invasion  of  Sicily  by  the  Athenians.  If  not  in  absolute  peril, 
we  were  in  a  condition  to  cause  grave  anxiety.  Lord  John 
Kussell  rebuked  his  right  hon.  opponent  for  gloating  over  and 
anticipating  disaster  to  the  British  arms.  Ministers  could  not 
conduct  the  war  if  the  present  bill  were  rejected.  Lord  Palmer- 
ston  urged  that  enlistment  in  England  was  a  slow  process,  while 
the  enemy  with  whom  we  were  engaged  could  command  an 
almost  unlimited  supply  of  men.  In  the  debate  on  the  third 
reading  Mr.  Bright  maintained  that  in  supporting  Turkey  we 
were  'fighting  for  a  hopeless  cause  and  a  worthless  ally.' 
Ministers,  however,  were  victorious,  the  bill  passing  by  a  majority 
of  38;  and  on  the  23rd  of  December — after  having  accomplished 
an  almost  incredible  amount  of  work  in  a  few  days — Parliament 
adjourned  for  a  month. 

On  its  reassembling,  it  speedily  became  obvious  that  the 
House  was  determined,  if  possible,  to  sift  the  charges  made  in 
connection  with  the  conduct  of  the  war.  The  whole  country 
seemed  to  expect  a  formal  attack  upon  the  Ministry.  Lord 
Aberdeen  was  in  a  most  unenviable  position,  and  the  Queen 
expressed  her  sympathy  with  him  in  his  difficulties,  which 
he  had  endeavoured  to  meet  with  admirable  temper,  forbear- 
ance, and  firmness.  Lord  Ellenborough  and  Lord  Lynd- 
hurst  gave  notice  of  motions  hostile  to  the  Government  in 
the  Upper  House,  and  in  the  Lower  Mr.  Roebuck  announced 
that  he  should  move  for  the  appointment  of  a  select  committee 
'  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  our  army  before  Sebastopol,  and 
into  the  conduct  of  those  departments  of  the  Government  whose 
duty  it  has  been  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  that  army.'  Instead 
of  the  Ministry  being  able  to  show  a  bold  front  before  these 
attacks,  Lord  John  Russell  took  time  by  the  forelock,  and  caused 
universal  astonishment  by  tendering  to  her  Majesty  his 
resignation  of  the  office  of  President  of  the  Council.  This  was  a 
most  extraordinary  step,  and  Lord  Aberdeen  could  only  interpret 
its  object  to  be  the  overthrow  of  the  Ministry.  The  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  whose  retirement  from  the  office  of  Secretary  at  War 
Lord  John  Russell  had  long  desired,  offered  to  make  himself  the 
scapegoat  of  the  Ministry.  Lord  Palmerston  was  anxious  that 
the  Government  should  not  be  broken  up,  believing  that  such  an 
event  would  prove  a  calamity  to  the  country ;  but  he  doubted 
his  superior  fitness  for  the  post  of  War  Minister  over  the  Duke 


THE    CRIMEAN   WAB.  175 

of  Newcastle.  After  much  negotiation,  the  .Cabinet  resolved  to 
hold  together,  save  for  the  secession  of  Lord  John  Kussell,  who 
had  resigned,  he  said,  because  he  did  not  see  how  Mr.  Roebuck's 
motion  was  to  be  resisted.  His  lordship's  decision  should  have 
been  come  to  earlier,  if  at  all.  The  defects  of  management,  the 
blunders  of  detail,  by  which  one  of  the  noblest  armies  that  ever 
left  British  shores  had  been  reduced  to  a  pitiable  condition,  were 
no  new  facts,  or  at  least  asserted  facts  by  those  who  professed  to 
have  authentic  information  on  the  subject;  and  Lord  John 
Eussell  would  have  done  well  to  brave  the  storm  with  his 
colleagues.  His  desertion  was  looked  upon  universally  as  an  act 
of  cowardice.  In  explaining  the  reasons  for  his  resignation,  his 
lordship  paid  a  high  compliment  to  many  of  his  colleagues, 
especially  singling  out  Mr.  Gladstone. 

The  debate  upon  Mr.  Roebuck's  motion  came  on  in  due  course. 
It  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert,  who  asserted  that  the 
condition  of  tilings  in  the  Crimea  had  been  grossly  exaggerated, 
and  that  great  improvements  had  already  taken  place.  The 
motion,  if  carried,  would  paralyse  all  action,  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  A  speech  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Stafford,  however,  which 
caused  great  sensation.  The  hon.  member  said  he  would  only 
describe  what  he  had  seen.  He  condemned  the  sites  of  the 
hospitals  at  Scutari  and  Abydos  as  radically  unhealthy,  and 
there  were  other  defects  in  connection  with  the  former.  But 
matters  were  much  worse  at  the  Balaclava  hospital,  where  the 
bed-clothes  had  never  been  washed,  where  men  sick  of  one 
disease  had  caught  another  by  being  put  into  the  place  where 
a  man  had  died  just  before  of  fever.  In  one  room  he 
found  fourteen,  in  another  nine  men  lying  upon  the  floor; 
while  in  the  passage  between  them  were  excellent  bedsteads, 
which  might  have  been  put  up  on  an  average  of  three  minutes 
each.  He  also  detailed  specific  cases  of  neglect,  and  con- 
sequent misery  endured  by  the  soldiers.  He  had  seen 
hospitals  containing  three  hundred  sick,  yet  without  wine ;  he 
had  seen  soldiers  in  vain  asking  for  their  knapsacks,  which  were 
stowed  away  under  the  cargoes  of  ships,  and  he  had  seen  wounded 
men  lying  on  the  bare  boards.  The  general  effect  of  what  he  had 
witnessed  had  been  summed  up  by  a  French  officer,  who  observed 
to  the  hon.  member,  '  You  seem,  sir,  to  carry  on  war  according  to 
the  system  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  and  our  regret  for  our  backward- 
ness is  increased  because  we  see  the  noble  lives  you  are  losing.' 
Mr.  Stafford  excepted  from  censure  Miss  Nightingale  and  her 
nurses,  and  concluded  by  referring  to  the  attachment  of  the  soldiers 
to  their  officers,  and  especially  to  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  and 
also  to  the  effect  produced  upon  the  army  by  the  Queen's  letter. 


176  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

The  situation  of  the  Government  was  known  to  be  critical,  and 
a  majority  for  Mr.  Roebuck's  motion  was  evidently  expected  by 
both  sides  of  the  House.     Under  these  depressing  and  adverse 
circumstances,  Mr.  Gladstone  rose  to  reply  to  the  severe  strictures 
which  had  been  passed  upon  the  Ministry.     Thanking,  in  the 
outset,  Lord  John  Eussell  for  the  eulogium  pronounced  upon 
him  by  the  noble  lord  a  few  days  before,  he  said  he  was  at  the 
same  time  bound  to  state  that  his  lordship  had  not  urged  his 
remonstrances  between  the  month  of  November  and  the  time  of 
his  resignation.     In  November  there  were  no  complaints  against 
the   War   Office,  and  only  in  the  month  preceding  that,  Lord 
John  Russell  had  written  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  expressing 
his  belief  that  he  had  done  all  in  his  office  that  a  man  could  do. 
But  there  was  more  than  this  ;   for  the   Earl  of  Aberdeen,  being 
doubtful    of  the    intentions    of  the  President    of  the  Council, 
asked  him  on  the  16th  of  December  whether  he  still  adhered 
to  his  intention  of  pressing  changes  in  the  War  Department, 
and  the  noble  lord  stated,  in  reply,  that,  on   the  advice  oi  a 
friend  of  his  own,  he  had  abandoned  the  views   he  pressed  in 
November.     So  that  up  to  the  previous  Tuesday  night  when  the 
noble  lord  sent  in  his  resignation,  his  colleagues  did  not  know 
that  he  was  dissatisfied,  or  that  he  meant  to  press  his   former 
views  as  to  the  reorganisation  of  the  War  Department ;  and  it 
might  be  thought  that,  after  losing  the  services  of  the  noble 
lord,  the  Government  ought  not  to  have  left  the  House,  or  at 
least  not  to  have  met  them  without  some  reorganisation.     Then 
followed    this    striking    passage   in    the    Chancellor    of    the 
Exchequer's  address : — '  Pie  felt  it  was  not  for  them  either  to 
attempt  to  make  terms  with  the  House  by  a  reorganisation,  or 
to  shrink  from  a  judgment,  of  the  House  upon  their  past  acts. 
If  they  had  shrunk,   what  sort  of  epitaph  would   have  been 
written  over  their  remains  ?     He  himself  would  have  written  it 
thus  :    Here  lie  the  dishonoured  ashes  of  a  Ministry  which  found 
England  at  peace  and  left  it  in  war,  which  was  content  to  enjoy 
the  emoluments  of  office  and  to  wield  the  sceptre  of  power  so 
long  as  no  man  had   the  courage  to  question   their  existence. 
They   saw  the  storm  gathering  over  the  country ;   they  heard 
the  agonising  accounts  which  were  almost  daily  received  of  the 
state  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  East.     These  things  did 
not  move  them.     But  so  soon  as  the  hon,  member  for  Sheffield 
raised  his  hand  to  point  the  thunderbolt,  they  became  conscience- 
stricken  with  a  sense  of  guilt  and,  hoping  to  escape  punishment, 
they  ran  away  from  duty.' 

This  eloquent  language — conveying  as  it  did,  by  implication, 
a  withering  rebuke  to  Lord  John  Russell — was  received  with 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  177 

tumultuous  cheers  by  one  portion  of  the  House.  It  at  any  rate 
demonstrated  that  the  Government  were  not  in  the  least 
actuated  by  the  spirit  of  their  late  colleague.  Mr.  Gladstone 
next  addressed  himself  to  the  motion  before  the  House,  observing 
that  he  himself  would  be  the  first  to  vote  for  it  if  it  could  be 
proved  that  it  would  benefit  the  army.  He  believed  that  it 
would  aggravate,  rather  'than  alleviate,  the  evils  complained  of. 
There  was  also  the  less  necessity  for  it,  as  by  the  latest  accounts 
matters  were  improving.  The  whole  army  was  improving — 
warm  clothing  had  been  served  out  everywhere,  the  huts  were 
in  course  of  being  set  up,  the  railway  would  be  finished  within 
three  weeks  of  its  commencement,  and,  what  was  of  greater 
consequence,  an  arrangement  had  been  effected  between  the 
generals  by  which  1,600  Frenchmen  would  be  permanently  in 
the  trenches,  relieving  to- that  extent  the  same  number  of  English- 
men. There  had  been  other  exaggerations  as  to  the  state  of  the 
army,  which  the  Chancellor  of  the-  Exchequer  now  proceeded  to 
clear  up.  According  to  the  latest  returns,  he  said,  there 
were  at  that  moment  28,000  English  troops  under  arms  before 
Sebastopol,  and  to  these  were  to  be  added  from  3,000  to  4,000 
seamen  and  marines ;  thus  bringing  up  the  whole  English  force 
now  in  existence  to  more  than  30,000  men.  It  could  not  be 
said,  therefore,  that  the  British  army  before  Sebastopol  was 
extinguished.  Comparisons  unfavourable  to  the  English  army 
having  been  made  between  our  own  military  system  and  that  of 
the  French,  IVlr.  Gladstone  maintained  that,  as  regarded  the 
points  to  which  he  had  referred,  comparisons  were  rather 
favourable  to  us,  though  this  was  a  question  which  could  scarcely 
be  made  matter  for  public  discussion.  Next,  replying  to  Sir  E. 
Bulwer  Lytton,  who  had  condemned  the  Government  for  not 
destroying  Odessa,  Mr.  Gladstone  pointed  out  that  Odessa  was 
an  open  town,  with  100,000  inhabitants,  and  with  an  army  of 
300,000  men  within  easy  reach.  How  could  this  have  proved 
comfortable  winter  quarters  for  the  British  army  ?  Allowing  that 
the  administration  of  the  War  Departments  at  home  was  defec- 
tive, he  declined  to  admit  that  it  had  not  improved,  or  that  it 
was  so  defective  as  to  deserve  censure.  After  indicating  many 
improvements  which  had  been  effected,  he  came  to  the  gist  of 
the  motion  before  the  House,  and  warmly  defended  the  Duke  of 
NeAvcastle  from  the  censure  sought  to  be  cast  upon  him. 

There  was  much  in  this  spirited  defence  of  the  Go  verm  m  -ni, 

calculated    to    mitigate    the    censures    cast    upon    its  policy. 

Undoubtedly  many  improvements  had  been  effected  in  the  cnn- 

:lkion  of  the  army,  and  were  even  then  being  effected  ;  but  the 

ountry   desired    to  get  at  the  bottom  of  the  mismanagement 

N 


178  WILLIAM   EWAttT    GLADSTONE. 

which  had  already  resulted  so  disastrously  for  our  troops,  and 
also  to  have  some  guarantee  against  similar  blundering  in 
future.  This  could  only  be  done  by  the  adoption  of  some 
such  motion  as  that  of  Mr.  Roebuck,  which  was  confessedly 
not  the  best  means  that  could  be  devised  for  accomplishing 
its  object,  but  perhaps  the  only  one  practicable.  Mr. 
Disraeli,  observing  that  the  Government  themselves  had 
admitted  they  required  reconstruction,  said  they  were  now  called 
upon  to  vote  confidence  in  an  Administration  of  whose  members 
even  they  were  ignorant.  He  denied  that  the  motion  was 
levelled  exclusively  against  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  and  he  ought 
not  to  be  made  the  scapegoat  for  a  policy  for  which  the  whole 
Cabinet  were  responsible.  Nor  was  the  blame  to  be  thrown  upon 
our  military  system,  which  in  the  hands  of  able  men  had  accom- 
plished great  ends.  He  then  used  the  severest  language  which 
had  hitherto  been  employed  in  describing  the  conduct  of  Lord 
John  Russell.  That  noble  lord's  explanatory  speech  reminded 
him,  he  said,  of  a  page  from  the  Life  of  Bubb  Doddington,  in  the 
unconscious  admission  it  contained  of  what,  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  would  have  been  described  as  '  profligate  intrigue.'  He 
maintained  that  these  Cabinet  dissensions  would  prove  most 
injurious  to  the  character  of  England.  '  Two  years  ago  England 
was  the  leading  Power  in  Europe ;  would  any  man  say  that  she 
now  occupied  that  position  ? '  Mr.  Disraeli  added  that  he  was 
compelled  to  give  his  vote  against  a  '  deplorable  Administration.' 

Lord  John  Russell  had  few  friends  at  this  juncture,  fo:- 
although  there  were  some  who  approved  his  secession  from  the 
Government,  there  were  apparently  none  who  could  commend  the 
manner  of  it.  The  noble  lord  defended  himself  in  his  place,  and 
said  that  if  the  whole  of  what  had  passed  between  himself  and 
Lord  Aberdeen  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  could  be  laid  before 
the  House,  the  transactions  would  assume  a  different  complexion. 
He  strongly  denied  Mr.  Disraeli's  imputation  that  he  had  been 
guilty  of  intrigue ;  for  in  his  anxiety  to  keep  clear  of  anything 
like  intrigue,  he  had,  unadvisedly  for  himself,  perhaps,  not  com- 
municated his  intention  of  resigning  to  anyone  of  his  colleagues. 
Lord  Palmerston,  following  Lord  John  Russell,  condemned  the 
motion  as  setting  a  dangerous  precedent,  and  he  hoped  the  House 
would  not  discredit  Parliamentary  Government  in  the  face  of 
Europe  by  continuing  these  discusions,  and  showing  that  a 
constitutional  government  was  not  so  well  able  to  carry  on  war 
as  governments  framed  on  other  principles. 

The  noble  lord  made  an  energetic  and  telling  defence,  but  it 
came  too  late.  The  Government  appealed  to  a  wall  of  adamant. 

The  result  of  the  division  was  one  of  the  greatest  surprises 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  179 

ever  experienced  in  Parliamentary  history.  The  numbers  were — 
For  Mr.  Koebuck's  committee,  305 ;  against,  148 — majority  against 
Ministers,  157.  The  scene  was  a  peculiar  and,  probably,  an 
unparalleled  one.  The  cheers  which  are  usually  heard  from 
one  side  or  other  of  the  House  on  the  numbers  of  a  division 
being  announced  were  not  forthcoming.  The  members  were 
for  the  moment  spellbound  with  astonishment ;  then  there 
came  a  murmur  of  amazement,  and  finally  a  burst  of  general 
laughter. 

Thus  collapsed  the  famous  Coalition  Cabinet  of  Lord  Aberdeen 
— a  Cabinet  distinguished  for  its  oratorical  strength,  and  for  the 
conspicuous  abilities  of  its  chief  members.  Upon  Lord  John 
Eussell's  secession,  its  last  hope  of  being  able  to  survive  had 
passed  away.  The  member  for  Sheffield  had,  indeed,  pointed 
the  thunderbolt,  but  it  would  not  have  fallen  with  such  crushing 
force  had  not  the  resignation  of  the  President  of  the  Council 
carried  confusion  into  the  ranks  of  the  Ministry.  The  time  had 
undoubtedly  come  for  the  Cabinet  of  Lord  Aberdeen  to  fall  to 
pieces  ;  but  it  would  not  have  perished  beneath  such  a  tremen- 
dous majority  had  it  been  able  to  make  a  strong  and  united  stand 
against  the  attacks  of  its  foes.  To  the  Premier  himself  a  cessa- 
tion from  the  cares  of  State  must  have  been  a  welcome  relief; 
and  it  was  no  secret  that  he  would  willingly  have  retired  from 
office  long  before.  Pie  had  only  consented  to  remain  at  his  post 
because  there  was  no  other  member  of  his  Ministry  who  could 
hold  the  Cabinet  together. 

The  members  of  the  Aberdeen  Government  fell  into  deep 
obloquy  during  this  early  period  of  the  Crimean  War ;  yet  a  high 
tribute  has  been  paid  by  Mr.  Martin  to  the  Peelite  section  of  the 
Cabinet.  His  views  acquire  the  greater  importance,  seeing  that 
they  were  also  those  of  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  Consort,  who 
not  only  took  thet  keenest  interest  in  the  national  affairs  at  this 
crisis,  but  had  every  opportunity  of  judging  of  the  sincerity  and 
patriotism  of  their  advisers.  This  tribute,  while  paid  chiefly  to 
the  Premier  and  the  War  Secretaries,  embraced  also  the  most 
distinguished  Peelite  in  the  Cabinet,  Mr.  Gladstone,  who,  up  to 
this  period,  could  certainly  not  be  suspected  of  lukewaramess  in 
the  prosecution  of  the  war. 

The  resignation  of  the  Aberdeen  Ministry  was  announced  in 
both  Houses  on  the  1st  of  February,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle 
stating  in  the  Lords,  that  it  was  his  intention  to  have  given  up 
the  office  of  Secretary  at  War  whether  the  motion  of  Mr.  Eoe- 
buck  had  been  successful  or  not.  He  had,  in  fact,  over  and  over 
again  offered  to  surrender  his  position  to  any  of  his  colleagues. 
The  Earl  ot  Derby  was  summoned  by  her  Majesty,  to  whom  he 

N  2 


180  WILLIAM    EAVART    GLADSTONE. 

explai  led  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  forming  a  Ministry.  The 
country  demanded  Lord  Palrnerston  as  War  Minister,  and  he 
was  essential  at  the  present  moment  to  any  Cabinet,  though  not 
(the  noble  earl  believed)  fit  to  be  entrusted  with  the  Seals  of 
War.  But  even  with  Lord  Palmerston's  assistance,  Lord  Derby 
assured  her  Majesty  that  he  could  not  form  a  Government  with- 
out the  co-operation  of  the  Peelites.  This  he  endeavoured  to 
secure,  but  as  Lord  Palrnerston,  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  Mr.  Sidney 
Herbert  intimated  that  they  could  only  extend  to  him  an  inde- 
pendent support,  Lord  Derby  again  waited  upon  the  Queen,  and 
informed  her  that  he  could  not  undertake  the  task  entrusted  to 
him.  Mr.  Martin  states  that  his  lordship  told  her  Majesty  that 
*  an  independent  support '  reminded  him  of  the  definition  of  the 
independent  M.P.,  viz.,  one  who  could  not  be  depended  upon. 
Lord  Lansdowne  was  next  applied  to  for  advice,  and  he  recom- 
mended that  an  opportunity  should  be  afforded  Lord  John 
Kussell  for  the  formation  of  a  Ministry.  The  Queen  herself 
wrote  to  the  noble  Jord,  addressing  him  as  a  person  '  who  may  be 
considered  to  have  contributed  to  the  vote  of  the  House  of 
Commons  which  displaced  her  last  Government,'  and  hoping 
'  that  he  will  be  able  to  present  to  her  such  a  Government  as  will 
give  a  fair  promise  successfully  to  overcome  the  great  difficulties 
in  which  the  country  is  placed.'  Her  Majesty  added  that  it 
would  give  her  particular  satisfaction  if  Lord  Palmevston  would 
join  in  this  formation.  Lord  Palrnerston  readily  agreed  to  serve 
under  Lord  John  Kussell,  but  Lord  Clarendon  absolutely 
declined  to  do  so.  i  What  would  be  thought  of  him,'  he  asked, 
'  were  he  to  accept  as  his  leader  the  man  who,  while  in  the  late 
Ministry,  had  steadily  worked  for  the  overthrow  of  Lord 
Aberdeen  and  his  Peelite  colleagues,  and  for  the  reinstatement 
in  office  of  an  exclusively  Whig  Ministry  ?  '  He  considered  it 
to  be  idle  for  Lord  John  Kussell  to  attempt  the  task  ;  no  one  in 
the  country  believed  he  could  do  it,  and  if  a  Ministry  should 
be  formed  under  his  auspices,  it  would  be  *  still-born.'  Lord 
John  Russell  being,  as  well-nigh  everybody  expected  him  to  be, 
unsuccessful,  a  new  Ministry  was  eventually  formed  by  Lord 
Palrnerston,  though  the  changes  from  the  Aberdeen  Cabinet  were 
so  few  that  it  might  rather  be  called  a  reconstruction  than  a 
creation.  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  friends  at  first  declined  to 
serve  in  this  new  Ministry,  on  the  ground  of  their  personal 
attachment  to  Lord  Aberdeen  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  whom 
they  regarded  as  the  real  victims  of  the  adverse  vote  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  These  noblemen,  however,  expressly  desired 
Mr.  Gladstone  not  to  allow  his  chivalrous  feelings  to  stand  in 
the  way,  and  Lord  Palmerston's  Government  was  accordingly 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR  181 

constituted  as  follows : — First  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  Viscount 
Palmerston ;  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Cranworth ;  President  of 
the  Council,  Earl  Granville  ;  Privy  Seal,  Duke  of  Argyll ;  Foreign 
Secretary,  Earl  of  Clarendon  ;  Colonial  Secretary,  the  Eight  Hon. 
Sidney  Herbert ;  Home  Secretary,  Sir  George  Grey ;  Secretary  at 
War,  Lord  Panmure  ;  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  the  Eight 
Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone ;  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  Sir  James 
Graham ;  Public  Works,  Sir  William  Molesworth  ;  in  the 
Cabinet,  but  without  office,  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  ;  President 
of  the  Board  of  Control,  Sir  Charles  Wood.  This  Ministry  was 
generally  considered  to  afford  promise  oi  stability.  It  was  also 
calculated  to  inspire  confidence  in  the  country.  Lord  Palmer- 
ston had  for  some  time  been  regarded  as  the  coming  man,  and 
his  name  carried  great  weight  across  the  Channel. 

It  soon  became  evident,  however,  that  though  an  apparently 
durable  Administration  had  been  formed,  it  was  surrounded  with 
grave  difficulties.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  case  as 
touching  the  country,  by  many  prominent  members  of  the  House 
oi  Commons  the  new  Government  was  regarded  with  feelings  of 
distrust  almost  as  keen  as  those  which  had  led  to  the  overthrow 
of  Lord  Aberdeen.  Yet  the  new  War  Minister,  Lord  Panmure, 
entered  upon  his  onerous  duties  with  energy  and  determination. 
On  the  16th  of  February,  he  stated  that  he  proposed  to  remedy 
the  evils  complained  ol  at  Sebastopol  by  a  bill  for  the  enlistment 
oi  experienced  men  for  shorter  periods  of  two  or  three  vears.  A 
great  proportion  of  the  forces  sent  to  the  Crimea  were  young  and 
unseasoned  recruits,  who  rapidly  sickened  and  died  off.  His 
lordship  also  detailed  other  measures  which  had  been  taken  to 
remedy  existing  defects.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  19th 
of  February,  Mr.  Layard  rose  to  call  attention  to  the  existing 
state  of  affairs.  '  The  country,'  he  asserted,  '  stood  on  the  brink 
of  ruin — it  had  fallen  into  the  abyss  ot  disgrace,  and  become  the 
laughing-stock  of  Europe.'  He  complained  that  the  new  Minis- 
try differed  little  from  the  last,  and  demanded  answers  from  the 
Premier  to  these  questions — Whether  he  was  willing  to  accept 
peace  on  any  terms? — Whether  the  country  was  going  to  engage 
in  prolonged  hostilities  ? — Whether  it  was  proposed  to  engage  on 
our  behalf  oppressed  nationalities?— Whether  the  Circassians 
would  be  assisted  or  not  ? — and,  in  short,  What  was  the  foreign 
policy  of  the  Government  going  to  be  ?  The  people  of  England 
demanded  a  thorough  reform.  Mr.  Layard  then  compared  the 
conduct  of  the  British  Parliament  with  that  of  the  French 
Convention,  who,  on  the  failure  of  their  army,  sent  out  their 
own  members,  securing  an  immediate  and  brilliant  result.  Lord 
Palmerston  retorted  that  it  would  be  an  excellent  thing  if  Mr, 


182  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Layard  and  his  proposed  committee  could  be  sent  out  to  the 
Crimea,  and  compelled  to  remain  there  till  the  close  of  the 
session.  He  lamented  the  sufferings  of  the  army,  and  the  mis- 
takes which  had  been  made ;  but  as  the  present  Government 
had  come  forward  in  an  emergency,  and  from  a  sense  of  public 
duty,  he  believed  that  it  would  obtain  the  confidence  of  the 
country. 

A  few  days  later  the  curtain  rose  upon  another  strange  scene 
in  the  Parliamentary  drama.  Mr.  Roebuck  having  given  notice 
of  the  appointment  of  his  committee  forthwith,  and  the  country 
supporting  him  in  this,  a  serious  split  occurred  in  the  Cabinet. 
Hostility  to  the  Ministry  was  disclaimed,  but  Mr.  Gladstone,  Sir 
James  Graham,  and  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert  took  the  same  view  of 
the  question  they  had  previously  held.  They  were  opposed  to 
the  investigation  as  a  dangerous  breach  of  a  great  constitutional 
principle,  and  if  the  committee  were  granted  it  would  be  a 
precedent  from  whose  repetition  the  Executive  could  never 
again  escape,  however  unreasonable  might  be  the  nature  of  the 
demands.  They  therefore  retired  from  office.  In  defending 
himself  for  this  step,  Sir  James  Graham  said  that  he  could  not 
consent  to  the  appointment  of  a  committee  which  included  no 
member  of  the  Government,  and  he  was  also  opposed  to  a  select 
committee.  li  secret,  its  investigations  could  not  be  checked  by 
public  opinion  ;  and  if  open,  the  evidence  taken  would  be  imme- 
diately made  public  and  canvassed  in  a  manner  injurious  to  the 
public  service  Mr.  Plerbert  held  that  as  a  vote  of  censure  the 
motion  for  the  committee  was  valueless,  while  as  an  inquiry  it 
would  be  a  mere  sham.  Mr.  Gladstone  took  up  somewhat 
different  grounds.  He  said  that  the  committee,  being  neither 
for  punishment  nor  remedy,  must  be  for  government,  and  could 
not  fail  to  deprive  the  Executive  of  its  most  important  functions. 
Holding  the  views  they  did,  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  friends  could 
scarcely  have  felt  at  ease  in  a  Cabinet  in  which  the  purely  Whig 
element  was  strongly  predominant.  If  their  retirement  had  not 
come  upon  this  question  of  resisting  Mr.  Roebuck's  committee, 
it  must  have  come  sooner  or  later  as  the  result  of  a  wide  diver- 
gence between  the  Peelite  and  the  Whig  sections  of  the  Cabinet. 
Yet  one  point,  notwithstanding,  deserves  some  consideration, 
viz.,  whether  it  was  not  unwise  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
to  have  resisted  this  committee,  seeing  that  the  country  was 
determined  and  almost  unanimous  upon  the  subject.  Lord 
Palmerston  and  the  Whigs  probably  relished  the  idea  of  the 
committee  as  little  as  the  Peelites,  but  they  perceived  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  any  Government  to  stand  at  that  time 
without  yic4ding  to  the  universal  demand  for  an  investigation. 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  183 

Of  course,  Mr.  Gladstone  took  high  constitutional  grounds,  as  he 
had  a  perfect  right  to  do,  but  the  emergency  was  an  exceptional 
one,  and  the  appointment  of  the  committee  was  the  only  way 
of  allaying  the  popular  excitement. 

Lord  Palmerston  was  at  once  able  to  fill  up  the  vacancies  in 
the  Cabinet.  Sir  Charles  Wood  succeeded  Sir  J.  Graham  at  the 
Admiralty  ;  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis  succeeded  Mr.  Gladstone  as  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  ;  and  Lord  John  Russell — already  English 
Plenipotentiary  at  Vienna — was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  for 
the  Colonies.  An  attempt  to  make  Mr.  Roebuck's  committee  a 
secret  one  failed,  and  the  Government  promised  to  afford  every 
facility  during  its  investigations.  But  before  the  committee 
began  its  sittings,  an  event  occurred  which,  for  the  moment,  in 
many  minds  at  least,  gave  strong  hopes  of  the  restoration  of 
peace.  On  the  2nd  of  March,  the  Emperor  Nicholas  died 
suddenly  from  pulmonic  apoplexy.  England,  as  well  as  the 
whole  European  Continent,  heard  the  news  with  mingled 
feelings — surprise  at  the  unexpected  nature  of  the  event ; 
speculation  upon  the  consequences  which  were  likely  to  follow 
therefrom.  The  question  now  arose,  Would  your  Sebastopol 
Committee  be  relegated  to  the  limbo  of  all  abortive  schemes, 
and  the  paeans  of  peace  be  heard  ringing  throughout  Europe  ;  or 
would  the  successor  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  prosecute  to  the 
bitter  end  the  struggle  upon  which  his  sire  had  entered  ? 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  CRIMEAN  WAR  (concluded). 

The  Vienna  Conference — The  Four  Points — Failure  of  the  Negotiations — Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Defence  of  the  Expedition  to  the  Crimea — Excitement  caused  by  his 
Attitude — Lord  John  Russell  and  the  Government — Mr.  Disraeli's  Attack  on  Lord 
Palmerston — Mr.  Roebuck's  Vote  of  Censure  defeated — Continued  War  Debates 
— Progress  of  Events  in  the  Crimea — Report  of  the  Sebastopol  Committee — Mr. 
Gladstone's  Defence  of  his  Conduct  during  the  War — Difficulties  of  the  Peelites — 
The  Eastern  Dramas  of  1853-6  and  1875-8— Position  of  the  Eastern  Question  in 
the  two  Periods — Difficulties  of  Foreign  Policy — Reasons  for  Arrest  of  Judgment. 

As  Grand  Duke  Alexander,  the  new  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias 
had  been  distinguished  for  his  enlightened  and  even  somewhat 
liberal  views ;  but  he  was  now  called  to  a  position  in  which 
private  sentiments  counted  for  very  little.  Succeeding  to  an 
inheritance  of  war,  it  speedily  became  evident  that  he  had 
resolved  to  pursue  that  war  to  its  conclusion,  rather  than  yield 
the  positions  taken  up  by  the  late  Czar.  He  issued  a  warlike 
proclamation,  and  though  he  agreed  to  take  part  in  the 
deliberations  of  the  Vienna  Conference,  there  was  no  sign 
made  that  he  intended  to  abate  one  jot  or  tittle  ot  the  Russian 
claims.  Meanwhile,  before  the  Vienna  Conference  came  to  an 
end,  the  Anglo-French  alliance  was  strengthened  by  the  acces- 
sion of  Sardinia.  A  treaty  was  drawn  up  by  which  the  King  oi 
Sardinia  engaged  to  furnish  and  maintain  a  body  of  15,000  men 
for  the  requirements  of  the  war,  and  he  was  to  receive  in  return 
a  loan  of  £1,000,000  from  the  British  Government. 

Lord  John  Russell  left  England  at  the  close  of  February  as 
Plenipotentiary  to  Vienna.  The  two  great  objects  which  British 
statesmen  had  in  view  were  the  limitation  of  the  preponderance 
of  Russia  in  the  Black  Sea  and  the  acknowledgment  of  Turkey 
as  one  of  the  great  European  Powers.  If  these  points  could  be 
gained,  it  was  hoped  they  would  result  in  putting  an  end  to  the 
war.  The  Conference  began  on  the  1 5th  of  March  at  Vienna, 
but  little  progress  was  made,  it  being  obvious  at  an  early  stage 
that  Russia  did  not  intend  to  yield.  The  Russian  Plenipoten- 
tiary told  Lord  John  Russell  that  Russia  '  would  not  consent  to 
limit  the  number  of  her  ships — if  she  did  so  she  forfeited  her 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  185 

honour,  she  would  be  no  more  Russia.  They  did  not  want 
Turkey,  they  would  be  glad  to  maintain  the  Sultan,  but  they 
knew  it  was  impossible :  he  must  perish  ;  they  were  resolved  not 
to  let  any  other  Power  have  Constantinople — they  must  not  have 
that  door  to  their  dominions  in  the  Black  Sea  shut  against 
them.'  In  order  that  the  reader  may  clearly  understand  the 
preliminary  basis  upon  which  the  negotiations  at  Vienna  were 
founded,  we  append  the'  Four  Points'  which  were  the  subject  of 
so  much  discussion : — 

'  1.  Russian  Protectorate  over  the  Principalitiesof  Wallachia,  Moldavia,  and  Servia 
to  cease ;  the  privileges  granted  by  the  Sultan  to  these  provinces  to  be  placed  under 
a  collective  guarantee  of  the  Powers.  2.  Navigation  of  the  Danube  at  its  mouth 
to  be  freed  from  all  obstacles,  and  submitted  to  the  application  of  the  principles 
established  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna.  3.  The  Treaty  of  the  13th  of  July,  1841,  to 
be  revised  in  concert  by  all  the  high  contracting  parties  in  the  interest  of  the 
balance  of  power  in  Europe,  and  so  as  to  put  an  end  to  the  preponderance  of 
Russia  in  the  Black  Sea.  4.  Russia  to  give  up  her  claim  to  an  official  protectorate 
over  the  subjects  of  the  Sublime  Porte,  to  whatever  rite  they  may  belong;  and 
France,  Austria,  Great  Britain,  Prussia,  and  Russia  to  assist  mutually  in  obtaining 
from  the  Ottoman  Government  the  confirmation  and  the  observance  of  the  religious 
privileges  of  the  different  Christian  communities,  and  to  turn  to  account,  in  the 
common  interests  of  their  co-religionists,  the  generous  intentions  manifested  by 
the  Sultan,  at  the  same  time  avoiding  any  aggression  on  his  dignity  and  the 
independence  of  his  crown.' 

After  these  propositions  had  been  discussed  for  two  days  by  the 
representatives  of  the  Powers  at  Vienna,  an  arrangement  was 
come  to  on  the  first  point,  by  which  Russia  agreed  to  abandon  all 
exclusive  protection  over  the  Danubian  Principalities  of  Wal- 
lachia, Moldavia,  and  Servia;  and  an  amicable  settlement  was 
also  arrived  at  with  regard  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  Danube. 
But  the  third  point  was  the  crucial  one.  It  not  only  provided 
for  the  revision  of  the  Treaty  of  1841,  but  sought  to  curtail  the 
power  of  Russia  in  the  Black  Sea.  After  much  deliberation,  and 
many  adjournments,  Prince  Gortschakoff,  on  behalf  of  Russia, 
declared  that  he  could  not  agree  to  the  limitation  of  her  navy 
in  any  way,  whether  by  treaty  or  otherwise.  The  Turkish  envoys 
proposed  a  kind  of  compromise,  but  on  the  Conference  meeting 
again  on  the  21st  of  April,  Prince  Gortschakoff  reiterated  his 
former  declaration.  Russia  could  not,  without  loss  of  dignity, 
accept  any  proposal  limiting  the  amount  of  her  forces  in  the 
Black  Sea.  Counter-proposals  by  Russia  were  now  submitted, 
which  the  French  and  English  Plenipotentiaries  declared  they 
had  no  authority  to  discuss ;  though  the  Austrian  representative 
said  that  these  proposals  admitted  of  discussion,  and  contained 
elements  of  which  Austria  would  endeavour  to  avail  herself  for 
an  understanding.  Finally,  Austria  put  forward  propositions 
which  Lord  John  Russell  and  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  regarded  as 
affording  a  prospect  of  an  amicable  settlement  of  the  question. 


186  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

These  propositions,  however,  being  a  virtual  surrender  of  the 
chief  points  for  which  England  and  France  had  uniformly  con- 
tended, M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  and  Lord  John  Kussell  incurred 
great  unpopularity  for  admitting  them  to  be  feasible.  The 
former  was  compelled  to  resign  his  office  of  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  in  France,  and  the  latter  was  ultimately  also  compelled 
to  secede  from  Lord  Palmerston's  Cabinet. 

The  failure  of  the  Vienna  Conference  caused  great  excitement 
in  England.  Ministers  were  attacked  again  and  again  in  both 
Houses.  On  the  24th  of  May,  Mr.  Disraeli  brought  forward  the 
following  resolution  in  the  House  of  Commons : — '  That  this 
House  cannot  adjourn  for  the  recess  without  expressing  its  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  ambiguous  language  and  uncertain  conduct 
of  her  Majesty's  Government  in  reference  to  the  great  question 
of  peace  or  war ;  and  that,  under  these  circumstances,  this  House 
feels  it  a  duty  to  declare  that  it  will  continue  to  give  every 
support  to  her  Majesty  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  until  her 
Majesty  shall,  in  conjunction  with  her  allies,  obtain  for  this 
country  a  safe  and  honourable  peace.' 

Mr.  Disraeli  supported  this  motion  in  a  speech  of  nearly 
three  hours'  duration.  He  made  a  powerful  attack  on  Lord 
John  Russell,  who  had  been  distinguished  (he  said)  for  his  inflam- 
matory denunciations  of  Russia,  and  was  incompetent  to  negotiate 
a  peace.  Yet  an  impossible  peace  had  nearly  been  concluded 
without  that  House,  and  a  motion  was  placed  on  the  table  by  Mr. 
Milner  Gibson,  affirming  that  the  propositions  of  Russia  were 
reasonable,  and  that  some  blame  attached  to  the  Government  for 
refusing  them.  He  (Mr.  Disraeli)  complained  that  there  were 
diplomacy  and  war  existent  at  the  same  time,  and  he  concluded 
by  denouncing  '  this  subterfuge  of  negotiation  and  Ministerial 
trifling.' 

Rising  during  the  debate  on  this  motion,  Mr.  Gladstone 
defended  the  expedition  to  the  Crimea.  He  denied  that  it  had 
been  entirely  unsuccessful,  for  while  in  August,  1854,  Russia 
refused  to  accept  the  Four  Points,  in  the  month  of  December 
following  the  Emperor  accepted  those  very  propositions  as  a  basis 
of  negotiations  which  he  had  so  strenuously  opposed  before. 
Looking  at  the  question  at  issue  as  one  only  of  terms,  how 
did  it  stand  ?  Russia  had  agreed  to  the  First  and  Second 
points  and  part  of  the  Third  point.  The  Fourth  would  be 
agreed  to  at  any  time.  The  only  matter  to  be  settled  now 
was  as  to  the  limitation  of  the  power  of  Russia  in  the  Black 
Sea.  When  a  member  of  the  late  Government,  he  was 
in  favour  of  limiting  the  power  of  Russia  in  the  Black  Sea, 
but  he  now  thought  that  such  a  proposition  implied  a  great 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAE.  187 

indignity  upon  Russia.  He  was  of  opinion  that  the  Russian 
proposal  to  give  to  Turkey  the  power  of  opening  and  shutting 
the  Straits  was  one  calculated  to  bring  about  a  settlement.  As 
regarded  the  position  of  Russia  now,  he  challenged  any  person  to 
show  him  a  case  in  the  whole  history  of  the  world  in  which  the 
political  objects  of  war  had  been  more  completely  gained  without 
the  prostration  of  the  adverse  party.  He  felt  that  he  would  be 
incurring  a  fearful  responsibility  if  he  did  not  raise  his  voice  to 
beseech  the  House  to  pause  before  they  persevered  in  a  war  so 
bloody  and  so  decimating,  while  there  was  a  chance  of  returning 
to  the  condition  of  a  happy  and  an  honourable  peace.  If  we 
now  fought  merely  for  military  success,  *  let  the  House  look  at 
this  sentiment  with  the  eye  of  reason,  and  it  would  appear  im- 
moral, inhuman,  and  un-Christian.  If  the  war  were  continued 
in  order  to  obtain  military  glory,  we  should  tempt  the  justice  of 
Him  in  whose  hands  was  the  fate  of  armies,  to  launch  upon  us 
His  wrath.'  Though  the  orator's  eloquence  was  warmly  admired, 
however,  he  spoke  to  an  audience  largely  unsympathetic.  Lord 
John  Russell,  in  replying  to  the  arguments  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, contended  that  it  was  essential  in  the  interests  of 
Europe  that  the  power  of  Russia  should  be  considerably 
curtailed.  There  was  no  more  indignity  now  to  Russia  in 
enforcing  this  than  when  Mr.  Gladstone  agreed  to  support  the 
policy  by  measures  so  costly  in  blood  and  treasure.  There 
was  no  security  for  Turkey  or  for  Europe  that  Russia  would  not 
pursue  her  aggrandising  designs,  unless  some  limitation  of  her 
power  was  obtained.  He  denounced  the  conduct  and  the 
ambition  of  Russia  in  very  eloquent  terms.  The  Government 
secured  a  majority  of  100  upon  Mr.  Disraeli's  motion. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  attitude  at  this  juncture  was  much  canvassed 
and  condemned.  One  member,  Mr.  J.  G.  Phillimore,  said  that 
after  reading  Mr.  Gladstone's  recent  speech,  '  he  could 
comprehend  how  great  and  magnificent  preparations  had  shrank 
into  a  miserable  defence,  how  disaster  and  defeat  had  sprung 
from  the  bosom  of  victory,  and  how  a  fatal  and  malignant 
influence  had  long  paralysed  the  influence  of  our  fleets  and 
armies. '  As  further  demonstrating  the  excitement  which  Mr. 
Gladstone's  speech  had  caused  in  many  quarters,  we  will  quote  a 
portion  of  a  letter  which  Prince  Albert  wrote  to  Lord  Aberdeen, 
in  view  of  the  discussions  that  were  still  to  come  on  in  the 
House  of  Commons  upon  Sir  F.  Baring's  motion  relative  to  the 
conduct  of  the  war,  and  Mr.  Lowe's  amendment  thereupon.  *  Any 
such  declaration  as  Mr.  Gladstone  has  made  upon  Mr.  Disraeli's 
motion,'  said  his  Royal  Highness,  '  must  not  only  weaken  us 
abroad  in  public  estimation,  and  give  a  wrong  opinion  as  to  the 


188  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

determination  of  the  nation  to  support  the  Queen  in  the  war  in 
which  she  has  been  involved,  but  render  all  chance  of  obtaining 
an  honourable  peace  without  great  fresh  sacrifices  of  blood  and 
treasure  impossible,  by  giving  new  hopes  and  spirit  to 
the  enemy.'  The  Prince  recognised  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  his  friends  had  been  falsely  accused  of  supineness 
at  an  earlier  stage  of  the  war,  but  he  could  not  blind  himself  to 
the  further  very  important  fact  that  his  latest  speech  would  be  laid 
hold  upon  both  by  the  Opposition  and  the  enemies  of  the  war. 
Indeed,  during  the  same  debate,  Sir  E  .Bulwer  Lytton  was 
vehemently  cheered  when  he  asked,  *  When  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
dwelling,  in  a  Christian  spirit  that  moved  them  all,  on  the  gallant 
blood  that  had  been  shed  by  England,  by  her  Allies,  and  by  her 
foemen  in  that  quarrel,  did  it  never  occur  to  him  that  all  the 
while  he  was  speaking,  this  one  question  was  forcing  itself  upon 
the  minds  of  his  English  audience,  "  And  shall  all  this  blood  have 
been  shed  in  vain  ?  " 

The  debate  was  resumed,  and  Sir  F.  Baring's  motion,  which  was 
not  inimical  to  the  Government,  was  accepted  by  Lord  Palmer- 
ston,  Mr.  Gladstone  acquiescing  in  this  course.  Mr.  Lowe's 
amendment  was  negatived.  That  the  great  majority  of  the 
House  were  still  in  a  most  warlike  mood  was  evident  from  the 
cheers  which  greeted  Lords  Palmerston  and  Eussell  when  they 
announced  that  the  war  must  be  vigorously  proceeded  with. 

But  the  mistakes  which  had  been  made  by  our  Plenipotentiary 
at  Vienna  could  not  be  blotted  out,  and  the  Opposition  left  the 
Government  no  peace.  Questions  and  hostile  motions,  or  threats 
of  resolutions,  showered  upon  them.  On  the  10th  of  July,  Sir  E. 
Bulwer  Lytton  gave  notice  of  this  resolution  : — '  That  the  con- 
duct of  our  Ministry  in  the  recent  negotiations  at  Vienna  has,  in 
the  opinion  of  this  House,  shaken  the  confidence  of  this  country 
in  those  to  whom  its  affairs  are  entrusted.'  It  was  felt  that 
something  must  be  done  with  this  motion,  and  Lord  John 
Russell  again  prepared  to  run  away  ;  indeed,  there  was  nothing 
else  left  for  him  to  do,  if  his  colleagues  were  to  be  saved.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  13th,  he  resigned.  On  the  16th.  the  day  fixed  for 
the  debate  upon  Sir  E.  B.  Lytton's  motion,  the  resignation  was 
announced  in'  the  House.  Lord  John  Russell  defended  himself 
by  saying  that  it  was  not  true  he  had  promised  to  support  the 
Austrian  propositions.  They  had  been  considered  and  rejected  by 
the  Cabinet,  after  due  deliberation.  He  had  felt  bound  to  fulfil 
his  promise  to  Count  Buol  at  Vienna,' but  having  done  that,  he 
also  felt  bound  to  submit  as  a  plenipotentiary  to  the  decision  of 
the  Government.  He  thanked  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  and 
other  friends  for  the  kindness  they  had  shown  him.  There  were 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  189 

some  friends,  'however,  who  professed  great  attachment,  '  but 
whenever  there  was  a  rub  in  his  fortunes  they  fell  away  like 
water,  and  were  never  found  again  except  to  sink  him.  For 
these  he  felt  nothing  but  contempt.' 

Sir  E.  Bulwer  Lytton,  upon  the  announcement  of  Lord  John 
Russell's  resignation,  withdrew  his  motion,  but  in  doing  so  he 
said  he  believed  there  was  still  a  peace  party  in  the  Cabinet, 
which  must  be  closely  watched.  Lord  Palmerston  said  that  his 
ex-colleague's  resignation  had  been  offered  to  him  before,  but  he 
had  declined  it,  and  expressed  a  desire  to  stand  or  fall  by 
him.  Mr.  Disraeli  humorously  sketched  the  conduct  of  the 
Premier  and  Mr.  Bouverie,  '  the  friends  of  the  noble  lord,  and 
very  devoted  to  him,  but  who  had  managed  notwithstanding  to 
get  him  out  of  office.'  The  right  hon.  member  for  Bucking- 
hamshire then  went  on  to  say  that  the  end  of  it  was  this — '  the 
noble  lord,  with  a  reputation  of  a  quarter  of  a  century — a  man 
who  for  all  that  time  ha  1  given  a  tone  and  a  colour  to  the  policy 
of  this  country — who  had  met  the  giants  of  other  times  in  debate 
—who  had  measured  rapiers  with  Canning,  and  divided  the 
public  admiration  with  Sir  Robert  Peel— had  mysteriously 
disappeared,  and  did  not  dare  to  face  this  motion  ;  while  as  to 
the  noble  lord  now  at  the  head  of  the  Cabinet,  he  had  addressed 
the  House  that  night  in  a  tone  and  with  accents  which  showed 
that  if  the  honour  and  interests  of  this  country  were  much  longer 
entrusted  to  him,  the  first  would  be  tarnished  and  the  last  would 
be  betrayed.' 

This  wholesale  condemnation  of  Lord  Palmerston  was  of  course 
ill-deserved,  and  it  seems  almost  difficult  to  believe — in  these 
comparatively  serene  days — that  such  strongly  vituperative 
language,  with  its  scathing  taunts  and  sarcasms,  could  have 
been  prevalent  in  Parliamentary  warfare  less  than  a  generation 
ago.  It  appears  all  the  more  extraordinary,  seeing  that  Mr. 
Disraeli  spoke  these  bitter  words  concerning  Lord  Palmerston 
upon  a  motion  that  was  already  moribund.  With  regard  to  Lord 
John  Russell,  there  probably  never  was  a  statesman  more  univer- 
sally condemned  than  his  lordship  was  at  this  juncture  ;  and  the 
condemnation  was  by  no  means  wholly  undeserved.  As  eminent 
for  his  past  services  as  any  of  his  distinguished  colleagues,  he 
appeared  completely  to  have  lost  his  intellectual  balance  over 
the  Eastern  Question,  and  to  have  abdicated  his  claims  to 
diplomatic  distinction  and  practical  statesmanship  acquired  in 
the  past. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  addressing  the  House  also  upon  Sir  E  .  B. 
Lytton's  motion,  complained  that  Lord  John  Russell  had  in  a 
recent  speech  condemned  the  last  of  the  Russian  proposals  than 


190  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

before  the  House,  though  that  proposal  seemed  to  him  to  be  sub- 
stantially the  very  same  measure  which  the  noble  lord  had  himself 
supported  at  Vienna.  Touching  the  charge  made  against  the 
Government  by  Mr.  Disraeli,  that  the  Cabinet  was  at  one  time 
disposed  to  accept  the  noble  lord's  proposals,  he  thought  they 
were  not  amenable  to  it,  for  it  appeared  from  the  papers  that,  on 
the  very  day  when  Lord  John's  proposals  were  received  in 
London,  Lord  Clarendon  expressed  to  Count  Colleredo  his  con- 
demnation of  the  plan.  So  far  from  blaming  the  Government 
for  hesitating  about  this  offer  of  peace,  he  (Mr.  Gladstone) 
blamed  them  for  not  giving  the  propositions  that  consideration 
which  their  gravity  demanded,  and  for  abruptly  closing  the  hope 
of  an  honourable  peace. 

Mr.  Koebuck  next  brought  forward  a  sweeping  motion,  founded 
on  the  report  of  the  Sebastopol  Committee.  It  was  in  effect  a 
vote  of  censure  upon  every  member  of.  the  Aberdeen  Cabinet,  as 
being  responsible  for  the  sufferings  of  the  army  during  the  winter 
campaign  in  the  Crimea.  The  hon.  member  called  upon  the 
House  to  pass  sentence.  *  It  is  said,'  urged  Mr.  Roebuck, '  that 
we  have  got  rid  of  all  the  elements  of  the  Administration  that 
were  mischievous.  That  I  am  very  far  from  believing.  It  is 
also  said,  "  Are  not  Aberdeen,  and  Newcastle,  and  Herbert,  and 
Gladstone  out  ?  And  what  more  can  you  expect  or  do  you  want  ? 
Do  you  want  to  see  everybody  punished?"  I  say  yes,  every  one 
who  has  been  proved  guilty.'  The  general  feeling  of  the  House,, 
however,  was  that  this  was  an  extreme  proposition;  and  the 
previous  question,  an  amendment  moved  by  General  Peel,  was 
carried  by  a  majority  of  107  in  a  not  very  full  House. 

The  war  debates,  nevertheless,  continued  at  intervals  till  the 
close  of  the  session.  Mr.  Gladstone  once  more  strongly  deprecated 
the  continuance  of  the  war.  in  a  speech  which  he  made  on  the 
3rd  of  August.  He  defended  the  Austrian  proposals,  and  threw 
upon  Ministers  the  whole  blame  for  continuing  the  war  after 
their  rejection.  He  asked  what  definite  object  there  now  was 
for  prolonging  the  struggle.  We  had  cast  aside  a  basis  of  agree- 
ment to  which  all  the  plenipotentiaries  at  Vienna  had  agreed, 
and  were  engaged  solely  in  making  war  for  paltry  differences. 
He  censured  Lord  Clarendon  for  not  showing  in  his  despatches 
any  real  desire  for  peace,  and  expressed  his  fears  of  a  wider 
breach  with  Austria.  Touching  upon  the  position  of  the 
various  Powers  implicated  in  the  strife,  he  drew  a  classical  com- 
parison, describing  Turkey  as  an  ally  such  as  Anchises  was  to 
tineas  on  his  flight  from  Troy.  We  were  gradually  drifting 
away  from  friendly  concert  with  Austria ;  Sardinia  was  dragging 
heavily  through  the  conflict  in  mere  dependence  upon  England  ; 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  l&l 

and  he  did  not  believe  that  France  was  likely  to  add 
£100,000,000  sterling  to  her  debt  for  a  mere  difference  between 
limitation  and  counterpoise.  Mr.  Gladstone  defied  the  Western 
Powers  to  control  the  future  destinies  of  Russia,  save  for  a 
moment ;  and  he  '  placed  the  undivided  responsibility  of  the 
continuance  of  the  war  on  the  head  of  the  Ministry.'  He 
remained  content  in  the  belief  that,  in  endeavouring  to  recall 
the  Government  from  the  course  of  policy  they  were  then 
pursuing,  he  was  discharging  his  duty  as  a  patriot  and  a  loyal 
subject  of  his  Queen. 

Such  were  the  chief  points  of  a  very  powerful  and  comprehen- 
sive speech  ;  but  the  debate  in  which  it  was  the  most  note- 
worthy episode  fell  through  without  a  division.  The  speech  was 
no  doubt  intended  for  the  country  as  well  as  for  the  House, 
being  Mr.  Gladstone's  last  opportunity  for  defending  himself 
upon  the  various  questions  involved  before  the  approaching 
lengthy  recess.  A  passage  of  arms — still  on  the  question  of  the 
war — arose  between  Lord  John  Russell  and  Lord  Palmerston  on 
the  7th  of  August,  and  on  the  14th  Parliament  was  prorogued. 
Ministers  enjoyed  their  whitebait  dinner  as  usual,  but  there  were 
many  changes  at  the  board  compared  with  its  constituent 
elements  a  twelvemonth  before.  These  changes  were  happily 
hit  off  at  the  time  in  a  parody  upon  four  lines  of  one  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  poems  : — 

'  Where's  Herbert  kind,  and  Aberdeen, 
Where's  fluent  Gladstone  to  be  seen, 
Where's  Graham  now.  that  dangerous  foe, 
And  where's  the  Bedford  Plenipo  ?  ' 

The  war  events  of  the  period  are  soon  told.  In  May,  1855, 
the  expedition  to  Kertch  and  the  Sea  of  Azov  destroyed  many  of 
the  Russian  vessels  and  several  towns.  The  French,  in  con- 
junction now  with  Sardinia,  won  a  splendid  victory  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tchernaya,  August  16th.  In  June,  Lord  Raglan  died  of 
cholera,  and  was  succeeded  in  command  of  the  English  troops  by 
General  Simpson,  who,  however,  soon  gave  place  to  Sir  William 
Codrington.  Sebastopol  still  held  out,  and  until  this  fortress  was 
taken  there  was  no  hope  of  a  termination  of  the  war.  At  length 
the  French— already  in  possession  of  the  Mamelon — took  the 
Malakoff  tower  by  a  brilliant  attack,  on  the  8th  of  September. 
The  British  made  a  simultaneous  attack,  arid  seized  upon  the 
Redan,  but  they  were  driven  from  their  position  by  the  terrible 
fire  of  the  Russians,  who  swept  the  fort  from  every  side.  On  the 
9th  Prince  Gortschakoff  piloted  the  Russian  garrison  across  the 
harbour  to  the  northern  part  of  the  city,  having  sunk  the  ships 
before  the  retreat.  This  new  position  the  Russians  held 


192  WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

but  a  short  time.  The  Allie?  immediately  'blew  up  the 
batteries  and  dockyards,  and  the  fortress  which  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  had  deemed  impregnable  was  utterly  destroyed.  In 
the  north,  Admiral  Dunrlas  successfully  bombarded  Sveaborg,  a 
strongly-fortified  Kussian  town  on  the  north  of  the  Gulf  of 
Finland.  The  bombardment  lasted  three  days,  August  9 — 11. 
General  Williams,  who  held  Kars,  made  a  most  heroic  defence  of 
the  place,  but  for  want  of  reinforcements  was  at  length  obliged 
to  succumb.  The  power  of  Russia  having  been  broken,  alike  on 
the  Baltic  and  the  Black  Sea,  the  Emperor  gave  up  the  struggle, 
and  negotiations  for  peace  were  entered  upon.  A  treaty  was 
subsequently  concluded  at  Paris  in  March,  1856. 

Mr.  Roebuck's  Sebastopol  Committee  presented  its  report  on 
the  16th  of  June.  This  report,  after  describing  the  condition  of 
the  army,  and  reviewing  the  evidence  given  before  the  committee, 
ended  with  the  following  general  conclusions  : — 'Your  committee 
report  that  the  sufferings  of  the  army  resulted  mainly  from  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  expedition  to  the  Crimea  was 
undertaken  and  executed.  The  Administration  which  ordered 
that  expedition  had  no  adequate  information  as  to  the  amount, 
of  forces  in  the  Crimea.  They  were  not  acquainted  with  the 
strength  of  the  forces  to  be  attacked,  or  with  the  resources  of  the 
country  to  be  invaded.  They  hoped  and  expected  the  expedition 
to  be  immediately  successful,  and  as  they  did  not  foresee  the  pro- 
bability of  a  protracted  struggle,  they  made  no  provision  for  a 
winter  campaign.  The  patience  and  fortitude  of  the  army  demand 
the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  the  nation  on  whose  behalf  they 
have  fought,  bled,  and  suffered.  Their  heroic  valour  and  equally 
heroic  patience  under  sufferings  and  privations  have  given  them 
claims  on  the  country  which  will  doubtless  be  gratefully  acknow- 
ledged. Your  committee  will  now  close  their  report  with  a  hope 
that  every  British  army  may  in  future  display  the  valour  which 
this  noble  army  has  displayed,  and  that,  none  may  hereafter  be 
exposed  to  such  sufferings  as  have  been  recorded  in  these  pages.' 
The  Duke  of  Newcastle,  upon  whom  was  laid  the  chief  blame  for 
the  disasters  to  the  army  in  the  Crimea,  was  not  the  ablest 
administrator  who  could  have  been  selected  to  grapple  with  the 
difficulties  of  the  war ;  but,  as  a  recent  historian  has  observed, 
the  fault  at  this  critical  period  lay  rather  with  the  system  and 
the  circumstances  than  with  the  man,  though  it  is  quite  possible 
that  a  Minister  of  greater  administrative  ability  might  have 
succeeded  better.  This  is  the  view  very  largely  taken  now  by  all 
unbiassed  critics,  and  it  is  borne  out.  by  a  careful  examination 
of  contemporary  evidence  and  documents  bearing  upon  the 
Crimean  War. 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAR.  193 

We  have  dwelt  somewhat  at  length  upon  this  important 
episode  in  English  history  because  it  is  one  to  a  right  under- 
standing of  which  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  attaches  considerable 
importance,  and  it  is  one,  moreover,  in  connection  with  whicli 
his  own  conduct  has  been  much  canvassed.  It  now  only 
remains  briefly  to  note  the  points  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  defence 
of  the  course  he  pursued  during  the  war.  First  he  says 
that  it  was  the  fate  of  himself  and  his  friends  to  join  the 
Cabinet  of  Lord  Palmerston  at  a  critical  juncture,  and  to  quit  it 
within  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks.  The  cause  of  the  secession 
was  that  the  Premier  having  set  out  with  the  determination  to 
resist  the  appointment  of  the  Sebastopol  Committee,  like  his 
predecessor,  Lord  Aberdeen,  at  length  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  resistance  would  be  ineffectual,  and  determined  to  succumb. 
The  Peelities  had  no  option  but  to  resign,  though  in  reality 
'  they  were  driven  from  their  offices.'  Yet,  as  Mr.  Gladstone's 
critics  may  urge  with  some  force,  he  might  have  known,  from 
the  temper  of  the  nation  and  the  House,  that  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  could  not  be  avoided,  and  it  was  a  pity, 
therefore,  that  he  took  office  at  all  under  Lord  Palmerston ;  but, 
having  accepted  office,  might  he  not  have  yielded  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  committee,  seeing  that  everything  inimical  to  the 
Ministry  was  expressly  disclaimed.  But  Mr.  Gladstone  opposed 
the  committee  on  the  grounds  we  have  seen  stated, and  he  remained 
stedfast  to  his  friends.  He  was  again  blamed  for  recommending 
a  cessation  of  the  war,  when  it  appeared  to  him  that  the  original 
demands  made  of  Kussia  had  been  exceeded.  The  upshot  is  that 
1  the  question  which  broke  up  one  Cabinet,  and  formidably  rent 
another,  which  agitated  England  and  sorely  stained  her  military 
reputation  in  the  eyes  of  Europe,  remained  then,  and  remains 
now,  untried  by  any  final  court  of  appeal.'  There  were  conflicting 
judgments  as  to  where,  and  upon  whom,  responsibility  should 
be  fixed  ;  and  if  it  were  found  impossible  then  rightly  to  appor- 
tion the  blame  for  the  Crimean  disasters,  it  is  still  more 
impossible  now.  The  wisest  and  best  coarse  to  adopt,  therefore, 
is  to  drop  the  curtain  upon  this  humiliating  scene  in  English 
history. 

Mr.  Gladstone  has  well  shown  the  difficulties  which  beset  the 
Peelites  after  the  death  of  their  great  leader.  It  took  no  less 
than  thirteen  years  to  effect  their  final 'incorporation  with  the 
Liberal  party.  For  eleven  of  these  thirteen  years  of  disembodied 
existence  they  were  independent  members.  'They  were  like 
roving  icebergs,  on  which  men  could  not  land  with  safety ;  but 
with  which  ships  might  come  into  perilous  collision.  Their  weight 
was  too  great  not  to  count,  but  it  counted  first  this  way  and 

o 


194  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

then  that.'  These  small  but  powerful  independent  bodies  are 
always  a  great  puzzle  to  the  two  chief  political  parties  ni  the 
State.  Their  very  conscientiousness,  as  it  were,  acts  as  a  bar  to 
their  public  usefulness.  The  Peelites  began  to  cease  exercising 
a  strong  influence  upon  the  Court  and  the  House,  as  a  political 
party,  with  the  fall  of  Lord  Aberdeen  ;  and  it  was  a  happy  thing 
for  each  individual  member  of  the  body,  as  well  as  most  con- 
ducive to  the  welfare  of  the  country,  when  he  became  identified 
fully  and  finally  with  Liberal  opinions. 

Commenting  upon  the  comparisons  which  have  been  drawn 
between  the  Eastern  drama  of  1853-6  and  that  of*  1875-8,  Mr. 
Gladstone  impugns  their  accuracy.  He  thus  states  his  own  view 
of  the  two  periods : — 

'  There  was  in  each  case  an  offender  against  the  law  and  peace  of  Europe ;  Turkey, 
by  her  distinct  and  obstinate  breach  of  covenant,  taking  on  the  later  occasion  the 
place  which  Russia  had  held  in  the  earlier  controversy.  There  were  in  each  case 
prolonged  attempts  to  put  down  the  offence  by  means  of  European  concert.  In 
1853-4  these  proceeded  without  a  check,  until  the  eve  of  the  war.  In  1875-7  the  com- 
bination was  sadly  intermittent ;  but  in  the  singular  and  unprcedented  conference 
at  Constantinople,  it  was,  at  least  on  the  part  of  the  assembled  representatives, 
perfectly  unequivocal.  In  1854  the  refusal  of  Prussia  to  support  words  by  acts 
completely  altered  the  situation  ;  and  in  1876-7  the  assurance  conveyed  to  Turkey 
from  England  that  only  moral  suasion  was  intended,  had  the  same  effect.  The 
difference  was  that,  in  1854-5,  two  great  Powers,  with  the  partial  support  of  a 
third,  prosecuted  by  military  means  the  work  they  had  undertaken ;  in  1877  it 
was  left  to  Russia  alone  to  act  as  the  hand  and  sword  of  Europe,  with  the  natural 
consequence  of  weighting  the  scale  with  the  question  what  compensation  she 
might  claim,  or  would  claim,  for  her  efforts  and  sacrifices.' 

Those  who  differ  most  from  Mr.  Gladstone  upon  the  Eastern 
Question  will  probably  admit  that  he  has  here  indicated  some 
essential  points  of  difference  between  the  two  periods  Another 
Liberal  statesman  who  held  office  during  the  time  of  the  Crimean 
war,  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  has  also  insisted  upon  the  wide  diver- 
gences which  marked  the  two  epochs.  In  a  work  recently 
published,  he  remarks  that  upon  the  Eastern  Question,  as  it 
occupied  public  attention  in  1854,  there  was  comparatively  little 
difference  of  opinion.  Russia  was  so  clearly  in  the  wrong  that 
little  or  nothing  could  be  said  in  her  defence.  'When  the 
imperious  character  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  led  him  to  reject 
every  reasonable  compromise,  and  when  the  Cabinets  of  London 
and  of  Paris  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  could  yield  no 
further,  the  country  was  not  only  practically  unanimous,  but 
was  even  hotly  enthusiastic  in  support  of  a  war  which  had 
become  inevitable.'  *  But  the  Duke  maintains  that  everything 
was  different  in  1876.  'The  Eastern  Question  was  raised  by 
native  insurrections  in  the  provinces  of  Turkey,  excited  and 

*  The  Eastern  Question  :  From  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  1856,  to  the  Treaty  of  Berlin? 
1878,  and  to  the  Second  Afyhan  War.  By  the  Duke  of  Argyll. 


THE    CRIMEAN    WAft.  155 

justified  by  the  gross  misgovernment  of  the  Porte.  The  whole 
Eastern  Question,  therefore,  as  it  was  then  raised,  resolved  itself 
into  this — how  the  abuses  and  vices  of  Turkish  administration 
were  to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Powers  which  had  supported  Turkey 
in  the  Crimean  War.  and  by  those  other  Powers,  embracing  all 
the  principal  governments  of  Europe,  which  had  ultimately 
signed  the  Treaties  of  1856.'  Both  statesmen  held  in  1853  that 
the  policy  of  supporting  Turkey  in  her  quarrel  with  Russia  was 
perfectly  consistent  with  a  conviction,  or  at  least  a  fear,  that 
Turkey  was  in  danger  of  sinking  under  internal  and  irremediable 
causes  of  decay.  The  aggressive  spirit,  the  violence,  and  the 
ambition  of  Russia  left  English  statesmen  no  option  but  to  sup- 
port the  weaker  Power  against  her  enemy. 

Nothing  is  easier  than  to  criticise  a  policy  after  it  has  been 
shown  to  have  failed,  or  after  it  has  achieved  its  end ;  nothing  is 
so  difficult  as  to  resolve  upon  a  policy  at  the  moment  when  prompt 
and  vigorous  measures  are  required.  In  passing  judgments, 
therefore,  upon  statesmen  of  whatever  party,  or  section  of  a  party, 
it  is  especially  incumbent  upon  us  to  remember  the  difficulties 
by  which  they  have  been  surrounded.  Moreover,  that  which 
may  seem  a  wise  policy  to-day  may  have  appeared  exactly 
the  opposite  to  the  wisest  minds  of  a  bygone  generation.  The 
science  of  politics  is  a  varying  one ;  the  elements  upon  which 
action  is  founded  are  never  the  same  in  two  periods,  and  it  is 
obviously  unjust  in  the  clearer  light  of  a  later  time  ruthlessly  to 
condemn  without  the  strictest  investigation  the  action  ot 
statesmen  in  the  past.  It  is  the  tendency  of  political  criticism 
of  the  day,  on  both  sides,  to  brand  with  opprobrious  epithets 
those  who  are  diametrically  opposed  to  the  views  of  the  writers. 
It  is  especially  necessary  in  politics  that  men  make  large 
allowances  for  the  exigencies  of  time  and  circumstances.  Oui 
political  idols  are  not  the  flawless  angels  we  deem  them,  nor  are 
their  rivals  the -monsters  of  imperfection  and  apostasy  they  are 
sometimes  depicted.  The  changes  in  the  standpoint  of  a  leader 
of  political  opinion,  be  he  Liberal  or  Conservative,  are  nearly 
always,  we  will  hope,  brought  about  by  '  the  slow  and  resistless 
forces  of  conviction ' — rarely  by  unworthy  and  time-serving 
motives.  Looking  back  upon  this  episode  of  the  Crimean  War 
in  this  spirit,  it  may  not  be  difficult  to  perceive  that  that  which 
is  apparently  ambiguous  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  conduct  is  capable 
of  an  explanation  honourable  to  himself  as  a  man  and  as  a 
statesman,  and  is  the  result  of  that  high  devotion  to  duty  which 
has  stamped  his  character  as  uniformly  upright  and  conscientious 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

02 


CHAPTER  XII. 

DOMESTIC   AND    FOREIGN    POLICY— 1856-58. 

Negotiations  for  Peace — Conclusion  of  a  Treaty — The  Treaty  criticised  in  both 
Houses — Sydney  Smith  on  Foreign  Interference — Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech — The 
Objects  of  the  War — Arbitration  for  International  Differences — Treaty  Engage- 
ments— The  Belgian  Press — Lord  Palmerston's  Reply — Lord  John  Russell's  Reso- 
lutions on  National  Education — Mr.  Gladstone's  Objections  thereto — A  curious 
Division  List — A  new  Loan — The  Cost  of  the  War — The  Budget — England  and 
the  United  States — Enlistment  of  Recruits  for  the  British  Army — Mr.  Gladstone 
severely  criticises  the  Policy  of  the  Government — Ministerial  Victory— Govern- 
ment and  the  Session  of  1857 — Debate  on  the  Address — Budget  introduced  by 
Sir  G.  C.  Lewis — Mr.  Disraeli's  Amendment — Mr.  Gladstone's  Criticisms  of  the 
Budget — Defeat  of  Mr.  Disraeli's  Amendment — The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's 
Financial  Policy  discussed — The  Palmerston  Government  and  its  Chinese  Policy 
— Mr.  Cobden's  Motion — Remarks  by  Mr.  Gladstone — Defeat  of  the  Government 
— Lord  Palmerston's  Appeal  to  the  Country — The  Bank  of  England  and  the 
Monetary  Panic — The  Conspiracy  to  Murder  Bill — Excitement  in  the  Country — 
Mr.  Milner  Gibson's  Resolutions — Powerful  Speech  by  Mr.  Gladstone — Ministerial 
Defeat — Resignation  of  the  Government — A  Derby  Ministry — Church  Rates — 
Measures  for  the  futuro  Government  of  India — Three  India  Bills — Mr.  Gladstone 
on  the  Danubian  Principalities  and  the  Eastern  Question — Mr.  Disraeli's  Budget 
for  1858 — Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Ionian  Islands — Appointment  as  Lord  High 
Commissioner  Extraordinary — Incorporation  of  the  Islands  with  Greece. 

AT  the  opening  of  the  session  of  18ob',  negotiations  for  peace 
were  already  in  progress,  but  the  prospect  of  a  cessation  of 
hostilities  was  not  regarded  universally  in  England  in  a 
favourable  light.  There  were  not  wanting  those  who  desired 
the  War  to  proceed  for  the  purpose  of  recovering  the  national 
prestige,  which  had  been  partially  lost  by  the 'disasters  in  the 
Crimea,  and  by  the  surrender  of  Kars  to  the  Russians.  But  on 
the  31st  of  March,  while  the  House  of  Commons  was  engaged  in 
Committee  of  Supply,  Lord  Palmerston  interposed  to  announce 
that  a  Treaty  of  Peace  had  been  concluded  at  Paris.  His 
lordship  said  that  by  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  the  integrity 
and  the  independence  of  the  Turkish  Empire  would  be  secured. 
The  treaty  was  honourable  to  all  the  contracting  Powers  who 
were  a  party  to  it ;  and  while  it  had  put  an  end  on  the  one 
hand  to  a  war  which  every  friend  to  humanity  must  naturally 
wish  to  see  concluded,  on  the  other  hand  it  would  lay  the 
foundation  of  a  peace  which  the  noble  lord  trusted,  so  far  as 
relating  to  the  circumstances  out  of  which  the  war  began,  would 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOUEIGN    POLICY.  IS? 

be  lasting  and  enduring.  The  British  negotiators,  Lord  Clarendon 
and  Lord  Cowley,  had  not  only  maintained  the  honour,  dignity, 
and  interests  of  the  country  they  represented  ;  but  by  their 
conciliatory  conduct  had  secured  for  themselves  and  their 
country  the  respect,  esteem,  and  goodwill  of  those  with  whom 
they  had  had  to  do. 

The  terms  of  the  treaty  were  subjected  to  considerable 
criticism  in  both  Houses.  In  the  Commons,  Mr.  Herbert,  the 
seconder  of  the  address  to  her  Majesty  upon  the  conclusion  of  a 
peace,  admitted  that  there  was  a  want  of  enthusiasm  in  the 
country  on  the  subject  of  the  treaty,  but  he  attributed 
this  not  to  any  dissatisfaction  with  its  terms,  but  to  a 
variety  of  causes,  the  chief  of  which  was  a  general  convic- 
tion that  if  the  war  had  been  continued,  the  British  army 
would  have  added  largely  to  the  laurels  it  had  won.  Animated 
speeches  were  delivered  by  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert  and  Mr.  Milner 
Gibson.  The  latter  quoted  an  extract  from  a  characteristic 
letter  of  Sydney  Smith  to  Lady  Grey,  on  the  subject  of  foreign 
interference.  This  letter  might  with  advantage  have  been 
quoted  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  many  occasions  since  the 
time  at  which  it  was  written.  '  For  God's  sake  do  not  drag  me 
into  another  war,'  implored  the  great  Whig  humourist.  '  I  am 
worn  down  and  worn  out  with  crusading  and  defending  Europe 
and  protecting  mankind  ;  I  must  think  a  little  of  myself.  I  am 
sorry  for  the  Spaniards — I  am  sorry  for  the  Greeks — I  deplore 
the  fate  of  the  Jews ;  the  people  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  are 
groaning  under  the  most  detestable  tyranny ;  Bagdad  is 
oppressed  ;  I  do  not  like  the  present  state  of  the  Delta ;  Thibet  is 
not  comfortable.  Am  I  to  fight  for  all  these  people  ?  No  war, 
dear  Lady  Grey !  I  beseech  you  secure  Lord  Grey's  sword  and 
pistols,  as  the  housekeeper  did  Don  Quixote's  armour.  If  there 
is  another  war,  life  will  not  be  worth  having.  .  .  .  May  the 
vengeance  of  Heaven  overtake  all  the  legitimates  of  Verona  !  but, 
in  the  present  state  of  rent  and  taxes,  they  must  be  left  to  the 
vengeance  of  Heaven.  I  allow  righting  in  such  a  cause  to  be  a 
luxury  ;  but  the  business  of  a  prudent,  sensible  man  is  to  guard 
against  luxury.' 

Mr.  Gladstone's  speech  in  this  debate  was  an  important  one, 
not  only  from  the  nature  of  its  arguments,  but  as  the  final 
deliverance,  upon  this  great  question  of  the  Crimean  war,  of  one 
upon  whom — rightly  or  wrongly — considerable  blame  had  been 
laid  at  the  commencement  of  the  struggle  with  Russia.  He  had 
been  charged,  together  with  Sir  James  Graham  and  other 
colleagues  of  his  in  the  Aberdeen  Cabinet,  with  underrating  the 
dangers  and  responsibilities  of  the  war.  It  was  alleged,  again 


198  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

and  again,  that  their  half  measures  had  precipitated  the  contest 
and  afterwards  increased  its  magnitude.  Mr.  Gladstone  began 
by  remarking  that  the  question  before  the  House  was  not  a  very 
broad  one,  inasmuch  as  the  amendment  to  the  address  only 
proposed  to  substitute  the  modified  word  '  satisfaction '  for  'joy ' 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  peace.  He  regarded  the  treaty  as  an 
honourable  one,  because  the  objects  of  the  war  had  been  attained. 
Referring  to  the  statement  that  we  had  become  bound,  with  the 
other  Christian  Powers  of  Europe,  not  only  for  the  maintenance 
and  integrity  of  the  Turkish  Empire  against  foreign  aggression, 
but  also  to  the  maintenance  of  Turkey  as  a  Mahomedan  State, 
Mr.  Gladstone  added, '  If  I  thought,  sir,  that  this  treaty  of  peace 
was  an  instrument  which  bound  this  country  and  our  posterity,  as 
well  as  our  Allies,  to  the  maintenance  of  a  set  of  institutions  in 
Turkey  which  you  are  endeavouring  to  reform  if  you  can,  but 
with  respect  to  which  endeavour  few  can  be  sanguine,  I  should 
not  be  content  to  fall  back  upon  the  amendment  of  my  noble 
friend  (Lord  C.  Hamilton),  expressing  that  I  regarded  the  peace 
with  satisfaction ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  I  should  look  out  for  the 
most  emphatic  word  in  which  to  express  my  sense  of  condemnation 
of  a  peace  which  bound  us  to  maintain  the  law  and  institutions  of 
Turkey  as  a  Mahomedan  State.'  With  regard  to  the  objects  for 
which  the  war  had  been  undertaken,  he  denied  that  they  had 
sought  to  secure  the  settlement  of  any  question  respecting  the 
internal  condition  of  Turkey.  '  The  juxtaposition  of  a  people 
professing  the  Mahomedan  religion  with  a  rising  Christian 
population  having  adverse  and  conflicting  influences,  presents 
difficulties  which  are  not  to  be  overcome  by  certain  diplomatists 
at  certain  hours,  and  in  a  certain  place.  It  will  be  the  work  and 
care  of  many  generations — if  even  then  they  were  successful— 
to  bring  that  state  of  things  to  a  happy  and  prosperous -conclu- 
sion. But  there  was  another  clanger — the  danger  of  the  encroach- 
ment upon,  and  the  absorption  of  Turkey  by  Russia,  which  would  • 
bring  upon  Europe  evils  not  less  formidable  than  those  which 
already  existed.  Such  a  danger  to  the  peace,  liberties,  and 
privileges  of  all  Europe  we  were  called  upon  absolutely  to  resist 
by  all  the  means  in  our  power/  But  Mr.  Gladstone  went  on  to 
regret  that  a  more  substantive  existence  had  not  been  secured  to 
the  Principalities,  though  he  owned  that  this  was  not  the  fault 
of  England  and  France.  The  neutralisation  of  the  Black  Sea 
he  objected  to,  as  meaning  nothing  more  in  time  of  war  than 
a  series  of  pitfalls.  Recognised  rules  should  also  have  been 
established  to  regulate  interference  on  behalf  of  the  Christians. 
The  proposal  to  submit  international  differences  to  arbitra- 
tion he  regarded  as  a  great  triumph,  though  there  was  a  danger 


DOMESTIC   AND    FOREIGN    POLICY.  199 

that  if  encouragement  should  be  given  to  the  trumping-up  of 
untenable  claims  and  bad  cases  as  a  matter  of  diplomatic 
contention  between  nations,  they  would  end  by  making  more 
quarrels  than  they  could  possibly  avert.  He  held  that  no 
country  ought  to  resort  to  arbitration  until  it  had  reduced  its 
claims  to  what  it  considered  the  minimum,  and  brought 
them  to  that  state  in  which  they  were  fit  to  be  supported 
by  force.  If  they  laid  down  that  rule,  then  a  resort  to  arbitra- 
tion was  indeed  a  powerful  engine  on  behalf  of  civilisation 
and  humanity.  Under  such  circumstances,  this  proposal  to 
establish  a  system  of  arbitration  (which  he  rejoiced  to  say  was  an 
English  one)  might  lead  to  a  diminution  of  what  undoubtedly 
had  been  a  great  scourge  to  Europe  of  late  years — namely,  the 
enormous  cost  of  its  military  establishments.  He  was  glad  to 
find  that  the  moment  at  length  was  come  when  they  had  every 
reason  to  hope  the  greatest  military  powers  in  Europe — Russia 
and  France — were  about  to  set  a  bold  example  in  the  way  of 
reduction  of  their  military  establishments. 

Mr.  Gladstone  then  dwelt  with  much  fulness  upon  the  bearings 
of  the  twenty-second  protocol  of  the  conference  at  Paris.  He 
had  been  pleased  with  what  had  passed,  especially  as  affecting 
Naples,  yet  it  was  an  innovation  to  entertain  such  subjects 
in  the  history  of  conferences  of  pacification.  He  wished  to 
know  what  was  the  position  of  the  Powers  not  represented 
at  the  Conference ;  and  also  what  was  the  exact  force  or  value 
that  belonged  to  the  records  inscribed  upon  the  protocols.  'Are 
they  treaty  engagements  ?  Certainly  they  are  not.  Do  they 
approximate  to  the  character  of  engagements  ?  If  they  do,  how 
near  do  they  come  to  it  ?  If  they  do  not,  how  far  are  they  from 
it-?  If  they  do  not  partake  at  all  of  the  nature  of  engagements, 
what  are  they?  They  are  authoritative  documents.  Those  who 
like  them  may  claim  them  as  allies  and  powerful  auxiliaries. 
Those  who  do  not  like  them  may  endeavour  to  depreciate  them. 
Infinite  discussions  may  arise  upon  their  character.'  Confusion 
in  international  rights  and  engagements  would  result  from  these 
semi-authoritative  records.  The  most  important  question 
was  that  relating  to  the  state  of  the  press  in  Belgium. 
Lord  Clarendon  had  fairly  intimated  that  the  scheme  which 
had  been  suggested  could  find  no  support  or  sympathy  in 
England ;  but  some  unfortunate  mishap  must  have  occurred, 
seeing  that  the  protocol  recited  that  all  the  plenipotentiaries 
had  not  hesitated  loudly  to  condemn  the  excess  in  which  the 
Belgian  newspapers  indulged  with  impunity,  by  recognising  the 
necessity  of  remedying  the  real  inconveniences  attending  the 
uncontrolled  licence  which  was  so  greatly  abused  in  Belgium. 


200  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Standing  as  he  did  in  the  first  and  principal  fortress  of 
European  freedom,  Mr.  Gladstone  held  that  these  matters 
imperatively  called  for  explanation.  The  representatives  of 
Prussia  and  Austria,  Baron  Mantenffel  and  Count  Buol,  had  said 
that  the  repression  of  the  press  must  be  considered  as  a  European 
necessity;  Count  Walewski,  on  the  part  of  France  (and  he 
hoped  he  expressed  his  own  views  only  and  not  the  deliberate 
intentions  of  his  Sovereign  or  the  Government),  had  affirmed  that 
legislation  was  required  in  the  subject  of  the  Belgian  press, 
and  that  compulsion  must  be  resorted  to  if  necessary;  while 
Count  Orloff,  on  the  part  of  Russia,  said  he  had  no  instructions, 
and  passed  by  every  one  of  the  topics  without  comment. 
Difficulties  had  arisen  in  connection  with  some  States,  but 
there  had  been  a  general  readiness  to  deal  with  the  Belgian 
press.  Mr.  Gladstone  earnestly  hoped  that  these  declarations 
affecting  Belgium  were  not  indications  of  policy,  but  that  they 
had  issued  lightly  from  the  mouths  of  those  distinguished 
persons,  and  that  having  been  uttered  they  would  be  regretted 
and  forgotten ;  they  could  not  be  recalled.  In  the  meantime, 
he  demanded,  were  these  charges  against  Belgium  just  ?  If 
impunity  for  excesses  existed  in  that  country,  the  evil  was  not 
to  be  attributed  to  the  want  of  a  law,  but  to  the  neglect  of 
putting  the  law  in  motion.  Trial  by  jury  for  offences  of  the 
press  was  one  of  the  articles  of  the  Belgian  Constitution,  and 
those  articles  could  not  be  changed  at  the  mere  will  of  either  the 
Government  or  of  the  two  Houses  of  the  Legislature.  '  I  think 
it  right, '  concluded  Mr.  Gladstone,  *  to  point  out,  as  clearly  as  it 
is  possible  for  an  independent  member  of  Parliament  to  do  so, 
that  this  appeal  to  a  people,  gallant  and  high-spirited  as 
the  Belgians  are  —  an  appeal  which  appears  to  be  contem- 
plated under  the  compulsion  of  foreign,  and  some  of  them 
remote,  Powers,  and  having  for  its  object  the  limitation  by  the 
Belgians  of  their  own  dearest  rights  and  most  cherished  liberties 
—  is  not  a  policy  which  tends  to  clear  the  political  horizon,  but 
rather  one  which  will  darken  and  disturb  it,  and  cast  gloom  and 
despondency  over  a  prospect  otherwise  brilliant  and  joyous.' 

Lord  Palmerston  concluded  the  debate,  contending  that  the 
objects  of  the  war  had  been  fully  accomplished,  and  in  two  short 
years.  With  regard  to  the  Belgian  press,  he  assured  the  House 
that  the  British  Government  would  be  no  party  to  any  interfer- 
ence with  an  independent  nation  with  the  view  of  dictating  the 
steps  she  should  take  to  gag  the  press.  He  believed  that  the 
war  had  settled  division  in  every  part  of  Europe — north,  south, 
east,  or  west  he  saw  nothing  but  hope  and  consolation — and  he 
trusted,  in  conclusion,  that  the  youngest  man  who  sat  in  that 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    POLICY.  ?Cl 

/ 
House  might  not  live  to  see  the  time  when  it  would  be  necessary 

for  the  responsible  servants  of  the  Crown  to  call  upon  the  people 
of  the  country  to  support  their  Sovereign  in  the  prosecution  of 
any  new  war.  The  amendment  having  been  withdrawn,  an  address 
to  her  Majesty  was  agreed  to,  and  the  curtain  thus  fell  upon  the 
closing  scene  ot  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  sanguinary  dramas 
of  our  national  history. 

Early  in  this  session  Lord  John  Russell  brought  forward  in  the 
House  ot  Commons  a  series  of  resolutions  on  tbe  subject  of 
National  Education.  These  resolutions  provided  (inter  alia) 
that  eighty  sub-inspectors  should  be  added  to  the  existing 
number  of  inspectors  ;  that  the  sub-inspectors  should  report  on 
the  available  means  for  the  education  of  the  poor  in  each  school 
district  ;  that  in  order  to  extend  such  means  the  power  of  the 
commissioners  of  charitable  trusts  should  be  enlarged,  and  that 
the  funds  then  useless  or  injurious  to  the  public  should  be 
applied  to  the  education  of  the  middle  and  poorer  classes  of  the 
community  ;  that  where  such  means  were  not  available,  the 
ratepayers  should  have  the  power  of  taxing  themselves  for  the 
maintenance  of  schools  ;  that  employers  of  childi'en  between 
nine  and  fifteen  years  of  age  should  be  required  to  furnish 
certificates  half-yearly  of  the  attendance  of  such  children  at 
school,  and  to  pay  for  such  instruction.  After  some  discussion, 
however,  the  formal  motion  on  the  first  resolution  was  with- 
drawn, and  on  the  10th  of  April  the  House  resolved  itself 
into  a  committee  of  the  whole  House,  '  to  consider  the  present 
state  of  public  education  in  England  and  Wales.'  Lord  John 
Kussell  now  moved  his  first  resolution,  referring  to  the  speech 
he  had  made  upon  introducing  the  whole.  The  policy  of  the 
Government  was  severely  criticised  during  the  debate,  and  Mr. 
Gladstone,  in  alluding  to  this  change  of  front,  said  that  no  doubt 
Lord  John  Russell  anticipated  defeat,  and  was  anxious  to  extri- 
cate the  remnants  of  his  army  from  a  dangerous  and  desperate 
position.  The  noble  lord  intended,  no  doubt,  to  save  the  principle 
of  local  influences  as  opposed  to  central  control,  and  to  save  the 
principle  of  religious  as  opposed  to  secular  instruction  ;  but  the 
House  were  convinced  that  in  these  vital  respects  he  would  be 
entirely  disappointed.  It  had  happily  been  found  practicable  in 
England  to  associate  together  in  the  most  perfect  harmony  these 
two  principles — the  principle  of  voluntary  exertion,  through 
which  they  might  get  heart,  and  love,  and  moral  influences 
infused  into  their  school  instruction,  and  the  principle  of  mate- 
rial aid  from  the  State,  by  which  the  skeleton  and  framework  of 
their  education  were  provided.  But  if  he  (the  speaker }  were 
driven  to  abandon  the  voluntary  principle,  or  place  exclusive 


202  WILLIAM    KWART    GLADSTONE. 

reliance  upon  it,  he  should  not  hesitate  to  say  at  once,  '  Give  me 
the  real  education,  the  affection  of  the  heart,  the  moral  influences 
operative  upon  character,  the  human  love,  that  are  obtained 
through  the  medium  of  the  voluntary  principle,  carried  out 
by  men  whose  main  motive  is  one  of  Christian  philanthropy, 
rather  than  throw  me  upon  a  system  which,  whatever  the  inten- 
tions of  its  first  mover  may  be,  must  sooner  or  later  degenerate 
into  hard  irreligion.'  Mr.  Gladstone  then  proceeded  to  discuss 
the  resolutions,  which,  whether  unconstitutional  or  not,  were,  he 
held,  of  such  dangerous  tendency  that  if  they  were  not  unconsti- 
tutional it  was  because  they  involved  consequences  still  more  fatal. 
They  tended  to  create  a  central  controlling  power,  involving 
secular  instruction  and  endless  religious  quarrels. 

A  division  was  taken  upon  the  question,  'That  the  chair- 
man do  now  leave  the  chair,'  which  was  carried  by  260  votes  to 
158.  This  majority  of  102  being  virtually  against  the  resolution 
of  Lord  John  Russell,  it  was  not  now  proceeded  with.  The 
division  list  revealed  curious  elements.  In  the  majority  were 
found  Mr.  Gladstone,  Mr.  (now  Earl)  Cairns,  Mr.  Cardwell,  Lord 
Robert  Cecil  (now  Marquis  of  Salisbury),  Mr,  Disraeli,  Mr.  Milner 
Gibson,  Sir  James  Graham,  Mr.  Sydney  Herbert,  Mr.  Lowe,  Lord 
John  Manners,  Mr.  Roundell  Palmer  (Lord  Selbourne),  and  Mr. 
Walpole.  In  the  minority  were  Sir  Alexander  Cockburn,  Sir 
George  Grey,  Mr.  Horsman,  Lord  Palmerston,  Mr.  Villiers,  and 
Sir  Charles  Wood ;  while  the  tellers  were  Lord  J.  Russell  and 
Sir  J.  Pakington. 

In  committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  on  the  22nd  of  February, 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  had  proposed  resolutions  author- 
ising a  loan  of  £5,000,000,  and  the  funding  of  £3,000,000  of 
Exchequer  Bills.  The  war  had  rendered  a  large  pecuniary 
provision  necessary.  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis  did  not  at  this  time  bring 
forward  his  annual  budget,  but  made  a  statement  respecting  the 
revenue.  It  had  been  so  disturbed  by  speculative  fluctuations 
in  the  sugar  trade,  exportation  of  spirits  under  drawback  to 
supply  the  wine  deficiency  abroad,  and  other  causes,  that  the 
whole  deficiency  was  now  reckoned  at  £1,600,000.  The  actual 
expenditure  had  exceeded  the  estimate  by  £1,960,000,  chiefly 
under  military  heads,  and  they  were  at  that  moment  in  a  financial 
position  nearly  £4,000,000  less  favourable  than  he  had  estimated. 
In  reply  to  the  Chancellor's  statements  upon  the  real  cost  of  the 
war  and  the  amount  of  debt  incurred,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the 
debt,  created  within  twenty-four  months  was  probably  £36,000,000. 
Many  items  of  further  charge  would  fall  in,  and  altogether 
the  net  cost  of  the  war  would  probably  be  hardly  represented  by 
an  addition  of  50  per  cent,  to  the  £43,000,000  estimated  by  the 


DOMESTIC   AND    FOREIGN    POLICY.  203 

Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  as  the  precise  sum  which  the  war 
had  cost  us.  The  resolutions  were  agreed  to.  It  was  not  until 
the  19th  of  May  that  Sir  GK  C.  Lewis  introduced  his  budget. 
Its  main  features  were  as  follows  : — The  total  expenditure  for 
1855-6  (including  the  loan  of  £1,000,000  to  Sardinia)  was 
£89,428,355;  and  the  income  £65,704,491.  During  the  past 
two  years  of  war  the  total  expenditure  had  been  £151,121,307, 
and  for  the  previous  two  years  of  peace  it  was  £102,032,596.  In 
consequence  of  the  preparations  which  had  been  necessary,  the 
extra  war  expenditure  would  run  into  the  present  year ;  and  he 
calculated  the  probable  expenditure  at  £82,113,000,  and  the 
income  from  all  sources  at  £71,740,000.  The  Government  did 
not  propose  to  levy  new  taxes,  but  would  partially  meet  the 
deficiency  by  a  loan  of  £5,000,000,  a  considerable  sum  in 
addition  having  been  previously  arranged  for. 

Referring  to  some  observations  which  had  been  made  by 
Mr.  Disraeli  on  the  subject  of  Sardinia,  Mr.  Gladstone  said 
he  thought  the  right  honourable  gentleman  justified  in  his 
allusions.  If  Sardinia  should  entertain  schemes  of  aggression, 
we  could  scarcely  wonder  at  it.  She  laboured  under  great  diffi- 
culties, but  she  must  practise  self-denial  and  exhibit  a  right 
example  to  Italy,  and  in  the  moral  force  flowing  from  that 
she  would  find  her  reward.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  proceeded  to 
criticise  the  budget,  denying  the  assertion  that  the  parsimony 
of  the  House  of  Commons  had  been  the  cause  of  our  disasters 
in  the  late  war.  Prussia  and  Sardinia  were  examples  proving 
that  an  efficient  army  need  not  be  an  expensive  one.  He 
considered  that  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  was  making 
very  narrow  provision  to  meet  the  expenditure.  It  was 
sailing  very  close  to  the  wind  to  allow  for  a  surplus  of  only 
£160,000  upon  a  certain  expenditure  of  £77,000,000.  Mr. 
Gladstone  again  manifested  his  strong  views  upon  the  necessity 
for  meeting  national  crises  as  they  arose,  by  observing  that 
'  they  should  not  set  the  pestilent  example  of  abolishing  taxes, 
and  borrowing  money  in  their  stead.'  Here  was  a  disposition 
to  stimulate  increased  expenditure,  while  every  effort  was 
directed  to  stinting  the  means  of  meeting  that  expenditure. 
The  Chancellor's  budget  resolutions  were  ultimately  agreed  to. 

The  relations  between  the  Governments  of  England  and  the 
United  States,  which  had  been  strained  considerably  in 
1855,  were  still  further  strained  in  the  following  year.  The 
Centra]  American  Convention  of  1850  had  given  the  first  shock 
to  a  harmonious  understanding,  but  the  question  which 
caused  the  greatest  uneasiness  was  that  of  the  enlistment 
of  recruits  in  the  United  States  for  the  British  army.  On 


204  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

several  occasions  during  the  session  of  1856  questions  were 
raised  upon  this  matter,  but  it  was  not  until  the  30th  of  June 
that  the  general  subject  of  our  relations  with  America  was 
fully  and  formally  discussed.  On  the  order  for  going  into  com- 
mittee of  supply  on  that  day,  Mr.  G.  H.  Moore  moved  as  an 
amendment  the  following  resolution : — '  That  the  conduct  of  Her 
Majesty's  Government,  in  the  differences  that  have  arisen  between 
them  and  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  on  the  question 
of  enlistment,  has  not  entitled  them  to  the  approbation  of  this 
House.'  Mr.  Moore  not  only  affirmed  that  the  neutrality  law  of 
the  United  States  had  been  grossly  and  deliberately  violated  by 
persons  acting  with  the  approbation  of  her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment; but  also  that  her  Majesty's  Government  had  contem- 
plated and  sanctioned  the  violation  of  the  law.  The  hon. 
member  accused  Mr.  Crampton,  the  British  Ambassador  (who 
had  only  performed  the  duties  indicated  to  him  by^Lord 
Clarendon),  of  subverting  international  law  by  secretly  enlisting 
the  subjects  of  the  United  States.  Lord  Clarendon  deprecated 
all  violation  of  the  law,  but  the  whole  question  turned  upon  tlie 
interpretation  of  it,  and  an  eminent  American  lawyer  had  given 
an  opinion  directly  contrary  to  that  of  the  noble  earl. 

During  the  debate,  which  was  a  very  protracted  one,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone delivered  a  long  and  able  speech.  '  It  appears  to  me,'  he 
said,  '  that  the  two  cardinal  aims  that  we  ought  to  keep  in 
view  in  the  discussion  of  this  question  are  peace  and  a 
thoroughly  cordial  understanding  with  America  for  one,  the 
honour  and  fame  of  England  for  the  other.  I  am  bound  to  say 
that  in  regard  to  neither  of  these  points  am  I  satisfied  with  the 
existing  state  of  things,  or  with  the  conduct  of  her  Majesty's 
Government.  A  cordial  understanding  with  America  has  not  been 
preserved  ;  and  the  honour  of  this  country  has  been  compromised.' 
Mr.  Gladstone  acknowledged  that  he  had  great  difficulty  in 
coming  to  a  decision  what  vote  to  give  upon  that  important 
question ;  at  the  same  time,  he  could  not  meet  the  resolution 
proposed  by  Mr.  Moore  with  a  direct  negative.  Unless  the 
House  was  prepared  to  displace  the  Government,  it  ought  not  to 
weaken  their  hands.  Votes  of  censure  on  the  Government 
should  only  be  proposed  by  those  who  were  able  to  give  effect  to 
the  principle  contained  in  those  votes.  Coming  to  the  actual 
matter  at  issue,  he  asked  whether  wrong  had  not  been  done  ?  '  I» 
the  first  place,  he  charged  the  Government  with  practising 
concealment;  in  the  second  place,  he  maintained  that  the 
American  Government  were  deluded  and  misled.  The  law  was 
knowingly  broken  by  the  agents  of  the  British  Government. 
There  was  not  one  hair's-breadth  of  distinction  between  tht 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    POLICY.  205 

position  of  Mr.  Crampton  and  the  position  of  the  Government. 
What  the  American  Government  complained  of  was  the 
employment  of  an  agency  within  the  United  States,  not  only  to 
give  information,  but  to  tempt,  to  induce  by  the  offer  of 
valuable  considerations,  the  subjects  of  the  United  States  to  go 
beyond  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  enlisting.  Mr. 
Crampton  did  not  communicate  this  to  the  American  Government. 
He  had  not  only  been  guilty  of  concealment,  however,  but  he 
had  broken  the  solemn  promise  that  he  would  confine  himself 
to  communicate  to  the  persons  who  addressed  themselves  to 
him  the  terms  on  which  they  would  be  received  into  the 
British  service.'  Mr.  Gladstone  then  went  on  to  prove  the 
injustice  of  the  charge  against  the  American  Government,  of 
having  at  first  confined  its  complaints  to  the  proceedings  of 
unauthorised  persons,  and  subsequently  extended  those  com- 
plaints to  the  British  Minister  and  his  subordinates.  '  Aiming 
as  I  do  at  a  plain  and  intelligible  statement,  I  must  say  the 
American  Government  was  deceived  by  the  proceedings  of  the 
British  Government.  I  say  we  intentionally  broke  the  law  of  the 
Union.'  After  examining  the  cases  of  several  recruiting  agents, 
the  speaker  maintained  that  Mr.  Crampton  had  been  made  a 
scapegoat.  He  and  three  consuls  had  been  punished,  yet,  although 
the  British  Government  acquiesced  in  and  indorsed  the  acts  of  its 
agents,  it  accepted  with  satisfaction  its  own  acquittal.  Mr. 
Gladstone  thus  concluded : — '  When  I  look  back  to  the  period 
when  party  combinations  were  strong  in  the  House — when  Sir 
Kobert  Peel  was  on  those  (the  Opposition)  benches,  and  Lord 
John  Kussell  on  these,  I  think — though  many  mistakes  and 
errors  were  committed  on  both  sides — that,  on  the  whole,  the 
Government  of  the  country  was  honourably  and  efficiently  carried 
on.  I  believe  that  the  day  for  this  country  will  be  a  happy  day 
when  party  combinations  shall  be  restored  on  such  a  footing. 
But  this  question,  instead  of  being  a  party  question,  is  a  most 
remarkable  illustration  of  the  disorganised  state  of  parties,  and 
of  the  consequent  impotency  of  the  House  of  Commons  to 
express  a  practical  opinion  with  respect  to  the  foreign  policy  of 
the  country.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  only  resource  left 
to  me  is  the  undisguised  expression  of  the  opinions  which  I 
strongly  and  conscientiously  (perhaps  erroneously)  feel  after  the 
study  of  these  papers.  I  have  had  the  privilege  of  expressing 
these  opinions  freely  and  strongly — a  privilege  which  I  would  not 
have  waived  on  any  account  when  I  consider  the  bearing  of  the 
case  with  respect  to  the  American  alliance,  which  I  so  highly 
prize ;  or  with  respect  to  that  which  I  still  more  highly  prize 
and  more  dearly  love — the  honour  and  fair  fame  of  my  country.' 


20G  WILLIAM    EWAHT    GLADSTONE. 

Although  no  stronger  indictment  than  Mr.  Gladstone's  was 
framed  against  the  Ministry,  from  fear  of  causing  serious 
embarrassment  in  the  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the  country,  he 
voted  against  the  resolution,  which  was  negatived  by  274  to  80. 

The  year  1857  was  one  of  unusual  political  activity  and 
excitement.  Animated  debates  took  place  upon  the  foreign 
policy  of  the  Government,  with  what  result  we  shall  presently 
see.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  during  the  debate  on  the 
Address,  the  course  of  the  Ministry  was  subjected  to  severe 
criticism  by  Mr.  Disraeli,  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
having  made  a  statement  with  respect  to  his  financial  measures, 
without  replying  to  the  strictures  of  the  right  hon.  gentleman, 
Mr.  Gladstone  rose  to  take  up  the  thread  of  the  debate.  He 
expressed  his  surprise  that  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  should 
not  have  replied  to  the  allegations  of  Mr.  Disraeli,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  foreign  policy  of  the  Government,  as  these  charges 
were  definite  enough,  and,  if  correct,  bore  materially  upon  the 
advice  given  to  the  Crown  by  its  Ministers.  There  was  no  pro- 
mise in  the  Eoyal  Speech  of  information  on  the  question  which 
arose  respecting  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  the  settlement  of  the  Cen- 
tral American  dispute,  and  the  Persian  war.  He  should  have 
been  glad  if  the  unhappy  events  in  China  had  been  noticed  in  a 
different  manner,  and  with  regard  to  Persia,  he  desired  to  know 
upon  whose  authority  that  war  had  been  waged,  whether  the 
expedition  and  its  policy  had  been  approved  by  the  Court  or 
Directors  of  the  East  India  Company,  or  whether  that  body  was 
only  the  nominal  authority.  He  likewise  asked  at  whose  charge 
the  war  was  to  be  carried  on.  He  held  that  if  this  country  was 
to  bear  part  of  the  charge,  Parliament  ought  to  have  been  called 
together  earlier.  Dealing  with  domestic  questions,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone protested  against  the  paragraph  relating  to  the  Bank 
of  England  being  understood  to  import  any  foregone  conclu- 
sion as  to  the  precise  terms  of  the  renewal  of  the  Act  of 
1844,  considering  it  to  be  completely  open  to  Parliament  to 
determine  if  that  Act  were  not  capable  of  improvement.  With 
regard  to  the  agitation  against  the  income-tax,  he  earnestly 
desired  to  bring  the  minds  of  the  people  of  this  country  to  a 
consideration  of  the  question  as  to  what  was  a  just  and  reason- 
able scale  of  expenditure.  If  the  9d.  tax  were  given  up  without 
an  equivalent  reduction  of  the  estimates,  there  must  either  be 
new  taxation  or  a  loan.  He  was  opposed  to  either  ;  he  felt  it  to 
be  his  bounden  duty  first  to  lay  hold  of  the  expenditure  and  to 
battle  with  the  estimates.  He  knew  nothing  of  an  alleged 
compact  between  parties  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1853. 
'  The  pled  gp  of  the  Government  was  given  in  1853,'  said  Mr, 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOEEIGN    POLICY.  207 

Gladstone,  'and  we  received  value  for  it.  It  referred  mainly  to 
something  that  was  to  take  place  in  1860.  Four  years  of 
the  seven  have  passed  away.  It  is  to  my  mind  reasonable  and 
just  that  the  right  hon.  gentleman  on  behalf  of  his  friends,  and 
that  every  man  on  his  own  behalf  and  on  behalf  of  his  consti- 
tuents, should  acknowledge  the  duty  of  the  House  of  Commons 
to  say  now,  in  1857,  whether  the  pledges  of  1853  are  or  are 
not  to  be  fulfilled.'  The  speaker  deprecated  the  inquiries  about 
a  uniform  and  a  varying  rate.  It  was  a  question  between  the 
air  and  the  clouds — had  never  become  practical.  There  were, 
however,  practical  matters  before  them.  i  As  far  as  my  duty  is 
concerned,'  he  continued,  '  it  will  be  my  effort  and  labour  to 
secure  a  fulfilment  of  the  pledges  given  in  1853.  I  understood 
those  pledges  as  the  right  hon.  gentleman  understands  them.  I 
have  not  forgotten  them.  I  never  can  forget  to  the  latest  day 
of  my  life,  and  I  shall  always  remember  with  gratitude,  the 
conduct  of  the  House  of  Commons  at  the  period  when  these 
measures  were  adopted,  and  the  generosity  of  the  sentiments 
which  they  evinced.  I  must  endeavour  to  answer  that  conduct, 
at  least  so  far  as  depends  on  me ;  and  I  shall  endeavour  to  answer 
that  conduct  by  striving  to  bring  the  expenditure  of  the  country 
and  its  fiscal  arrangements  into  such  a  shape  as  will  allow  the 
extinction  of  the  income-tax  in  I860.' 

The  Address  was  eventually  agreed  to.  The  budget,  however, 
was  looked  forward  to  with  great  interest,  and  on  the  13th  of 
February  it  was  introduced  by  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis.  It  proposed  to 
fix  the  income-tax,  for  the  next  three  years,  at  7d.,  as  originally 
done  by  Sir  Robert  Peel.  The  Exchequer  would  in  consequence 
receive  twenty-one  instead  of  twenty  millions.  The  total 
revenue  was  estimated  at  £66,365,000,  leaving  a  surplus  over 
expenditure  of  £891,000.  •  The  total  amount  of  taxes  remitted 
was  £11,971,000.  By  the  Chancellor's  calculations  the  entire 
debt  of  £40,000,000.  arising  out  of  the  Crimean  War,  would 
be  extinguished  in  twenty  years.  Mr.  Gladstone  asked  for 
time  in  which,  to  consider  this  comprehensive  scheme.  On  the 
20th  Mr.  Disraeli  inaugurated  a  two  nights'  debate,  by  moving, 
'  That  it  would  be  expedient,  before  sanctioning  the  financial 
arrangements  for  the  ensuing  year,  to  adjust  the  estimated 
income  and  expenditure  in  a  manner  which  shall  appear  best 
calculated  to  secure  the  country  against  the  risk  of  a  deficiency  in 
the  years  1858-9  and  1859-60,  and  to  provide  for  such  a  balance 
of  revenue  and  charge  respectively  in  the  year  1860  as  may  place 
it  in  the  power  of  Parliament  at  that  period,  without  embarrass- 
ment to  the  finances,  altogether  to  remit  the  income-tax.'  Mr. 
Disraeli  disclaim"'!  ;:11  i.K>a  of  proposing  any  measure  hostile  to 


208  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

public  credit,  or  a  vote  of  want  of  confidence  in  the  Government. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  replied  that  there  was  no  pro- 
bability of  any  deficiency  or  of  an  impediment  to  the  remission 
of  the  income-tax  in  1860.  He  considered  Mr.  Disraeli's  resolu- 
tion uncalled  for,  and  it  would  lead  to  no  practical  result. 

Mr.  Gladstone  now  delivered  his  general  criticisms  upon  the 
budget.  No  man,  he  affirmed,  was  more  deeply  interested  in 
the  scheme  than  himself,  for  it  concerned  a  plan  in  every  part 
contradictory  to  that  which  he  had  proposed,  and  which  had 
been  adopted  by  the  present  House  of  Commons.  Successive 
Administrations  had  aimed  at  the  consolidation  and  simplifica- 
tion of  the  financial  laws,  but  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
had  condemned  the  labours  of  Parliament  for  the  last  fifteen 
years.  The  income-tax,  though  grievous  and  inquisitorial,  had 
been  introduced  to  purchase  blessings  to  be  wrought  out  for  the 
mass  of  the  people  through  its  instrumentality.  But  with 
what  beneficial  changes  was  it  proposed  now  to  associate  this 
tax  ?  There  was  an  idea  that  this  year  there  would  be  a  remis- 
sion of  taxation  to  the  extent  of  £11,970.000;  but  omitting 
war  taxes  to  the  amount  of  £4,470,000 — with  the  cessation  of 
which  the  Government  could  not  be  credited — the  remission  of 
the  income-tax  in  1857-58  would  be  only  £4,600,000.  Against 
this  sum  was  to  be  set  £1,400,000,  to  be  laid  upon  tea  and 
sugar;  so  that  the  real  amount  of  taxes  remitted  in  1857-58 
would  be  only  a  little  over  £3,000,000  ;  nor  was  he  satisfied  that 
the  supposed  surplus  of  £891,000  would  be  bonafide  applicable. 
Mr.  Gladstone  again  insisted  upon  the  obligation  of  Parliament 
to  adhere  to  the  stipulation  entered  into  with  the  country 
respecting  the  income-tax ;  and  then  proceeded  to  indicate  what 
he  considered  to  be  serious  flaws  in  the  budget.  Its  first  grave 
and  main  defect  was  that  it  was  based  upon  an  excessive  expendi- 
ture, and  at  the  proper  time  he  should  move  that  the  estimates 
of  expenditure  be  revised  and  further  reduced.  Six  millions  had 
been  added  to  the  expenditure  of  the  country  in  four  years,  quite 
apart  from  the  war — a  fact  which  suggested  most  serious  reflec- 
tions. The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  saying  that  he  could 
not  estimate  the  expenditure  of  a  future  year,  though  he  could 
estimate  the  revenue,  had  trifled  with  the  House,  and  treated 
them  like  children.  'Yet  he  had  taken  the  expenditure  of 
1853-54  as  that  of  1858-59,  which,'  for  reasons  stated  by  Mr. 
Gladstone,  '  he  treated  as  a  pure  delusion,  calculating  that  the 
expenditure  of  the  latter  year  would  exceed  that  of  1857-58,  and 
that  the  real  wants  of  the  public  service  were  likely  to  increase. 
The  prospect  for  next  year,  taking  the  income  and  expenditure 
of  the  present,  appeared  to  him  to  be  that  there  would  be  a 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    POLICY.  209 

revenue,  after  deductions,  of  £61,065,000,  to  meet  an  expenditure 
of  £66,724,000,  leaving  a  deficiency  of  more  than  £5,600,000, 
which  in  1860  would  have  augmented  to  £8,600,000.  The  right 
hon.  gentleman  next  censured  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's 
views  upon  indirect  taxation,  and  said  that  the  amount  of  taxes 
remitted  from  1842  to  1854  amounted  to  £21,985,000— or, 
deducting  taxes  imposed,  to  £14,485,000,  which  added  to  the 
comforts  or  deducted  from  the  privations  of  the  country ;  and 
the  increase  in  the  revenue  had  covered  the  whole  amount  of  the 
remissions.  *  In  Sir  Robert  Peel's  time,'  said  Mr.  Gladstone, 
you  were  called  upon  to  remit  £1,400,000  of  indirect  taxes, 
now  you  are  called  on  to  impose  indirect  taxes  to  that  amount ; 
then  you  were  called  on  to  fill  up  a  deficiency  at  your  own 
cost,  now  you  are  called  on  to  create  a  deficiency  at  the  cost  of 
others ;  you  were  then  called  upon  to  take  a  burden  on  your- 
selves to  relieve  the  great  mass  of  your  fellow  countrymen,  now 
you  are  called  upon  to  take  a  burden  off  the  shoulders  of  the 
wealthier  classes  in  order  that  you  may  impose  indirect  taxes 
upon  the  tea  and  sugar  which  are  consumed  by  every  labouring 
family  in  the  country.  I  can  only  say  that,  for  my  own 
part,  I  entertain  on  this  subject  a  most  decided  opinion, 
and  nothing  shall  induce  me  to  refrain  from  giving  every 
constitutional  opposition  in  my  power  to  such  a  proposition. 
Before  the  Speaker  leaves  the  chair,  if  health  and  strength  be 
spared  me,  I  shall  invite  the  House  to  declare  that,  whatever 
taxes  we  remove,  we  will  not  impose  more  duties  upon  the  tea 
and  sugar  of  the  working  man.  When  we  are  in  committee 
there  will  be  no  other  opportunities  of  renewing  this  protest. 
These  things,  if  they  are  to  be  done,  shall  at  least  not  be  done  in 
a  corner.  The  light  of  day  shall  be  let  in  upon  them,  and  their 
meaning  and  consequences  shall  be  well  understood.'  The 
speaker  complained  strongly  of  the  enormous  deficiency  created 
by  the  proposal  of  the  Government,  and  expressed  his  belief  that 
by  a  wise  economy  it  was  practicable  to  relieve  taxation,  to 
reduce  expenditure,  and  to  maintain  a  surplus  revenue.  '  No 
consideration  upon  earth, '  he  said,  in  conclusion,  '  would  induce 
me  by  voice  or  by  vote  to  be  a  party  to  a  financial  plan  with 
regard  to  which  I  feel  that  it  undermines  the  policy  which  has 
guided  the  course  of  every  great  and  patriotic  Minister  in  this 
country,  and  which  is  intimately  associated,  not  only  with  the 
credit  and  the  honour,  but  even  with  the  safety  of  the  country.' 

When  the  House  divided  on  Mr.  Disraeli's  resolution,  the  num- 
bers were — Ayes,  206 ;  Noes,  286.  It  was  therefore  lost  by  a 
majority  of  eighty. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  intro- 

P 


210  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

duced  an  amended  scale  for  the  tea  duty ;  but  at  the  same 
time  recapitulated  and  defended  the  principles  of  his  financial 
policy.  He  moved  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  the  duty 
on  tea  should  be,  after  the  5th  of  April,  1857,  to  the  5th 
of  April,  1858,  Is,.  5d.  per  Ib.  Mr.  Gladstone,  fulfilling 
his  pledge  to  oppose  the  scheme,  moved  as  an  amendment 
that  the  duty  be,  after  the  5th  of  April,  1857,  Is.  3d.  per  Ib., 
and  after  the  5th  of  April,  1858,  Is.  per  Ib.  He  still  held  that 
the  spirit  of  the  proposals  of  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis  was  adverse  to 
the  principles  on  which  the  operations  of  the  last  fifteen  years 
had  been  conducted.  The  main  object  of  all  those  operations 
had  been — quite  apart  from  questions  of  prohibition  and  pro- 
tection— to  afford  an  extended,  a  judicious,  and  a  permanent 
relief  to  the  consumers  of  those  great  commodities  imported 
from  abroad  which  were  essentially  connected  with  the  comforts 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  population.  He  regretted  that  the 
plans  of  her  Majesty's  Government  during  the  present  year,  for 
the  first  time,  made  an  attack  on  that  long  established  prin- 
ciple. The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's  scheme  would  go 
to  the  country  with  a  deficiency  of  Ways  and  Means,  unless 
the  expenditure  were  reduced.  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis  had  speculated 
upon  a  surplus  revenue  of  £800,000 ;  but  the  alteration  of  two- 
pence in  the  pound  in  the  proposed  tea  duties  would  reduce 
the  nominal  surplus  by  about  £500,000.  Yet  he  had  "not  pro- 
vided for  the  expenses  of  the  wars  with  China  and  Persia  after 
the  5th  of  April,  and  these,  swollen  by  other  items,  Avould 
leave  no  surplus  income  whatever.  He  condemned  the  continu- 
ance of  the  war  duties  in  time  of  peace,  and  also  the  manner  in 
which  the  tea  trade  had  been  dealt  with  in  connection  with  these 
war  duties.  If  he  were  an  advocate  for  an  extended  and  organic 
reform  in  the  Parliamentary  representation  of  the  people,  he  could 
not  desire  a  better  case  than  the  one  with  which  the  Government 
furnished  him  by  their  financial  policy.  They  were  undoing  the 
beneficial  work  of  former  Parliaments,  and  adding  to  the  burdens 
which  were  leviable  by  law  upon  the  tea  and  sugar  of  the  people. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  reply,  said  that  Mr. 
Gladstone  had  represented  the  budget  unfairly  as  one  of 
increased  taxation,  and  that  if  he  had  been  called  upon  to  prepare 
a  scheme  upon  the  principles  recommended  by  the  right  hon. 
gentleman,  he  should  be  utterly  at  a  loss  how  to  set  about  it. 
In  the  end  Mr.  Gladstone's  amendment  was  negatived  by  187 
to  125.  A  few  days  later,  Mr.  Gladstone  again  referred  to  the 
increased  public  expenditure.  In  the  discussion  on  the  second 
reading  of  the  Income  Tax  Bill,  he  expressed  his  conviction  that 
there  was  a  very  material  connection  between  the  foreign  policy 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    POLICY.  211 

of  her  Majesty's  Government  and  the  excessive  taxation  and 
high  expenditure  of  the  country.  He  believed  it  still  prac- 
ticable to  bring  the  income-tax  to  a  close,  but  if  they  really 
did  so,  it  must  be  by  adopting  new  rules  of  proceeding.  The 
moment  at  which  it  might  be  practicable  to  bring  the  tax  to 
a  termination  was  rapidly  passing  away,  and  unless  they  bestirred 
themselves,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years  it  would  be  much 
too  late,  and  a  sheer  waste  of  time  to  entertain  that  question,- 
seeing  that  the  relation  between  the  demands  of  the  public  service 
and  every  provision  for  meeting  them,  independently  of  the 
income-tax,  would  leave  no  room  for  maintaining  the  public 
credit  and  satisfying  the  wants  of  the  country,  except  through 
the  means  which  that  tax  provided. 

On  the  bringing  up  of  the  report  of  the  committee  of  supply 
(Navy  Estimates),  Mr.  Gladstone  for  the  third  time  drew  atten- 
tion to  this  subject,  and  moved  a  resolution,  to  the  effect  that  in 
order  to  secure  to  the  country  that  relief  from  taxation  which  it 
justly  expected,  it  was  necessary,  in  the  judgment  of  the  House, 
to  revise  and  further  reduce  the  expenditure  of  the  State.  He 
based  his  motion  upon  two  grounds — first,  that  there  did  not 
appear  to  be  an  adequate  provision  for  the  exigencies  of  the  year ; 
and,  secondly,  that  the  expenditure  of  the  country  had  not  of  late 
been  kept  under  due  control,  but  had  increased  to  a  point  which 
had  become  embarrassing,  and  which  threatened  to  become  even 
alarming.  Comparing  in  detail  the  present  estimates  with  those 
of  preceding  years,  he  found  that  the  military  estimates  had  in 
five  years  gone  up  from  £16,012,000  to  £20,517,000.  The  civil 
charges  required  closely  watching,  and  the  Executive  Govern- 
ment ought  to  be  among  the  first  and  most  effectual  checks  for 
restraining  the  spirit  of  laxity  in  regard  to  the  administration 
of  the  public  money.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  while 
admitting  that  there  was  much  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  speech  to 
deserve  consideration,  observed  that  he  anticipated  no  deficiency 
in  the  ensuing  year.  The  estimates,  though  large,  were  not 
extravagant,  and  the  Government  had  done  all  in  their  power  to 
reduce  them.  Mr.  Gladstone  did  not  divide  the  House  upon 
his  amendment,  and  the  Ministerial  proposals  passed. 

When  the  Divorce  Bill  was  warmly  contested  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  Mr.  Gladstone  made  an  earnest  and  impassioned 
speech  against  the  measure,  eloquently  contending  for  the 
equality  of  woman  with  man  in  all  the  rights  pertaining  to 
marriage.  He  dealt  with  the  question  on  theological,  legal,  and 
social  grounds.  After  a  prolonged  contest,  nevertheless,  the 
bill  eventually  became  law. 

The  Palmerston  Government  suffered  a  severe  check  during 

P2 


212  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

this  session  by  a  hostile  vote  in  connection  with  its  Chinese 
policy.  It  seems  that  a  lorcha  called  the  Arrow,  showing 
British  colours,  had  been  seized  by  the  Chinese.  The  question 
arose  as  to  the  right  of  the  vessel  to  the  protection  of  the  British 
flag.  It  was  alleged  by  the  opponents  of  the  Government 
that  a  vessel  built  in  China,  captured  by  pirates,  and 
recaptured  by  Chinese,  and  afterwards  manned,  owned,  and 
bought  by  Chinese,  could  have  no  claim  upon  us.  Moreover,  Sir 
John  Bowling  had  stated  that  the  licence  to  carry  the  English 
flag  had  expired  some  time  before.  Lord  Derby,  who  moved  a 
resolution  in  the  House  of  Lords  condemning  the  Grovernment, 
affirmed  that  the  quarrel  had  arisen  entirely  from  Sir  John 
Bowring's  absorbing  desire  to  bring  about  his  own  official  reception 
in  Canton.  The  Upper  House  supported  the  Ministry  by  a  majority 
of  36,  but  in  the  House  of  Commons  the  debate  closed  with  an 
opposite  result.  Mr.  Cobden  introduced  the  subject  by  moving 
the  following  resolution : — '  That  this  House  has  heard  with 
concern  of  the  conflicts  which  have  occurred  between  the  British 
and  Chinese  authorities  in  the  Canton  Kiver ;  and,  without 
expressing  an  opinion  as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  Government 
of  China  may  have  afforded  this  country  cause  of  complaint 
respecting  the  non-fulfilment  of  the  Treaty  of  1842,  this  House 
considers  that  the  papers  which  have  been  laid  upon  the  table  fail 
to  establish  satisfactory  grounds  for  the  violent  measures  resorted 
to  at  Canton  in  the  late  affair  of  the  Arrow ;  and  that  a  select 
committee  be  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  our  com- 
mercial relations  with  China.'  In  closing  an  able  speech  in 
support  of  his  resolution,  Mr.  Cobden  maintained  that  Sir  John 
Bowring  had  not  only  violated  the  principles  of  international 
law,  but  had  acted  contrary  to  his  instructions,  and  even  to  express 
directions  from  his  Government,  and  he  was  afraid  lest  this  petty 
squabble  should  lead  to  complications  with  other  nations.  The 
debate  extended  over  four  nights,  and  included  speeches  by  Lord 
J.  Russell,  Mr.  Lowe,  Sir  J.  Graham,  Sir  J.  Pakington,  Sir  F. 
Thesiger,  the  Attorney  General,  Mr.  Roundell  Palmer,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, Lord  Palmerston,  and  Mr.  Disraeli.  As  an  exhibition  of 
debating  power,  the  discussion  attained  a  very  high  level  of 
Parliamentary  oratory. 

In  commencing  his  speech,  Mr.  Gladstone  protested  against 
making  Sir  John  Bowring  a  stalking-horse  to  divert  the  attention 
of  the  House  from  the  real  matters  that  were  in  issue. 
Though  Sir  John  Bowring's  conduct  was  involved  in  the  dis- 
cussions, they  were  not  trying  him  judicially.  It  was  their 
duty  to  be  fair,  just,  and  equitable  towards  him,  but  their 
prime  and  paramount  duty  was  to  consider  the  interests  of 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    POLICY.  213 

humanity  and  the  honour  of  Engand.  He  regretted  that,  from 
motives  which  he  did  not  doubt  were  nothing  more  than  an  excess 
of  zeal  for  the  public  service,  Sir  John  Bowring  had  been  led  into 
proceedings  in  themselves  unwarrantable.  Yet  his  policy  was  not 
unknown  to  her  Majesty's  Government,  nor  by  them  disapproved. 
Mr.  Gladstone,  with  great  warmth,  defended  Sir  James  Graham 
from  the  attack  made  upon  him  by  Sir  George  Grey  in  relation 
to  the  appointment  of  Sir  John  Bowring.  Coming  to  the  general 
question,  he  denied  that  we  had  festering  wrongs  against  the 
Chinese ;  and  he  reminded  the  House  that  no  answer  had  been 
given  to  the  objection  that,  if  a  wrong  had  been  committed  by 
the  Chinese  in  the  case  of  the  Arroiv,  the  proper  remedy  was  by 
reprisals.  Replying  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Attorney-General, 
that  the  term  '  British  Subjects  '  in  the  treaty  meant  any  Chinese 
resident  at  Hong  Kong,  Mr.  Gladstone  asked,  When  we  talked  of 
treaty  obligations  by  the  Chinese,  what  were  our  treaty  obliga- 
tions towards  them  ?  Hong  Kong  was  given  to  us  to.  be  a  port  in 
which  British  ships  might  careen  and  refit.  He  demanded 
whether  our  contraband  trade  in  opium  was  not  a  breach  of  treaty 
obligations.  Had  our  Government  struggled  to  put  it  down,  as 
bound  by  treaty  ?  Had  they  not  encouraged  it  by  organising  a 
fleet  of  lorchas  under  the  British  flag  ?  They  who  put  the  British 
flag  to  the  uses  to  which  it  had  been  put  stained  that  flag.  The 
right  hon.  gentleman  then  dwelt  upon  the  calamities  which  the 
war  had  inflicted  upon  the  Cantonese,  and  observed  that  the  reso- 
lution of  Parliament  invited  the  wisdom  of  members  to  put  an 
end  to  them.  He  demanded  the  reasons  why  we  were  at  wai 
with  the  Chinese.  Were  we  afraid  of  the  moral  effects  upon  the 
Chinese  if  the  acts  of  the  Government  were  disavowed  ?  He 
implored  the  House  to  consider  the  moral  impressions  which  must 
be  produced,  and  never  could  be  avoided.  Mr.  Gladstone  con- 
cluded as  follows : — 

1  Every  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  is  proudly  conscious  that  he  belongs 
to  an  assembly  which  in  its  collective  capacity  is  the  paramount  power  of  the  State. 
But  if  it  is  the  paramount  power  of  the  State  it  can  never  separate  from  that  para- 
mount power  a  similar  and  paramount  responsibility.  The  vote  of  the  House  of 
Lords  will  not  acquit  us ;  the  sentence  of  the  Government  will  not  acquit  us.  It  is 
with  us  to  determine  whether  this  wrong  shall  remain  unchecked  and  uncorrected. 
And  at  a  time  when  sentiments  are  so  much  divided,  every  man,  I  trust,  will  give 
his  vote  with  the  recollection  and  the  consciousness  that  it  may  depend  upon  his 
single  vote  whether  the  miseries,  the  crimes,  the  atrocities  that  I  fear  are  now  pro- 
ceeding in  China  are  to  bo  discountenanced  or  not.  We  have  now  come  to  the 
crisis  of  the  case.  England  is  not  yet  committed.  With  you,  then,  with  us,  with 
every  one  of  us,  it  rests  to  show  that  this  House,  which  is  the  first,  the  most 
ancient,  and  the  noblest  temple  of  freedom  in  the  world,  is  also  the  temple  of  that 
everlasting  justice  without  which  freedom  itself  would  only  bo  a  name  or  only  a 
curse  to  mankind.  And  I  cherish  the  trust  and  belief  that  when  you,  Sir,  rise  to 
declare  in  your  place  to-night  the  numbers  of  tho  division  from  the  chair  which  yi  -u 
adorn,  the  words  which  you  speak  will  go  forth  from  the  walls  of  the  House  of 


21-1  WILLIAM    EWART  GLADSTONE. 

Commons  not  only  as  a  message  of  mercy  and  peace,  but  also  as  a  message  of  British 
justice  and  British  wisdom,  to  the  farthest  corners  of  the  world.' 

Lord  Palmerston  made  an  effective  reply,  in  which  he  reflected 
strongly  upon  the  combination  of  parties  confederated  together 
upon  this  question  against  the  Government.  He  also  reminded 
the  House  that  it  had  in  its  keeping  not  only  the  interests,  the 
property,  and  the  lives  of  many  of  our  fellow-countrymen,  but 
the  honour,  the  reputation,  and  the  character  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Disraeli — before  Mr.  Cobden  rose  to  close  the  debate  in  a 
brief  speech — accepted  the  construction  put  upon  the  motion 
that  it  was  a  vote  of  censure  on  the  Government.  Referring  to 
the  alarm  over  a  suggested  combination  manifested  by  Lord 
Palmerston,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  said  that  the  noble  lord 
was  the  very  archetype  of  political  combination  without  principle. 
If  Lord  Palmerston  complained  that  he  was  the  victim  of  a 
conspiracy,  let  him  appeal  to  the  country. 

Upon  a  division  being  taken  on  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Cobden's 
resolution,  the  numbers  were — For  the  resolution,  263  ;  against, 
247 — majority  against  the  Government,  16.  The  resignation  of 
the  Ministry  was  expected  by  the  Opposition,  though  the  Govern- 
ment was  confessedly  strong  in  the  country.  Counting  upon  this 
support,  Lord  Palmerston  stated  in  the  House  of  Commons  that 
although,  after  such  a  defeat,  resignation  was  the  usual  and 
proper  course  to  pursue,  he  did  not  believe  the  rule  applied  to 
the  present  case.  Recent  divisions  had  not  shown  a  want  of 
confidence  in  the  Government,  and  he  accordingly  felt  justified 
in  dissolving. 

The  Prime  Minister  had  not  misinterpreted  the  feelings  of  the 
nation  in  adopting  this  course.  The  Government  gained  a 
considerable  accession  of  strength  upon  their  appeal  to  the 
country  ;  and  amongst  the  prominent  Liberals  who  were 
defeated  at  the  elections  were  Mr.  Cobden,  Mr.  Bright,  Mr. 
Gibson,  Mr.  Fox,  and  Mr.  Layard.  The  Peelites  also  suffered 
considerably,  although  Mr.  Gladstone  was  fortunate  in  being 
returned  again  for  Oxford  University,  unopposed,  in  conjunction 
with  Sir  William  Heathcote.  Parliament  met  for  a  short  sitting 
in  December,  when  a  very  important  financial  question  came 
before  it.  A  monetary  panic  had  been  created  by  the  stoppage 
of  several  banks  in  the  United  States,  and  the  directors  of  the 
Bank  of  England  appealed,  in  consequence,  to  the  Ministers  of 
the  Crown  for  authority  to  increase  their  issue  of  notes,  and  so 
to  suspend  the  operation  of  the  Bank  Charter  Act  of  1844.  The 
Government  at  once  agreed  to  this,  and  brought  into  Parliament 
a  Bill  of  Indemnity.  Mr.  Gladstone,  while  not  opposing  the  bill, 
said  that  the  Act  of  1844  affected  the  question  of  issue  only, 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    fOLICY.  215 

leaving  that  of  banking  untouched,  and  he  thought  the  present 
was  a  fit  time  for  ascertaining  the  views  of  Parliament  upon  the 
subject.  *  Instead  of  directing  the  committee  to  go  round  again 
the  circle  of  inquiry  into  the  currency  and  the  law  of  issue,  it 
would  be  better  employed  in  investigating  the  commercial  causes 
of  the  late  panic,  and  how  far  they  were  connected  with  the  state 
of  banking.  The  effect  of  referring  a  heap  of  subjects  to  an  over- 
burdened committee  would  be  to  postpone  legislation,  and 
obstruct  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  recent  panic  and  the 
present  embarrassment.'  In  the  discussion  on  the  third  reading 
of  the  bill,  Mr.  Gladstone  reiterated  these  arguments,  affirming 
that  great  evils  arose  from  the  confusion  which  prevailed 
between  the  functions  of  currency  and  banking.  An  amendment 
by  Mr.  Disraeli  was  negatived  by  a  large  majority,  and  the  bill 
passed. 

On  the  re-assembling  of  Parliament  in  February,  Lord 
Palmerston  introduced  his  ill-fated  Conspiracy  to  Murder  Bill, 
a  measure  which  involved  the  downfall  of  the  Government.  The 
futile  attempt  made  by  Orsini  to  assassinate  the  Emperor  of  the 
French  had  evoked  in  this  country  a  good  deal  of  sympathy  for 
the  latter.  The  French  Imperialists,  however,  indulged  in 
virulent  attacks  upon  the  English  people,  who  were  charged 
with  allowing  foreign  refugees  to  concoct  and  mature  in  this 
country  plots  to  be  carried  into  execution  elsewhere.  It  was 
suggested  that  we  should  change  our  laws  to  meet  such  cases 
as  the  one  that  had  just  occurred  ;  but  this  suggestion  excited 
the  utmost  indignation  in  the  country.  Lord  Palmerston, 
nevertheless,  acknowledging  that  the  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs  at  Paris  had  urged  upon  the  English  Government 
the  necessity  of  taking  some  steps  in  the  matter,  introduced 
a  bill  to  amend  the  law  of  conspiracy  with  intent  to  murder. 
It  was  proposed  to  make  conspiracy  to  murder  a  felony 
punishable  with  penal  servitude  for  five  years,  and  to  make 
the  law  uniform  throughout  the  United  Kingdom.  The  Govern- 
ment carried  the  first  reading  of  the  bill  by  an  immense 
majority  ;  but  before  the  second  reading  came  on  a  feeling  had 
spread  throughout  the  country  that  the  Ministry  were  simply 
obeying  the  behests  of  the  French  Emperor  in  pushing  forward 
this  measure.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Milner  Gibson  moved  certain 
amendments  to  the  effect  '  That  this  House  hears  with  much 
concern  that  it  is  alleged  the  recent  attempts  upon  the  life  of 
the  Emperor  of  the  French  have  been  devised  in  England,  and 
expresses  its  detestation  of  such  guilty  enterprises :  that  this  House 
is  ready  at  all  times  to  assist  in  remedying  any  defects  in  the 
criminal  law  which,  after  due  investigation,  are  proved  to  exist : 


216  WILLIAM  £WART  GLADSTONE. 

and  that  this  House  cannot  but  regret  that  her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment, previously  to  inviting  the  House  to  amend  the  law  of  con- 
spiracy at  the  present  time,  have  not  felt  it  to  be  their  duty  to 
reply  to  the  important  despatch  received  from  the  French 
Government,  dated  Paris,  January  20,  1858,  which  has  been  laid 
before  Parliament.'  In  his  speech  in  moving  these  resolutions, 
Mr.  Gibson  quoted  the  following  passage  from  the  Times  :-• 
'  When  Lord  Palmerston  has  made  up  his  mind  to  court  the  good 
will  of  a  foreign  Power,  no  sacrifice  of  principle  or  of  interest  is 
too  great  for  him.  From  first  to  last  his  character  has  been  the 
want  of  a  firm  and  lofty  adherence  to  the  known  interests  of 
England ;  and  it  is  precisely  from  a  want  of  such  guiding 
laws  of  conduct  that  our  foreign  policy  has  degenerated  into 
a  tissue  of  caprices,  machinations,  petty  contentions,  and  ever- 
lasting disputes.'  Sir  Robert  Peel  said  that  a  bill  had  been 
submitted  to  Parliament  at  the  dictation  of  a  foreign  Govern- 
ment. M.  de  Morny  had  affirmed  that  England  was  a  lair  of 
savage  beasts  and  a  laboratory  of  assassins.  Sir  Robert  excited 
great  laughter  by  quoting  an  expression  used  towards  Louis 
Napoleon  by  one  of  his  flatterers,  who  thus  apostrophised  him  in 
the  course  of  an  address  he  was  presenting  : — 'Sire,  you  are 
too  fond  of  liberty  ! ' 

The  one  speech,  however,  during  this  debate  which  most 
deeply  impressed  the  House  was  that  delivered  by  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. Attaching  to  the  French  alliance  a  peculiar  and  special 
value,  he  was,  he  said,  anxious  to  maintain  that  alliance.  Since 
1856,  unfortunately,  there  had  been  quarrels  between  the  two 
Governments  which  had  weakened  the  position  of  England.  But 
— after  some  other  observations — he  demanded  whether  the 
French  despatch  had  been  answered,  and  whether  it  did  not 
require  an  answer.  Lord  Palmerston  had  stated  that  he  answered 
it  verbally,  but  of  all  explanations  that  was  the  most  unsatisfac- 
tory. It  was  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  to  thrust 
verbal  answers  upon  the  House,  and  called  for  notice.  The 
speaker  next  entered  into  an  examination  of  the  terms  of  Count 
Walewski's  despatch,  in  order  to  prove  that  they  were  unfounded 
and  injurious  to  England.  He  was  emphatically  of  opinion  that 
it  was  the  absolute  and  primary  duty  of  the  Government  to 
have  answered  these  charges,  and  to  have  explained  to  the 
French  Government  the  state  of  our  law.  Not  only  had  not 
this  been  done,  but  they  were  asked  to  pass  the  present  bill  as  an 
answer  to  Count  Walewski's  despatch.  Mr.  Gladstone  thus 
concluded  his  powerful  speech  : — 

'  If  there  is  any  feeling  in  this  House  for  the  honour  of  England,  don't  let  us  1:0 
led  away  by  some  vague  statement  about  the  necessity  of  reforming  the  criminal 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOEEIGN    POLICY.  217 

law.  Let  us  insist  upon  the  necessity  of  vindicating  that  law.  As  far  as  justice 
requires,  let  us  have  the  existing  law  vindicated,  and  then  let  us  proceed  to  amend 
it  if  it  be  found  necessary.  But  do  not  let  us  allow  it  to  lie  under  a  cloud  of  accusa- 
tions of  which  we  are  convinced  that  it  is  totally  innocent.  These  times  are  grave 
for  liberty.  We  live  in  the  nineteenth  century ;  we  talk  of  progress;  we  believe 
that  we  are  advancing,  but  can  any  man  of  observation  who  has  watched  the 
events  of  the  last  few  years  in  Europe  have  failed  to  perceive  that  there  is  a  move- 
ment indeed,  but  a  downward  and  backward  movement  ?  There  are  a  few  spots 
in  which  institutions  that  claim  our  sympathy  still  exist  and  flourish.  They  are 
secondary  places — nay,  they  are  almost  the  holes  and  corners  of  Europe  so  far  as 
mere  material  greatness  is  concerned,  although  their  moral  greatness  will,  I  trust, 
ensure  them  long  prosperity  and  happiness.  But  in  these  times  more  than  ever 
does  responsibility  centre  upon  the  institutions  of  England ;  and  if  it  does  centre 
upon  England,  upon  her  principles,  upon  her  laws,  and  upon  her  governors,  then  I 
say  that  a  measiye  passed  by  this  House  of  Commons — the  chief  hope  of  freedom — • 
which  attempts  to  establish  a  moral  complicity  between  us  and  those  who  seek 
safety  in  repressive  measures,  will  be  a  blow  and  a  discouragement  to  that  sacred 
cause  in  every  country  in  the  world.' 

After  speeches  from  the  Attorney-General  and  others*  Mr. 
Disraeli  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  real  question  now 
before  the  House  was  not  diplomatic  or  political,  but  one 
between  the  House  and  the  servants  of  the  Crown.  Lord 
Palmerston  then  rose  to  reply.  He  complained  that  Mr.  Milner 
Gibson  and  Mr.  Gladstone  had  departed  from  the  subject 
under  consideration,  and  had  entered  into  a  long  and  elaborate 
attack  upon  his  former  conduct  as  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs.  When  Mr.  Gibson  stood  forth  as  the 
champion  of  the  honour  of  England  and  the  vindicator 
of  the  rights  of  the  country  against  foreign  nations,  it  was 
the  first  time  in  his  life  that  he  (Lord  Palmerston)  had  seen 
him  in  that  character.  The  policy  which  he  had  invariably 
advocated  had  been  one  of  submission — of  crouching  to  every 
foreign  Power  with  which  we  had  any  differences  to  discuss. 
The  right  hon.  gentleman  belonged  to  a  small  party  who  said, 
4  What  care  we  if  this  country  should  be  conquered  by  a  foreign 
force  ?  If  we  were  conquered  by  a  foreign  Power,  they  would 
allow  us  to  work  our  mills.'  Lord  Palmerston  was  interrupted 
by  strong  exclamations  of  dissent  from  this  attack  upon  Mr. 
Gibson,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  general  question,  he 
implored  the  House  not  to  rush  headlong  into  a  course  which 
would  have  an  entirely  contrary  effect  to  the  policy  advocated 
by  Mr.  Gladstone. 

The  Government,  however,  were  defeated,  the  numbers  being 
— For  the  Ministerial  bill,  215  ;  against,  234 — majority,  19.  A 
scene  of  great  excitement  ensued  on  the  numbers  being 
announced,  the  cheering  of  the  majority  being  long  and 
vehement.  When  the  division  list  was  published  on  the 
following  day,  it  was  discovered  that  the  majority  was 
composed  of  146  Conservatives,  84  Liberals,  and  4  Peelites, 
viz.,  Mr.  Gladstone,  Mr.  Cardwell,  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert,  and 


218  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Sir  James  Graham.  Lord  Palmerston,  being  unable  further 
to  contend  against  the  adverse  circumstances  by  which  his 
Ministry  was  surrounded,  and  having  lost  the  confidence  of 
so  large  a  body  of  the  Liberal  party,  placed  his  resignation  in 
the  hands  of  her  Majesty.  Yet  though  the  Palmerston  Govern- 
ment had  thus  fallen,  there  was  little  hope  of  a  strong  Conserva- 
tive Government  being  formed,  or  one  which  could  hope  to 
retain  the  support  of  those  by  whose  aid  the  late  Ministry  had 
been  defeated.  The  Earl  of  Derby  was  sent  for,  and  agreed  to 
form  a  Ministry.  In  this  Ministry  Mr.  Disraeli  again  became 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  • 

In  the  same  session,  during  the  debate  on  the  Church  Rates 
Abolition  Bill,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  if  Church  rates  were  to 
be  abolished  it  should  be  done  in  a  manner  to  mitigate  as  much 
as  possible  the  pressure  of  the  change.  The  whole  tone  of  his 
speech  was  very  different  from  that  of  an  uncompromising 
defender  of  these  rates,  and  he  concluded  his  observations  as 
follows  : — '  If  it  were  not  that  I  am  actuated  by  the  desire  of 
dealing  in  a  spirit  of  fairness  towards  this  measure,  a.nd  did 
desire  to  secure  its  rejection,  I  should  say  leave  the  bill  as  it 
stands,  and  let  hon.  gentlemen  opposite  deal  as  they  can  with 
the  difficulties  in  which  they  would  be  involved  in  passing  it.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  opposed  to  the  legislation  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  connection  with  the  East  India  Company.  The  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  introduced  a  series  of  resolutions,  having 
for  their  object  the  abolition  of  the  governing  powers  of  the 
Company,  their  transference  to  the  Crown  and  the  home  Govern- 
ment, and  the  better  regulation  and  government  of  India 
generally.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  after  the  decision  of  the 
House  in  February  in  favour  of  terminating  the  existing  form 
of  government  in  India,  he  could  not  concur  that  resolutions 
were  the  best  form  of  proceeding.  There  was  considerable  feel- 
ing in  the  country  against  the  proposed  scheme,  and,  looking  at 
the  state  of  public  affairs,  he  protested  against  affirming  the 
motion  before  the  House.  In  neither  plan  could  he  see  the 
elements  of  a  good  scheme  ;  '  and  there  was  great  difficulty  in 
attempting  to  govern  by  one  people  another  people  separated  not 
only  by  distance,  but  by  blood  and  institutions.  The  Court  of 
Directors  had  been  practically  a  body  protective  of  the  people  of 
India,  and  there  ought  not  to  be  a  less  provision  for  that  object. 
He  looked  in  vain,  however,'  he  said,  '  in  either  plan  for  any  pro- 
tective power  that  could  be  compared  with  the  Court  of  Directors. 
There  should  be  a  protection  afforded  to  the  people  of  India 
against  the  ignorance,  error,  or  indiscretion  of  the  people  and 
Parliament  of  England.  There  had  grown  up  a  system  fraught 


DOMESTIC    AND    FOREIGN    POLICY.  210 

with  danger  to  the  Parliament  and  to  the  liberties  of  the  people 
of  England,  as  well  as  to  India,  by  the  undue  and  unconstitu- 
tional exercise  of  power  by  the  Executive  here,  through  the 
treasury  and  army  of  India,  by  which  wars  were  commenced 
without  the  knowledge  Or  consent  of  Parliament,  and  an  accumu- 
lation of  debt  was  cast  upon  India.'  There  was  no  limitation 
of  this  power,  or  worse  than  none,  in  either  plan,  and  therefore 
he  remonstrated  against  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's 
motion.  Some  progress  was  made  with  the  resolutions,  but  the 
Indian  legislation  of  the  Government  was  destined  to  be  arrested 
by  important  political  events. 

The  state  of  parties  this  session  was  a  most  anomalous  one. 
The  Derby  Government  existed  very  largely  upon  sufferance,  but 
that  sufferance  was  not  to  be  prolonged  for  any  length  of  time. 
Mr.  Gladstone,  however  (who  had  declined  the  post  of  Secretary 
for  the  Colonies,  offered  him  by  Lovd  Derby),  gave  on  more  than 
one  important  occasion  very  valuable  support  to  the  Ministry. 
The  Governor-General  of  India,  on  the  3rd  of  March,  issued  a 
proclamation  to  the  chiefs  and  people  of  Oude,  promising 
indulgence  to  those  who  came  forward  promptly  and  gave  to  the 
Chief  Commissioner  their  support  in  the  restoration  of  peace  and 
order.  Lord  Ellenborough,  President  of  the  Board  of  Control, 
forwarded  a  despatch  to  the  Governor-General  in  which  he 
strongly  condemned  his  proclamation.  In  consequence  of  these 
events,  Mr.  Cardwell  in  the  Commons,  and  Lord  Shaftesbury  in 
the  Lords,  brought  forward  motions  censuring  the  Government. 
The  latter  was  defeated,  but  the  resolution  in  the  Lower  House 
met  with  a  singular  fate.  New  papers  having  been  laid  before 
the  House  which  set  in  a  fresh  light  the  Ministerial  policy,  Mr. 
Cardwell  was  earnestly  pressed  by  many  of  his  own  friends  to 
withdraw  his  resolution.  Mr.  Gladstone  swelled  the  general  voice, 
and  said  that,  while  he  hoped  the  House  would  concur  in  the 
course  of  withdrawal  now  proposed  to  be  taken  by  Mr.  Cardwell, 
he  trusted  that  her  Majesty's  Government  would  not  refuse  to 
declare  that,  in  the  general  conduct  of  affairs  in  India  under 
circumstances  of  unparalleled  difficulty,  Lord  Canning  had 
deserved  and  would  receive  approbation.  This  '  fiasco,'  as  it  was 
described,  gave  Mr.  Disraeli  an  excellent  opportunity,  of  which 
he  was  not  slow  to  avail  himself,  to  banter  the  opponents  of  the 
Government.  This  he  did  at  Slough,  in  a  speech  full  of  wit  and 
powerful  sarcasm,  which  afterwards  became  the  subject  of  exciting 
debates  in  both  Houses. 

The  India  Bill,  No.  2,  having  been  withdrawn  by  Mr. 
Disraeli,  Mr.  Gladstone  endeavoured  to  prevent  a  revival 
of  legislation  upon  this  subject  in  the  session  of  1858  by 


220  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

moving,  on  the  7th  of  June,  the  following  resolution : — c  That, 
regard  being  had  to  the  position  of  affairs  in  India,  it  is 
expedient  to  constitute  the  Court  of  Directors  of  the  East  India 
Company  by  an  Act  of  the  present  session  to  be  a  Council  for 
administering  the  government  of  India  in  the  name  of  her 
Majesty,  under  the  superintendence  of  such  responsible  Minister, 
until  the  end  of  the  session  of  Parliament.'  He  justified  his 
proposal  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  practicable  during  that 
session  to  perfect  a  scheme  of  government  for  India  that  would 
be  worthy  of  Parliament  and  of  the  people.  The  problem  was 
one  of  the  most  formidable  ever  presented  to  any  nation  or  any 
legislature  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  the  evils  of  delay 
were  insignificant  in  comparison  with  those  of  crude  and  hasty 
legislation. 

Lord  Stanley  opposed  the  amendment,  and  after  a  long  discus- 
sion it  was  negatived  by  285  to  110.  After  having  carried  five  of 
their  resolutions,  the  Government  abandoned  this  mode  of 
procedure,  and  introduced  the  India  Bill,  No.  3.  The  House  had 
agreed  to  the  proposition  of  a  Council  for  India,  but  the  manner 
of  its  constitution  gave  rise  to  many  amendments.  Mr.  Bright 
delivered  an  important  speech,  in  which  he  developed  his  own 
ideas  upon  the  best  form  of  government  for  India.  If  he  were 
a  Minister,  he  said,  and  could  get  the  House  to  agree  with  him, 
he  would  have  five  Presidencies  in  India,  perfectly  equal, 
administered  from  Calcutta,  Madras,  Bombay,  Agra,  and  Lahore. 
Among  these  governments  there  would  be  a  generous  rivalry  for 
good,  instead  of  utter  stagnation;  evil  ambition  would  be 
checked,  and  there  would  be  no  governor  so  great  that  he  could 
not  be  controlled.  At  a  later  stage  of  the  bill  an  important 
amendment,  moved  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  v?as  carried,  providing  that 
*  except  for  repelling  actual  invasion,  or  under  other  sudden  and 
urgent  necessity,  her  Majesty's  forces  maintained  out  of  the 
revenue  of  India  shall  not  be  employed  in  any  military  opera- 
tion beyond  the  external  frontier  of  her  Majesty's  Indian 
possessions  without  the  consent  of  Parliament  to  the  purposes 
thereof.'  On  the  8th  of  July  the  India  Bill  passed  through  its 
final  stage  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  during  this  session  a  speech,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Danubian  Principalities,  which  bears  a  somewhat 
significant  relation  to  his  later  views  upon  the  Eastern  Question, 
and  is  therefore  worthy  of  some  attention.  He  brought  forward 
a  motion  to  the  effect,  that  an  address  be  presented  to  her 
Majesty,  to  submit  to  her  Majesty  that  that  House,  bearing  in 
mind  the  obligations  imposed  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  so  far  as 
they  affected  the  Danubian  Principalities,  had  observed  with 


DOMESTIC  AND  FOREIGN  POLICY.  221 

satisfaction  the  general  tenor  and  spirit  of  the  Declaration 
recorded  by  her  Majesty's  Chief  Plenipotentiary  at  the  Con- 
ferences of  1856,  concerning  the  future  organisation  of  those 
territories  ;  and  humbly  to  convey  to  her  Majesty  the  earnest 
hope  of  the  House  that  in  the  further  prosecution  of  that  impor- 
tant subject  just  weight  might  be  given  to  those  wishes  of  the 
people  of  Wallachia  and  of  Moldavia  which,  through  their 
representatives,  elected  in  conformity  with  the  said  treaty,  they 
had  recently  expressed.  Mr.  Gladstone  disclaimed  all  idea  of 
dictating  a  policy  to  the  Executive  Government,  but  he  was 
extremely  anxious  to  recognise  communications  made  to  the 
House  in  the  most  formal  manner  by  the  Executive  Government, 
in  a  matter  deeply  affecting  the  happiness  of  millions  of  our 
fellow-creatures.  In  adducing  reasons  for  the  support  of  his 
motion,  he  placed  first  the  wish  and  ardent  desire  of  almost  the 
entire  population  of  the  Principalities  for  this  union,  which  had 
been  sanctioned  by  the  Suzerain  Power  in  1834  in  a  public 
and  authoritative  document.  There  were  but  three  Powers 
represented  at  Paris  to  whose  opinion  upon  this  question  any 
great  moral  weight  was  attached,  viz.,  France,  England,  and  Sar- 
dinia, whose  judgment  was  sure  to  carry  with  it  the  mass  of 
European  opinion;  and  a  solemn  pledge  was  given  by  their 
Plenipotentiaries,  afterwards  embodied  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris, 
that  the  question  should  be  referred  to  the  judgment  of  the 
people  of  the  Principalities.  The  result  of  the  appeals  b}  the 
Divans,  ad  hoc,  to  the  people  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  had 
been  almost  unanimous  in  favour  of  the  union.  All  the  inhabi- 
tants felt  that  if  they  hoped  to  be  free,  and  wished  to  keep  the 
soil  of  their  country  unpolluted  by  the  heel  of  the  stranger,  it 
could  only  be  by  the  union  of  the  Principalities.  After  having 
consulted  the  people  through  their  representatives,  and  asking 
them  what  was  their  prayer,  it  was  absurd  to  refer  the  whole 
question  to  the  disposal  of  five  or  six  commissioners.  He 
admitted  that  the  provinces  asked  something  more  than  union, 
viz.,  that  when  they  were  united  they  should,  in  order  to  avoid 
local  jealousies,  have  a  prince  or  chief,  taken  from  a  foreign 
family.  England  had  given  no  pledge  on  this  matter,  and  the 
great  Powers  of  Europe  reserved  their  decision  upon  it.  But  the 
one  great  object  was  union,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  said  he  should 
assume  that  the  desirability  of  this  was  admitted,  as  bringing 
about  the  well-being  of  the  provinces.  He  also  observed  that  the 
feeling  in  the  Principalities  was  favourable  to  Turkey,  and  the 
reason  why  it  was  favourable  was  not  that  the  people  were  in- 
clined to  the  creed  or  traditions  of  Turkey,  but  that  the  relation 
between  these  countries  and  Turkey  was  one  founded  upon  a 


222  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE). 

liberal  basis,  and  that  there  had  been  thus  far  no  sensible  collision 
of  interests  between  them.  Let  the  union  not  take  place,  and  the 
Principalities  would  be  a  constant  source  of  anxiety  to  European 
policy ;  if  it  were  consummated,  a  living  barrier  would  be  inter- 
posed betwen  Russia  and  Turkey.  Nor  could  the  union  have 
the  slightest  injurious  effect  on  the  Ottoman  Empire,  which  had 
never  possessed  the  sovereignty  of  the  Principalities.  '  It  would 
have  been  better,'  said  the  right  hon.  gentleman  in  concluding, 
4  to  have  said  nothing  about  the  Principalities,  to  have  given  no 
promises,  to  have  announced  no  policy,  if,  after  stimulating  the 
feeling  for  the  union  up  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  holding  it  out 
by  public  authority  at  Paris  as  the  one  thing  which,  above  all 
other  things,  was  necessary  for  'the  welfare  and  prosperity  of 
those  countries,  we  are  now  to  reverse  that  policy.  I  must,  really 
say  that  if  it  were  our  desire  to  embroil  the  East,  to  sow  the 
seeds  and  create  the  elements  of  permanent  difficulty  and  dis- 
union, to  aggravate  every  danger  which  threatens  Turkey,  to 
pave  the  way  for  Russia  '  and  to  prepare  willing  auxiliaries  for 
Russia  in  her  projects  southwards,  we  could  not  attain  those 
objects  "by  any  scheme  better  laid  down  than  that  of  abandoning 
our  pledges  and  promises  and  giving  in  to  the  Austrian  policy.' 

That  there  was  a  generous  and  statesmanlike  breadth  in 
this  view  was  not  denied,  but  it  was  objected  by  the  Grovern- 
ment  that  the  effect  of  the  motion  would  be  to  dismember 
the  Turkish  Empire.  The  union  of  the  provinces  under  a 
foreign  prince  would  make  them  practically  independent  of 
the  Porte,  and  this  was  in  direct  contravention  of  the  Treaty 
of  Paris.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  said  that  he  could 
not  conceive  a  step  that  would  be  more  embarrassing  to  the 
Grovernment  at  that  moment  than  the  adoption  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's motion.  This  was  negatived  by  292  votes  to  114. 

Mr.  Disraeli's  budget  scheme  for  T858  excited  but  a  languid 
interest  in  his  most  formidable  opponent,  though  its  author  in 
framing  it  was  beset  with  unusual  difficulties.  There  was  an 
increased  public  expenditure,  while  the  commercial  embarrass- 
ments of  the  preceding  six  months  had  lessened  the  revenue. 
Under  these  and  other  depressing  financial  circumstances,  Mr. 
Disraeli's  statement  was  looked  forward  to  with  no  little 
trepidation  by  his  own  supporters.  The  principal  features  of  the 
budget  were  an  operation  upon  the  Exchequer  bonds,  the 
equalisation  of  the  spirit  duties,  and  the  introduction  of  a  tax 
on  bankers'  cheques.  From  the  equalisation  of  the  spirit  duties 
it  was  hoped  to  obtain  an  additional  £500,000,  and  by  the 
stamp  on  bankers'  cheques  a  sum  of  £300,000.  There  was  a 
deficit  of  £3,990,000 ;  and  the  Chancellor  proposed  to  postpone 


DOMESTIC   AND   FOREIGN    POLICY.  223 

the  engagement  to  pay  off  £2,000,000  of  Exchequer  bonds,  and 
£1,500,000  of  the  war  sinking  fund.  By  these  means,  and 
with  the  additional  sums  from  the  spirit  duties  and  the  tax  on 
bankers'  cheques,  the  deficit  would  be  entirely  met,  and  there 
would  be  a  surplus  revenue.  Mr.  Disraeli  added  that  he 
hoped  it  would  still  be  possible  to  carry  into  effect  in  the 
year  anticipated  the  *  wise  arrangements '  of  Mr.  Gladstone  for 
the  extinction  of  the  income-tax. 

In  the  debate  on  the  first  resolution  put  from  the  chair,  Mr. 
Gladstone  expressed  his  satisfaction  that  the  feeling  of  the 
committee  was  favourable  to  the  spirit  of  the  proposals  of  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  He  thanked  the  latter  for  the 
course  he  had  taken  with  respect  to  the  equalisation  of  the  spirit 
duties.  It  would  be  unreasonable  to  make  large  demands  upon 
the  Government  in  the  way  of  many  beneficial  changes  in  the 
commercial  system  which  were  yet  necessary ;  it  was  but  fair 
also  that  the  Government  should  have  the  leisure  of  a  recess, 
in  order  to  enable  it  to  deal  satisfactorily  with  the  reduction  of 
expenditure.  Yet  he  did  trust  there  was  a  prospect  of  keeping 
down  the  scale  of  the  national  expenditure  to  such  dimensions 
as  would  give  a  practical  character  to  their  expectations,  and 
enable  them  to  cherish  the  reasonable  hope  of  being  able  to 
confer  upon  the  country,  at  an  early  date,  an  actual  and 
positive  realisation  of  its  wishes.  The  budget,  which  was 
approved  by  the  country  generally,  was  safe  from  any  serious 
attack  after  the  conciliatory  speech  of  Mr.  Gladstone. 

In  the  autumn  of  1858  Mr.  Gladstone  accepted  from  the  Earl 
of  Derby  the  appointment  of  Lord  High  Commissioner  Extra- 
ordinary to  the  Ionian  Islands,  and  in  that  capacity  went  out  to 
Corfu.  The  Ionian  Islands  comprise  Cephalonia,  Cerigo,  Corfu, 
Ithaca,  Paxo,  Santa  Maura,  and  Zante,  with  their  dependencies. 
They  were  erected,  in  the  year  1800,  into  the  Kepublic  of  the 
Seven  United  Islands.  In  1815  they  were  placed  under  the 
protection  of  England.  Difficulties  having  arisen  in  connection 
with  their  government,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  despatched  on  a 
commission  of  inquiry.  The  inhabitants  were  desirous  of 
severing  the  connection  with  England,  and  of  adding  themselves 
to  the  kingdom  of  Greece.  The  lonians  regarded  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Gladstone  as  a  virtual  intimation  that  the  British 
Government  intended  to  abandon  the  protectorate.  A  despatch 
of  the  Colonial  Secretary  somewhat  supported  this  view.  The 
already  strained  relations  which  existed  between  ourselves 
and  the  authorities  of  the  islands  reached  the  utmost  pitch 
of  tension  at  this  juncture  by  the  surreptitious  publication  in  the 
Daily  News  of  two  important  despatches.  These  despatches, 


22-1  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

written  by  the  Lord  High  coramissioner,  Sir  John  Young,  were, 
in  substance,  a  recommendation  to  abandon  all  the  islands  to 
their  own  will  with  the  exception  of  Corfu,  which  the  Commis- 
sioner advocated  should  be  retained  as  a  military  fortress.  On  the 
27th  of  January,  1859,  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Ionian 
Islands,  sitting  at  Corfu,  proposed  the  annexaton  of  their  Kepublic 
to  Greece.  A  petition  to  that  effect  was  presented  a  few  days 
afterwards  to  Mr.  Gladstone.  The  right  hon.  gentleman  saw 
that  the  firm  determination  of  the  Ionian  people  was  incorpora- 
tion with  Greece,  and  he  despatched  to  the  Queen  a  vote  of  the 
Ionian  Parliament,  affirming  that  'the  single  and  unanimous 
will  of  the  Ionian  people  has  been  and  is  for  their  union  with 
the  kingdom  of  Greece.'  The  subsequent  history  of  the  affair  is 
soon  told.  treneral  Sir  H.  Storks  having  been  appointed  Lord 
High  Commissioner  of  the  islands,  Mr.  Gladstone  embarked  at 
Corfu  for  England  on  the  19th  of  February.  The  Legislative 
Assembly  at  Corfu  did  not  allow  the  question  of  cession  to  sleep, 
however,  and  after  some  years  of  agitation  the  Ionian  Islands 
were  formally  handed  over  to  Greece  in  June,  1864,  whereupon 
the  Governor  and  the  British  troops  immediately  retired. 

Though  it  may  be  contended  that  England  has  failed  in  her 
duty  to  Greece  of  recent  years,  the  Greeks  have  not  forgotten 
our  many  previous  expressions  of  goodwill — the  cession  of  the 
Ionian  Islands  being  amongst  them.  This  cession  may  be  taken 
as  the  starting-point  of  a  new  movement  in  Greek  national  life  ; 
and  there  have  been  many  indications  since  that  Greece  desires 
to  attain,  and  is  fitting  herself  for,  a  higher  position  amongst  the 
Powers  of  modern  Europe  than  she  has  hitherto  enjoyed.  In  the 
opinion  of  many,  the  time  must  again  come  when  England  will 
extend  to  Greece,  with  her  illustrious  race  and  her  unexampled 
history,  the  hand  of  cordial  and  lasting  friendship. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HOMERIC     STUDIES. 

The  Study  of  Homer — Mr.  Gladstone's  chief  Literary  Recreation — His  Mcujnum 
OJMS — Studies  on  Homer  and  the  Homeric  Age — Scope  of  the  Work — General  View 
of  the  Homeric  Controversy — Mr.  Freeman's  Criticism  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  Work — 
The  Poems  of  Homer  and  the  Sacred  Writ  ings — Homer's  Place  in  Education — His 
Historic  Aims — The  probable  Date  of  the  Great  Greek  Poet — The  Homeric  Text — 
Ethnology  of  the  Greek  Races — Relation  of  the  Homeric  Poems  to  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures— Mr.  Gladstone's  Third  Volume — The  Politics  and  the  Poetry  of  Homer — 
Specimen  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Criticism — Shakespeare  and  Homer — Other  Works  by 
Mr.  Gladstone  in  relation  to  Homer — Juventvs  Mundi — Its  Objects  and  Scope — 
Homeric  Synchronism — The  Time  and  Place  of  Homer — Historical  Arguments — 
Birthplace  of  the  Homeric  Poems — The  Infancy  of  Greece — A  Final  Word  on  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Studies. 

To  thread  the  labyrinthine  mazes  of  Homer,  and  solve  the  pro- 
blems associated  with  his  name,  has  been  the  chief  intellectual 
recreation,  the  close  and  earnest  study,  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  life, 
in  its  literary  aspect.  '  The  blind  old  man  of  Scio's  rocky  isle ' 
possesses  for  him  an  irresistible  and  a  perennial  charm.  Nor  can 
this  occasion  surprise,  for  all  who  have  given  themselves  up 
to  the  consideration  and  attempted  solution  of  the  Homeric 
poems  have  found  the  fascination  of  the  occupation  gather  in 
intensity.  It  is  not  alone  from  the  poetic  point  of  view  that 
the  first  great  epic  of  the  world  attracts  students  of  all  ages  and 
of  all  countries ;  Homer  presents,  in  additon,  and  beyond  every 
other  writer,  a  vast  field  for  ethnological,  geographical,  and 
historical  speculation  and  research.  The  ancient  world  stands 
revealed  in  the  Homeric  poems.  Besides  the  many  learned 
tomes  which  have  been  written  from  these  special  points  of  view, 
almost  numberless  are  the  volumes  based  upon  the  equally 
debatable  questions  of  the  Homeric  text  and  Homeric  unity. 
He  who  would  master  this  great  and  intricate,  this  most  difficult 
subject,  must  devote  the  whole  of  his  life  to  the  task ;  and  even 
then,  when  an  enforced  end  is  put  to  his  labours,  he  will  probably 
discover  (to  borrow  a  simile  from  Sir  Isaac  Newton)  that,  with 
regard  to  Homer  and  Homeric  literature,  he  stands  only  upon 
the  shore  of  knowledge,  with  the  boundless  ocean  lying  before 
him  still  unexplored. 

Q 


226  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

i 

Conspicuous,  then,  amongst  Englishmen  who  in  the  present 
century  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  study  of  Homer,  stands 
Mr.  Gladstone.  He  is  deeply  versed  in  Homeric  lore.  There 
are,  doubtless,  more  erudite  scholars  upon  exclusively  Greek 
questions,  but  Homer  has  been  to  him  as  a  companion.  Those 
who  differ  from  his  theories  have  recognised  the  enthusiasm  with 
which  he  has  pursued  his  studies,  and  the  power  and  grace  of  the 
rhetoric  with  which  he  has  clothed  the  results  of  these  studies. 
There  has  been  ascribed  to  him  a  '  radical  deficiency  in  the  faculty 
of  imagination  which  makes  him  throughout  rather  collect 
truths  by  induction  than  conceive  and  realise  them:  rather 
arrive,  by  more  or  less  subtle  reasoning,  at  more  or  less  plausible 
conclusions,  than  embody  great  perceptions  with  that  power  of 
divination  which  constitutes  the  genius  of  a  Niebuhr  or  a 
Gibbon.'  But  in  the  study  of  Homer  the  investigator  is  of 
necessity  thrown  back  upon  the  inductive  method  to  a  very  large 
extent,  and  it  should  be  no  reproach  to  Mr.  Gladstone  in  this 
connection.  Probabilities — truly  magnificent  probabilities — 
are  the  chief  grounds  upon  which  students  have  to  proceed ; 
and  the  connecting  of  these  probabilities  into  a  harmonious  whole 
may  be  a  safer  and  more  reasonable  process  than  the  construction 
of  a  theory  from  the  perceptions  and  divinations  of  a  powerful 
imagination. 

However,  it  is  our  main  purpose  now  simply  to  indicate  the 
scope  of  that  work  which  Mr.  Gladstone  conceived  and  executed 
in  years  of  opposition — when  the  claims  of  the  State  upon  him 
were  not  so  exacting— and  which  may  justly  be  described  as  his 
magnum,  opus.  The  results  of  his  wide  and  laborious  research 
were  embodied  in  three  large  volumes,  entitled  Studies  on 
Homer*  The  purely  technical  parts  of  this  work  are  very 
elaborate  in  detail,  but  these  are  not  the  portions  which  most 
closely  touch  the  general  reader,  who  is  unable  to  enter  into  the 
controversy  upon  the  text  of  Homer,  the  Catalogue,  and  the 
hundred  other  ramifications  of  the  subject  which  are  of  pro- 
found interest  to  the  student.  But  there  are  many  passages 
in  the  work  possessing  a  general  value  for  the  breadth  of 
their  speculation,  the  lessons  and  conclusions  they  endeavour 
to  enforce,  the  comparisons  instituted  between  ancient  and 
modern  genius,  and  for  the  admirable  spirit  and  eloquence  with 
which  they  are  written.  In  the  Prolegomena  Mr.  Gladstone 
explains  his  objects,  takes  a  general  view  of  the  Homeric 
controversy,  shows  the  place  of  Homer  in  classical  education, 

*  Studies  on  Homer  and  the  Homeric  Aye.  By  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone 
D.C.L.,  M.P.  for  the  University  of  Oxford.  Oxford:  at  the  University  Press 
(1858). 


HOMEEIC    STUDIES.  227 

develops  the  historic  aims  of  Homer,  discusses  the  probable 
trustworthiness  of  the  text,  and  attempts  to  fix  the  place  and 
authority  of  the  poet  in  historical  inquiry.  The  writer's  objects 
are  high  and  laudable,  if  the  second  branch  of  effort  in  his 
inquiry  be  difficult  of  complete  attainment  and  exposition. 
These  objects  are  described  as  two-fold :  first,  to  promote  and 
extend  the  fruitful  study  of  the  immortal  poems  of  Homer  ;  and, 
secondly,  to  vindicate  for  them  their  just  degree  both  of  absolute 
and,  more  especially,  of  relative  critical  value.  Even  in  this 
eminently  practical  age  we  may  admit  the  force  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's plea  on  behalf  of  classical  studies.  If  the  majority  of 
men  have  little  time  to  devote,  either  in  youth  or  maturer  age, 
to  Greek  or  Koman  literature,  there  must  still  be  a  considerable 
residue  to  whom  studies  in  this  direction  are  not  only  attractive 
but  feasible.  But  the  study  of  Homer  was  long  neglected,  even 
in  the  universities.  As  Mr.  Gladstone  says,  at  Oxford  in  his 
own  day  the  poems  of  Homer  were  read  chiefly  by  way  of  excep- 
tion, and  in  obedience  to  the  impulses  of  individual  tastes. 
They  were  not  a  substantive  or  recognised  part  of  the  main 
studies  of  the  place,  and  the  case  was  rare  indeed  if  they  were 
used  as  the  subject-matter  of  the  ordinary  tutorial  lectures. 
Happily,  since  1850  there  has  been  witnessed  a  favourable  change 
in  this  respect. 

An  eminent  living  critic,  after  describing  these  three  volumes 
as  a  great  but  very  unequal  work,  yet  one  which  would  be  a 
worthy  fruit  of  a  life  spent  in  learned  retirement,  pays  the 
following  warm  tribute  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  Homeric  researches : — 
1  As  the  work  of  one  of  our  first  orators  and  statesmen,  they  are 
altogether  wonderful.  Not,  indeed,  that  Mr.  Gladstone's  two 
characters  of  scholar  and  statesman  have  done  aught  but  help 
and  strengthen  one  another.  His  long  experience  of  the  world 
has  taught  him  the  better  to  appreciate  Homer's  wonderful 
knowledge  of  human  nature ;  the  practical  aspect  of  his  poems, 
the  deep  moral  and  political  lessons  which  they  tea,ch,  become  a 
far  more  true  and  living  thing  to  the  man  of  busy  life,  than 
they  can  ever  be  to  the  mere  solitary  student.  And,  perhaps, 
his  familiarity  with  the  purest  and  most  ennobling  source  of 
inspiration  may  have  had  some  effect  in  adorning  Mr.  Gladstone's 
political  oratory  with  more  than  one  of  its  noblest  features.  .  .  . 
What  strikes  one  more  than  anything  else  throughout  Mr. 
Gladstone's  volumes  is  the  intense  earnestness,  the  loftiness  of 
moral  purpose,  which  breathes  in  every  page.  He  has  not  taken 
up  Homer  as  a  plaything,  nor  even  as  a  mere  literary  enjoyment. 
To  him  the  study  of  the  Prince  of  Poets  is  clearly  a  means 
by  which  himself  and  other  men  may  be  made  wiser  and 

Q2 


228  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

better.'  *  Mr.  Freeman's  criticism,  however,  is  by  no  means  one 
of  wholesale  panegyric.  He  considers  that  Mr.  Gladstone  fails 
in  scientific  ethnology,  while  scientific  mythology  he  does  not 
even  attempt.  But  after  making  all  deductions,  the  able  and 
competent  critic  from  whom  we  have  just  quoted  describes 
1  these  noble  volumes '  as  *  worthy  alike  of  their  author  and  of 
their  subject,  the  freshest  and  most  genial  tribute  to  ancient 
literature  which  has  been  paid  even  by  an  age  rich  in  such 
offerings.  Mr.  Gladstone  will  not  rate  our  admiration  the  less 
because  we  have  plainly  stated  our  wide  dissent  from  some 
important  parts  of  his  book.'  He  has  'done  such  justice  to 
Homer  and  his  age  as  Homer  has  never  received  out  of  his  own 
land.  He  has  vindicated  the  true  position  of  the  greatest  of 
poets  ;  he  has  cleared  his  tale  and  its  actors  from  the  misrepre- 
sentations of  ages.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  truly  points  out  that  the  Greek  mind,  which 
became  one  of  the  main  factors  of  the  civilised  life  of  Chris- 
tendom, cannot  be  fully  comprehended  without  the  study  of 
Homer,  and  it  is  nowhere  so  vividly  or  so  sincerely  exhibited  as 
in  his  works.  Although  the  poet  introduces  us  to  a  new  and 
distinct  standard  of  humanity,  yet  many  of  his  ideas  c  almost 
carry  us  back  to  the  early  morning  of  our  race,  the  hours  of  its 
greater  simplicity  and  purity,  and  more  free  intercourse  with 
God.'  The  Homeric  world  is  alike  removed  from  Paradise  and 
the  vices  of  a  later  heathenism ;  yet  if  we  seek  that  genuine 
knowledge  of  man  which  is  founded  upon  experience,  *  how  is 
it  possible  to  over-value  this  primitive  representation  of  the 
human  race  in  a  form  complete,  distinct,  and  separate,  with  its 
own  religion,  ethics,  policy,  history,  arts,  manners,  fresh  and 
true  to  the  standard  of  its  nature,  like  the  form  of  an  infant 
from  the  hand  of  the  Creator,  yet  mature,  full,  and  finished,  in 
its  own  sense,  after  its  own  laws,  like  some  master-piece  of  the 
sculptor's  art? '  Comparing  the  poems  of  Homer  with  the  sacred 
writings  of  the  Old  Testament,  Mr.  Gladstone  observes  that  they 
can  never  be  put  into  competition  with  the  latter  as  touching 
the  great  fundamental,  invaluable  code  of  truth  and  hope.  But 
he  has  an  excellent  passage  pointing  out  how  the  one  may  be 
regarded  as  supplementary  to  the  other.  Examining  the  history 
of  the  race,  as  regards  the  Greeks,  it  is  Homer  that  furnishes  the 
point  of  origin  from  which  all  distances  are  to  be  measured. 
'  The  Mosaic  books,  and  the  other  historical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  are  not  intended  to  present,  and  do  not  present,  a 
picture  of  human  society  or  of  our  nature  drawn  at  large. 

*  Historical  Essays.    By  Edward  A.  Freeman,  M.A.,  D.C.L.    (Second  Series.) 


HOMEEIC    STUDIES.  229 

Their  aim  is  to  exhibit  it  in  one  master  relation,  and  to  do  this 
with  effect  they  do  it  to  a  great  extent  exclusively.  The  Homeric 
materials  for  exhibiting  that  relation  are  different  in  kind  as 
well  as  in  degree ;  but  as  they  paint,  and  paint  to  the  very  life, 
the  whole  range  of  our  nature,  and  the  entire  circle  of  human 
action  and  experience,  at  an  epoch  much  more  nearly  analogous 
to  the  patriarchal  time  than  to  any  later  age,  the  poems  of 
Homer  may  be  viewed,  in  the  philosophy  of  human  nature,  as 
the  complement  of  the  earliest  portion  of  the  Sacred  records.' 

But  while  the  poems  of  Homer  possess  this  extrinsic  value  as 
a  faithful  and  vivid  picture  of  life  and  manners,  they  have  also 
an  intrinsic  greatness  which  has  given  their  writer  the  first 
place  in  that  marvellous  trinity  of  genius — Homer,  Dante,  and 
Shakespeare.  Mr.  Gladstone  shows  how  the  transcendency  of 
his  poetical  distinctions  has  overshadowed  his  many  other  claims 
and  uses.  The  passage  in  which  this  thought  is  elaborated  is  an 
effective  piece  of  literary  criticism. 

With  regard  to  the  place  due  to  Homer  in  education,  while 
admitting  the  greater  value  of  the  tragedians  as  practical  helps 
and  models  in  Greek  composition,  Mr.  Gladstone  maintains  that, 
after  all  allowances,  they  cannot,  in  respect  of  purely  poetic 
titles,  make  good  a  claim  to  that  preference  over  Homer  which 
they  have  extensively  enjoyed.  Estimating  the  tragedians  from 
another  point  of  view — with  reference  to  what  they  tell  and  not 
the  manner  of  telling  it — the  argument  for  assigning  to  Homer 
a  still  greater  share  of  the  attention  of  our  youth  becomes 
stronger.  Excepting  the  works  of  Aristotle  and  Plato,  the  writer 
remarks  that  he  knows  of  no  author  offering  a  field  of  labour  and 
inquiry  either  so  wide  or  so  diversified  as  that  which  Homer 
offers.  In  public  schools  he  is  read  chiefly  for  his  diction  and 
poetry,  even  by  the  most  advanced  ;  and  if  he  is  to  be  read  for 
his  skill  in  the  higher  and  more  delicate  parts  of  the  poetic 
calling,  as  well  as  for  his  humanity  and  his  never-ending  lessons 
upon  manners,  arts,  and  society,  he  must  be  read  at  the 
universities.  *  He  is  second  to  none  of  the  poets  of  Greece,  as 
the  poet  of  boys ;  but  he  is  far  advanced  before  them  all — even 
before  ^Eschylus  and  Aristophanes — as  the  poet  of  men.' 

Such  is  the  high  educational  aspect  in  Avhich  Mr.  Gladstone 
views  Homer,  using  the  word  educational  now  in  its  highest  and 
fullest  sense.  Upon  the  historic  aims  of  Homer — a  topic 
perhaps  still  more  interesting — he  writes  at  even  greater  length. 
Accompanying  that  breadth  and  elevation  which  betoken  the 
highest  genius,  we  have  in  Homer  an  even  more  rare  fulnesa 
and  consistency  of  the  various  instruments  and  organs 
which  make  up  the  apparatus  of  the  human  being.  Nothing  is 


230  WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

more  extraordinary   in  his  poems  than  their  general  accuracy 
and  perfection  of  minute  detail.      'Where  other  poets  sketch, 
Homer   draws ;   and   where  they  draw   he  carves.     He    alone, 
of  all   the  now   famous   epic   writers,    moves    (in    the   Iliad 
especially)  subject  to  the    stricter  laws   of    time    and    place ; 
he  alone,  while  producing  an  unsurpassed  work  of  the  imagina- 
tion,   is    also    the   greatest   chronicler    that     ever   lived,   and 
presents  to    us,   from   his   own   single  hand,   a  representation 
of   life,   manners,    history,   of  morals,    theology,  and   politics, 
so  vivid  and  comprehensive,  that  it  may  be  hard  to  say  whether 
any  of  the  more  refined  ages  of  Greece   or  Home,  with  their 
clouds  of  authors  and  their  multiplied  forms  of  historical  record, 
are  either  more  faithfully  or.  more  completely  conveyed  to  us.' 
Mr.  Gladstone  endorses  Wach;muth's  observation  that  even  the 
dissolution  of  Homer's   individuality  does  not  get  rid   of  his 
authority.      The    presumption   against  Homer  as  an  historical 
authority  does  not  spring  from  the  fact  that  he  mixes  marvels 
with    common    events  (else    Herodotus    and   others  would    be 
destroyed  along  with  him),  but  from  the  fact  that  his  compositions 
are  poetical,  and  men  have  ceased  to  connect  the  poetical  form 
of  composition  with  history.      But  this  does  not  impugn  his 
authority.    The  question  that  arises  is, '  In  what  proportions  has 
he    mixed   history    with   imaginative    embellishments  ? '     This 
question  Mr.  Gladstone  discusses,  and  amongst  other  matters  in 
favour    of  Homer's    historical    authority    he   cites   the    great 
multitude  of  his  genealogies,  their  extraordinary  consistency  one 
with  another,  and  with  the  other  historical  indications  of  the 
poems ;  their  extension  to  a  very  large  number,  especially  in  the 
Catalogue,  of  secondary  persons  ;  that  remarkable  production,  the 
Catalogue  itself,  taken  as  a  whole  :  the  accuracy  with  which  the 
names  of  races  are  handled  and  bestowed,  the  particularity  of  the 
demands   made   upon   the  various   characters   for  their  family 
history,  and  the  numerous  legends  or  narratives  of  prior  occur- 
rences with  which  the  poems  are  thickly  studded.     This  is   a 
fairly  strong  list  of  something  more  than  probabilities,  putting 
out  of  sight  numberless  minor  indications  of  the  true  historic 
spirit.     Mr.  Gladstone  holds  it  to  be  a  fair  inference  from  the 
Odyssey   that  the  Trojan  war  was  sung  to  the  men  and   the 
children   of  the   men   who  waged   it.      Some  of  the  signs   of 
historical  accuracy  are  preserved   even  at   considerable  cost   of 
poetical  beauty.     There  are,  moreover,    a  multitude  of  minor 
shadings   running   through   the  poems  which,  from  their  very 
nature,  we  are  compelled  to  suppose  real.     Yet  there  is,  after 
all,  no  point  more  important  for  the  decision  of  this  question 
of  historical  authority  than  the  general  tone  of  Homer  himselt, 


HOMEEIC    STUDIES.  231 

and  this  point  Mr.  Gladstone  expounds  and  enlarges  upon, 
comparing  Homer  with  other  writers  who  have  never  been  able 
perfectly  to  simulate  the  ancient  life  which  they  profess  to  depict. 
He  reminds  us  that  Strabo  confuted  Eratosthenes,  who  had 
treated  the  great  sire  of  poets  as  a  fabulist.  Having  contended 
keenly  for  the  historic  aim  and  character  of  Homer,  Mr. 
Gladstone  observes  finally  upon  this  branch  of  his  subject,  *  It 
does  not  appear  to  me  reasonable  to  presume  that  Homer 
idealised  his  narration  with  anything  like  the  licence  which  was 
permitted  to  the  Carlovingian  romance ;  yet  even  that  romance 
did  not  fail  to  :  ^tain,  in  many  of  the  most  essential  particulars, 
a  true  historic  character;  and  it  conveys  to  us,  partly  by  fact 
and  partly  through  a  vast  parable,  the  inward  life  of  a  period 
pregnant  with  forces  that  were  to  operate  powerfully  upon  our  own 
characters  and  conditions. '  Homer  must  be  read  in  a  higher 
sense  than  that  which  divests  poetry  of  its  relation  to  reality. 

As  to  the  probable  date  of  Homer,  Mr.  Gladstone  places 
it  within  a  generation  or  two  of  the  Trojan  war,  assigning 
as  his  principal  reasons  for  so  doing  the  poet's  visible 
identity  with  the  age,  the  altering  biit  not  yet  vanished 
age  of  which  he  sings,  and  the  broad  interval  in  tone  and  feeling 
between  himself  and  the  very  nearest  of  all  that  follows  him. 
On  the  question  of  the  probable  trustworthiness  of  the  text  of 
Homer,  he  formulates  the  two  following  propositions,  as  fitting 
canons  of  Homeric  study: — *  1.  That  we  should  adopt  the  text 
itself  as  the  basis  of  all  Homeric  inquiry,  and  not  any  pre- 
conceived theory  nor  any  arbitrary  standard  of  criticism,  refer- 
able to  particular  periods,  schools,  or  persons.  2.  That  as  we 
proceed  in  any  work  of  construction  by  evidence  drawn  from  the 
text,  we  should  avoid  the  temptation  to  solve  difficulties  found 
to  lie  in  our  way  by  denouncing  particular  portions  of  it  as 
corrupt  and  interpolated  :  should  never  set  it  aside,  except  upon 
the  closest  examination  of  the  particular  passage  questioned: 
should  use  sparingly  the  liberty  even  of  arraying  presumptions 
against  it,  and  should  always  let  the  reader  understand  both 
when  and  why  it  is  questioned.'  Mr.  Gladstone's  mode  of 
procedure  in  thus  accepting  the  Homeric  text  as  genuine 
has  many  advantages,  and  is  infinitely  preferable  to  other 
methods  which  have  been  shown  to  have  failed.  But  it  is 
also  not  without  its  dangers  and  difficulties,  as  his  critics  have 
demonstrated,  for  'arguments  as  to  the  theology,  history, 
manners,  geography  of  the  Homeric  age,  founded  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  received  Homeric  text  is  all  equally  genuine,  are 
essentially  unreal.'  Convenience  is  not  a  safe  reason  to  assign 
for  accepting  the  genuineness  of  the  text. 


232  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

The  task  which  Mr.  Gladstone  undertakes  with  regard  to  the 
text  of  Homer  is  the  extremely  difficult  one  of  endeavouring  to 
*  divaricate  true  from  false '  and  of  marking,  at  least  as  probable, 
what  he  '  conceives  to  be  un-Homeric,  interpolated,  or  altered,' 
and  he  has  confessedly  thrown  much  light  upon  these  questions 
by  his  laborious  investigations.  After  the  failure  of  so  many 
constructive  and  destructive  hypotheses,  he  asks,  *  Who  will  ever 
again  venture  to  publish  an  abridged  or  remodelled  Iliad  ? '  We 
do  not  propose  to  follow  the  author  through  his  examination  of 
the  fortunes  of  the  Homeric  text,  nor  to  reproduce  his  arguments 
showing  that  the  presumptions  of  the  case  are  favourable,  and 
not  adverse,  to  the  general  soundness  of  the  text.  The  final  point 
discussed  in  the  Prolegomena  is  the  place  and  authority  of 
Homer  in  historical  inquiry.  Clearing  the  question  of  all  incum- 
brances,  and  admitting  the  cases  where  the  authority  of  the  bard 
must  be  clearly  and  distinctly  set  aside,  Mr.  Gladstone  yet 
submits  the  following  thesis : — '  That,  in  regard  to  the  religion, 
history,  ethnology,  polity,  and  life  at  large  of  the  Greeks  of  the 
heroic  times,  the  authority  of  the  Homeric  poems,  standing 
far  above  that  of  the  whole  mass  of  the  later  literary  tradi- 
tions in  any  of  their  forms,  ought  never  to  be  treated  as 
homogeneous  with  them,  but  should  usually,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, be  handled  by  itself,  and  the  testimony  of  later  writers 
should,  in  general,  be  handled  in  subordination  to  it,  and  should 
be  tried  by  it,  as  by  a  touchstone,  on  all  the  subjects  which  it 
embraces.  Homer  is  not  only  older  by  some  generations  than 
Hesiod,  and  by  many  centuries  than  JEschylus  and  the  other 
great  Greek  writers,  but  enjoys  a  superiority  in  another  impor- 
tant respect,  viz.,  that  no  age  since  his  own  has  produced  a  more 
acute,  accurate,  and  comprehensive  observer.  Judging  from 
internal  evidence,  he  alone  stood  within  the  precincts  of  the 
heroic  time,  and  was  imbued  from  head  to  foot  with  its  spirit  and 
its  associations.' 

The  second  division  of  the  first  volume  of  this  work  is  devoted 
to  the  ethnology  of  the  Greek  races,  and  is  a  practical  application 
of  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  preliminary  essay.  After 
stating  the  scope  of  the  inquiry,  the  author  treats  of  the 
Pelasgians  and  cognate  races ;  of  the  Phoenicians  and  the 
outer  geography  of  the  Odyssey ;  of  the  Catalogue  and  the 
Hellenes  of  Homer  ;  of  the  respective  contributions  of  the  Pelas- 
gian  and  Hellenic  factors  to  the  compound  of  the  Greek  nation ; 
of  the  three  greater  Homeric  appellatives ;  of  various  Homeric 
titles,  and  of  the  connection  of  the  Hellenes  and  Achaeans 
with  the  East.  The  second  volume  possesses  more  general 
interest,  being  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  the  religion  of  the 


HOMERIC    STUDIES.  233 

Homeric  age.  Mr.  Gladstone  discusses  the  mixed  character  of 
the  supernatural  system  or  Theo-mythology  of  Homer,  and 
this  is  followed  by  an  elaborate  section  on  the  traditive  element 
of  the  Homeric  Theo-mythology,  and  likewise  one  on  its 
inventive  element.  The  fourth  section  deals  with  the  composi- 
tion of  the  Olympian  Court,  and  the  classification  of  the  whole 
supernatural  order  in  Homer;  in  the  fifth  the  Olympian 
community  is  considered  in  its  members  themselves ;  while  the 
sixth  discusses  their  influence  on  human  society  and  conduct. 
Section  seven  is  on  the  traces  of  an  origin  abroad  for  the 
Olympian  religion ;  and  this  is  succeeded  by  sections  on  the 
morals  of  the  Homeric  age,  woman  in  the  heroic  age,  and  the 
office  of  the  Homeric  poems  in  relation  to  that  of  the  early 
books  of  Holy  Scripture. 

The  last  section  possesses  special  interest,  and  it  is  one, 
therefore,  to  which  we  will  refer  more  fully.  Mr.  Gladstone 
observes  that  both  the  Books  of  Scripture  and  the  Homeric 
poems  open  up  to  us  a  scene  of  which  we  have  no  other 
literary  knowledge.  They  are  by  far  the  oldest  of  known 
compositions,  and  while  perfectly  distinct  and  independent  of 
each  other,  they  are  in  no  point  contradictory,  while  in  many 
they  are  highly  confirmatory  of  each  other's  genuineness  and 
antiquity.  Yet  as  historical  representations,  and  regarded  from 
the  human  aspect,  they  are  very  different.  '  The  Holy  Scriptures 
are  like  a  thin  stream,  beginning  from  the  very  fountain-head  of 
our  race,  and  gradually,  but  continuously,  finding  their  way 
through  an  extended  solitude  into  times  otherwise  known,  and 
into  the  general  current  of  the  fortunes  of  mankind.  The 
Homeric  poems  are  like  a  broad  lake  outstretched  in  the  distance, 
which  provides  us  with  a  mirror  of  one  particular  age  and 
people,  alike  full  and  marvellous,  but  which  is  entirely  disso- 
ciated by  a  period  of  many  generations  from  any  other  records, 
except  such  as  are  of  the  most  partial  and  fragmentary  kind. 
In  respect  of  the  influence  which  they  have  respectively  exercised 
upon  mankind,  it  might  appear  almost  profane  to  compare 
them.  In  this  point  of  view,  the  Scriptures  stand  so  far  apart 
from  every  other  production,  on  account  of  their  great  offices  in 
relation  to  the  coming  of  the  Eedeemer  and  to  the  spiritual 
training  of  mankind,  that  there  can  be  nothing  either  like  or 
second  to  them.' 

Yet,  granted  this,  the  Homeric  poems  still  bear  a  relation  to 
the  Scriptures  which  no  other  work  in  the  world  can  claim. 
Speaking  of  their  influence,  mediate  and  immediate — for  they 
not  only  moulded  the  mind  and  nationality  of  Greece,  but 
through  Greece  exercised  an  immeasurable  influence  upon  the 


23*  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

world — Mr.  Gladstone  quotes  the  saying  of  M.  Renan  :  —  *  Lea 
vraies  origines  de  Vesprit  humain  sont  la ;  tous  les  nobles  de 
Vintelligence  y  retrouvent  la  patrie  de  leurs  peres.'  Passing 
over  the  great  purpose  of  the  Scriptures  as  regards  the  relations 
between  (rod  and  man,  there  remains  a  relative  parallelism 
between  the  oldest  of  these  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  works  of 
Homer.  But  not  only  because  they  are  the  oldest  known 
compositions  does  the  author  establish  relations  between  these 
writings,  but  because  each  confirms  the  testimony  of  the  other  by 
numerous  coincidences  of  manners.  '  That  Divine  Word  which 
tells  us  that  the  Redeemer  came  in  the  fulness  of  time  indirectly 
points  to  the  great  transactions  which  filled  the  space  of  ages 
since  the  Fall,  when  time  was  not  yet  full ;  and  the  greatest  of 
all  those  great  transactions,  surely,  were  the  parts  played  by 
Greece  and  Rome,  as  the  representative  of  humility  at  large  in 
its  most  vigorous  developments.  They,  too,  as  well  as  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  Jewish  people,  doubtless  belonged  to  the  Divine 
plan.'  Thus  the  early  Scriptures  and  the  Homeric  poems  com- 
bine to  make  up  for  us  a  sufficiently  complete  form  of  the 
primitive  records  of  our  race.  Mr.  Gladstone  admirably  and 
eloquently  insists,  however,  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  bring  some 
portions  of  the  Sacred  Writings  before  the  tribunal  of  the  mere 
literary  critic. 

Rome  has  given  the  most  extraordinary  example  on  record, 
says  the  author,  of  political  organisation,  while  Greece  has  had 
for  its  share  the  development  of  the  individual ;  but  the  seeds  of 
both  these  perfect  growths,  and  all  that  they  involved,  would 
appear  to  be  contained  in  the  Homeric  poems.  It  is  further 
observed  that  of  the  personal  and  inward  relations  of  man  with 
God,  of  the  kingdom  of  grace  in  the  world,  Homer  can  tell  us 
nothing ;  but  of  the  kingdom  of  Providence  much,  and  of  the 
opening  powers  and  capabilities  of  human  nature,  apart  from 
Divine  revelation,  everything.  Mr.  Gladstone  closes  this 
section  of  his  work  with  a  comparison  of  the  times  preceding 
the  Advent  with  those  which  have  followed  it.  Christianity, 
marshalling  the  intellectual  and  material  forces  of  the  world  in 
her  own  cause,  has  for  the  past  fifteen  hundred  years  marched  at 
the  head  of  human  civilisation.  Its  learning,  art,  and  genius 
have  been  those  of  the  world,  as  have  almost,  though  not 
absolutely,  its  greatness,  glory,  grandeur,  and  majesty.  'He 
who  hereafter,  in  even  the  remotest  age,  with  the  colourless 
impartiality  or  mere  intelligence,  may  seek  to  know  what  durable 
results  mankind  has  for  the  last  fifteen  hundred  years  achieved, 
what  capital  of  the  mind  it  has  accumulated  and  transmitted, 
will  find  his  investigations  perforce  concentrated  upon  and 


HOMEKIC    STUDIES.  235 

almost  confined  to  that  part,  that  minor  part,  of  mankind  which 
has  been  Christian.'  In  this  view  Mr.  Gladstone  will  secure  an 
infinitely  wider  suffrage  than  Gibbon.  Before  the  Advent,  how- 
ever, the  treasure  of  Divine  revelation  was  committed  into 
the  hands  of  a  race  who  were  almost  forbidden  to  impart  it,  and 
who  were  certainly  not  the  leaders  of  the  world.  But  the  con- 
struction and  promulgation  of  laws  and  institutions,  arts  and 
sciences,  with  the  chief  models  of  greatness  in  genius  or  in  char- 
acter, were  committed  to  others ;  and  to  Homer  was  assigned  the 
first  and  most  remarkable  stage  of  this  development. 

The  third  volume  is  divided  into  four  sections : — 1.  Agore  ; 
Polities  of  the  Homeric  Age.  2.  Ilios ;  Trojans  and  Greeks 
compared.  3.  Thalassa ;  the  outer  Geography.  4.  Aoidos ; 
some  points  of  the  Poetry  of  Homer.  The  first  and  last 
of  these  sections  are  the  most  attractive,  both  as  regards 
the  subjects  discussed  and  the  very  able  critical  handling 
which  the  author  gives  them.  Dealing  with  the  strong 
development  of  political  ideas  in  Greece,  Mr.  Gladstone 
combats  the  opinion  expressed  by  Mr.  Grote  that  in  Homer  the 
sentimental  attributes  of  the  Greek  mind  appear  in  dispropor- 
tionate relief,  as  compared  with  its  more  vigorous  and  masculine 
capacities — the  powers  of  acting,  organising,  judging,  and 
speculating.  If  the  sentimental  attribute  is  to  be  contra- 
distinguished from  the  powers  of  acting,  organising,  and  judging, 
then  Mr.  Gladstone  knows  of  nothing  less  sentimental  in  the 
after  history  of  Greece  than  the  characters  of  Achilles  and 
Ulysses,  than  the  relations  of  the  Greek  chiefs  to  one  another 
and  to  their  people,  than  the  strength  and  simplicity  which  laid 
the  foundation-stones  of  the  Greek  national  character  and  insti- 
tutions, and  made  them  the  counterparts  of  the  structures  now 
ascribed  to  the  Pelasgians — so  durable  and  massive,  though 
s'.nple,  as  to  be  the  marvel  of  all  time.  The  author  proceeds  to 
illustrate  the  vitality  and  depth  of  the  influences  derived  from 
these  sources,  which  have  given  to  Greece  such  an  enviable 
immortality : — 

'Even  when  the  sun  of  her  glory  had  set  there  was  yet  left  behind  an  immortal 
spark  of  the  ancient  vitality,  which,  enduring  through  all  vicissitudes,  kindled  into 
a  bla/e  after  two  thousand  years  ;  and  we  of  this  day  have  seen  a  Greek  nation, 
founded  anew  by  its  own  energies,  become  a  centre  of  desire  and  hope,  at  least  to 
Eastern  Christendom.  The  English  are  not  ashamed  to  own  their  political  fore- 
fathers in  the  forests  of  the  northward  European  Continent ;  and  the  later 
statesmen,  with  the  lawgivers  of  Greece,  were  in  their  day  glad,  and  with  reason 
glad,  to  trace  the  bold  outline  and  solid  rudiments  of  their  own  and  their  country's 
greatness  in  the  poems  of  Homer  Nothing  in  those  poems  offers  itself — to  me  at 
least— as  more  remarkable  than  the  deep  carvinir  of  the  political  characters,  and, 
what  is  still  more,  the  intense  political  spirit  whii-Ji  pervades  them.  I  will  venture 
one  step  further,  and  say  that  of  all  the  countries  of  the  civilised  world  there  is  no 
one  of  which  the  inhabitants  ought  to  find  that  spirit  so  intelligible  and  accessible 


236  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

as  the  English :  because  it  is  a  spirit  that  still  largely  lives  and  breathes  in  our  own 
institutions.  There  we  find  the  great  cardinal  idons  which  lie  at  the  very  founda- 
tion of  all  enlightened  government ;  and  there  we  find,  too,  the  men  formed  under 
the  influence  of  such  ideas ;  as  one  among  ourselves,  who  has  drunk  iuto  their 
spirit,  tells  us — 

"  Sagacious,  men  of  iron,  watchful,  firm, 
Again-t  surprise  and  sudden  panic  proof." 

And  again— 

"  The  sombre  aspect  of  majestic  care. 
Of  solitary  thought,  unshared  resolve."  * 

It  was  surely  a  healthful  sign  of  the  working  of  freedom  that  in  that  early  age, 
despite  the  prevalence  of  piracy,  even  that  idea  of  political  justice  and  public 
right,  which  is  the  germ  of  the  law  of  nations,  was  not  unknown  to  the  Greeks.' 

The  fourth  division  of  this  concluding  volume  is  sub-divided 
into  several  sections,  concerned  respectively  with  the  plot  of  the 
Iliad;  the  sense  of  beauty  in  Homer,  human,  animal,  and 
inanimate  ;  Homer's  perception  and  use  of  number  ;  Homer's 
perceptions  and  use  of  colour  ;  Homer  and  some  of  his  succes- 
sors in  epic  poetry,  particularly  Virgil  and  Tasso  ;  some 
principal  Homeric  characters  in  Troy — Hector,  Helen,  Paris ;  and 
the  declension  of  the  great  Homeric  characters  in  the  later  tradi- 
tion. The  section  in  which  comparisons  are  instituted  between 
Homer  and  Milton,  Dante,  Virgil,  and  Tasso,  is  distinguished  for 
its  broad  and  profound  criticism,  though  some  of  the  judgments 
expressed  will  probably  be  found  to  clash  with  those  formed  by 
readers  who  have  their  individual  favourites  amongst  the  epic 
poets.  It  is  not  possible  for  any  critic,  in  weighing  the  merits 
of  the  world's  greatest  poets,  to  secure  the  perfect  assent  of 
his  readers  to  all  his  conclusions.  But  Mr.  Gladstone  strikes 
out  from  his  subject  many  illuminating  rays.  Fora  specimen  of 
his  larger  criticism,  as  opposed  to  the  more  minute,  take  the 
following  passage : — 

'  To  one  only  among  the  countless  millions  of  human  beings  has  it  been  given  to 
draw  characters,  by  the  strengtli  of  his  own  individual  hand,  in  lines  of  such  force 
and  vigour  that  they  have  become,  from  this  day  to  our  own,  the  common  inheri- 
tance of  civilised  man.  Ever  since  his  time,  besides  finding  his  way  into  the 
usually  impenetrable  East,  he  has  provided  literary  capital  and  available  stock-in- 
trade  for  reciters  and  hearers,  for  authors  and  readers,  of  all  times  and  of  all 
places  within  the  limits  of  the  western  world — 

"Adjice  Moeoniden,  a  quo,  ceufonte  perenni, 
alum  l^ieriis  ora  rigantur  aquis." 

Like  the  sun,  which  furnishes  with  its  light  the  close  courts  and  alleys  of  London, 
while  himself  unseen  by  their  inhabitants,  Homer  has  supplied  witli  the  illumina- 
tion of  his  ideas  millions  of  minds  that  were  never  brought  into  direct  contact 
with  his  works,  and  even  millions  more  that  have  hardly  been  aware  of  his 
existence.  As  the  full  flow  of  his  genius  has  opened  itself  out  into  ten  thousand 
irrigating  channels  by  successive  sub-division,  there  can  be  no  cause  for  wonder  if 
some  of  them  have  not  preserved  the  pellucid  clearness  of  the  stream.  Like  blood 
from  the  great  artery  of  the  heart  of  man,  as  it  returns  through  innumerable  veins, 

*  Merope,  by  Matthew  Arnold. 


HOMERIC    STUDIES.  237 

it  is  gradually  darkened  in  its  flow.  The  very  universality  of  the  tradition  has 
multiplied  the  causes  of  corruption.  That  which,  as  to  documents,  is  a  guarantee, 
because  their  errors  correct  one  another,  as  to  ideas  is  a  new  source  of  danger, 
because  everything  depends  upon  constant  reference  to  the  finer  touches  of  an 
original,  which  has  escaped  from  view.  And  this  universality  is  his  alone.  An 
Englishman  may  pardonably  think  that  his  great  rival  in  the  portraiture  of 
character  is  Shakespeare ;  a  Briton  may  even  go  further  and  challenge,  on  behalf 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  a  place  in  this  princely  choir  second  to  no  other  person  but 
these.  Yet  the  fame  of  Hamlet,  Lady  Macbeth,  Othello,  or  Falstaff,  and  much 
more  that  of  Varney,  or  Ravenswood,  or  Caleb  Balderstone,  or  Meg  Merrilies,  has 
not  yet  come,  and  may  never  come,  to  be  a  world-wide  fame.  On  the  other  hand, 
that  distinction  has  long  been  inalienably  secured  to  every  character  of  the  first 
class  who  appears  in  the  Homeric  poems.  He  has  conferred  upon  them  a  deathless 
inheritance.' 

Concerning  the  leading  point  in  this  criticism,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  with  every  year  that  passes  Shakespeare's  fame 
gradually  approaches  that  of  Homer  in  its  universality.  Leaving 
out  of  view  Homer's  chief  heroes,  the  character  of  Hamlet  is 
even  now  one  of  the  most  familiar  of  poetic  creations — so 
familiar  that  it  is  known  throughout  the  civilised  world.  Yet  not 
three  centuries  have  elapsed  since  he  sprang  into  being  from  the 
imagination  of  his  creator ;  and  it  is  neither  an  impossible  nor 
an  unreasonable  conjecture  to  assume  that  when  the  age  of 
Shakespeare  shall  be  that  of  the  present  age  of  Homer,  the  great 
characters  of  his  dramas  will  claim  the  immortality  and  universal 
fame  which  now  belongs  alone  to  the  deathless  personages  of  the 
Homeric  poems. 

It  was  objected  when  these  volumes  originally  appeared  that 
all  their  main  arguments  were  constituted  upon  the  basis  of 
strict  textual  accuracy,  a  theory  which  cannot  be  maintained, 
and  that  the  inconclusive,  not  to  say  illusory,  character  of  the 
premises  re-acts  on  the  conclusion.  '  Where  we  admire  most,'  said 
one  writer,  '  we  are  least  persuaded  :  reasonings  intended  to  drive 
home  convictions  to  our  minds  seem  to  reach  them  with  no 
momentum,  and  waste  their  power  in  the  air ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  are  constantly  struck  with  the  refined  ingenuity  of 
incidental  portions  and  with  the  deep  sense  of  poetical  beauty, 
and  Homeric  beauty  in  particular,  which  they  manifest.'  On 
questions  of  topography,  the  Ulyssean  wanderings,  &c.,  Mr. 
Gladstone's  conclusions  have  also  been  called  in  question  ; 
nor  in  a  field  so  vast  can  we  wonder  at  these  wide  divergences 
of  opinion.  But  one  great  admission  has  been  made — and  this 
will  be  readily  endorsed  by  all  readers — respecting  such  Homeric 
commentaries  as  Mr.  Gladstone's  :  they  afford  lessons  of  value  in 
the  exalted  idea  which  they  tend  to  form  of  the  ethical  acquire- 
ments of  man  in  what  is  termed  a  rude  state.  It  has  also  been 
well  remarked  that  these  volumes  are  an  indirect  but  complete 
refutation  of  the  fallacy — which  has  spread  so  much  of  late  years 
— that  the  advance  of  man,  generation  by  generation,  is  to  be 


238  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

measured  solely  by  his  progress  in  intellectual  acquirements. 
The  intellect  may  reach  the  highest  point  of  advancement,  and 
yet  a  rapid  decline  of  morality  supervene,  unless  there  is  some 
greater  preservative  of  virtue  and  morals  than  intellectual 
culture.- 

But  we  must  now  leave  this  work,  which  in  its  elaborate 
detail  is  a  colossal  monument  of  the  author's  patience  and 
Homeric  knowledge.  Seldom  is  it  that  so  great  an  undertaking 
is  successfully  executed  by  one  engaged  in  the  business  and 
turmoil  of  political  life.  But  we  perceive  in  the  author's 
enthusiasm  and  deep  love  of  his  subject  the  incentives  which 
alone  rendered  such  a  work  possible  under  these  circumstances. 
In  the  concluding  words  of  the  last  volume,  Mr.  Gladstone 
himself  touches  upon  the  pleasing  and  engrossing  nature  of  his 
task.  He  observes  that  to  pass  from  the  study  of  Homer  to  the 
ordinary  business  of  the  world  is  to  step  out  of  a  palace  of  enchant- 
ments into  the  cold  grey  light  of  a  polar  day.  *  But  the  spells, '  he 
adds,  '  in  which  this  sorcerer  deals,  have  no  affinity  with  that 
drug  from  Egypt  which  drowns  the  spirit  in  effeminate  indiffer- 
ence: rather  they  are  like  the  tydppaKov  eV#Aoi>,  the  remedial  spe- 
cific, which,  freshening  the  understanding  by  contact  with  the 
truth  and  strength  of  nature,  should  both  improve  its  vigilance 
against  deceit  and  danger  and  increase  its  vigour  and  resolu- 
tion for  the  discharge  of  duty.' 

This  chief  work  upon  Homer  Mr.  Gladstone  has  followed  up 
by  kindred  writings  at  various  periods.  In  1877,  he  contributed 
a  paper  on '  The  Dominions  of  Odysseus '  to  MacmiHaii's  Maga- 
zine, and  also  wrote  the  Preface  to  Dr.  Schliemann's  Mycence. 
Thirty  years  ago  or  more  he  contributed  to  the  Quarterly  Review 
an  article  upon  Lachroann's  Iliad,  a  paper  regarded  with  great 
interest  at  the  time  of  its  appearance  by  all  students  of 
Homer.  Nor  has  he  confined  himself  altogether  to  Homeric  cri- 
ticism, for  there  appeared  some  years  ago  a  small  quarto  volume 
of  translations  from  the  first  book  of  the  Iliad,  and  of  some  separ- 
ate passages,  executed  by  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Lord  Lyttelton. 
Two  works,  however,  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  relation  to  Greece  and 
Homer,  still  remain  for  notice,  and  these  are  worthy  of  more  than 
a  mere  mention.  Juventus  Mundi:  Gods  and  Men  of  the 
Heroic  Age  in  Greece,  was  published  in  1869  ;  and  Homeric 
Synchronism  appeared  in  1876.* 

*  See  also  articles  by  Mr.  Gladstone  upon  subjects  connected  with  Homer  in  the 
Contemporary  Review  and  the  Nineteenth  Century.  The  volume  on  Homer,  in  Mac- 
millan's  Series  of  Literature  Primers,  edited  by  the  Rev.  J.  R.  Green,  was  also  written 
by  Mr.  Gladstone.  It  gives,  in  a  succinct  form,  the  author's  views  upon  Homer 
the  man,  the  Homeric  question,  and  the  many  ramifications  of  the  general  subject 
expounded  at  greater  length  in  the  Homeric  Studies.  In  delivering  his  valedictory 


HOMERIC  STUDIES.  239 

Juventus  Mundi  was  mainly  the  product  of  the  two  recesses 
of  1867  and  1868,  and  in  it  the  author  states  that  he  has 
endeavoured  to  embody  the  greater  part  of  the  results  at  which 
he  arrived  in  the  Studies  on  Homer  and  the  Homeric  Age. 
The  reader  will  therefore  find  the  later  work  valuable  as  putting 
him  in  possession  of  the  main  lines  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  argu- 
ments and  opinions  upon  the  Homeric  problems.  Some  modifica- 
tions of  previous  views  had  been  arrived  at  in  the  course  of  the 
intervening  period  of  ten  years.  With  regard  to  the  ethnology 
of  Homer,  a  further  prosecution  of  the  subject,  as  relating  to  the 
Phoenicians,  brought  out  much  more  fully  and  clearly  what  Mr. 
Gladstone  had  before  only  hinted  at,  and  he  now  awarded  to 
them  a  highly  influential  function  in  forming  the  Greek  nation. 
This  modification  consequently  acted  in  an  important  manner 
upon  any  estimate  of  Pelasgians  and  Hellenes  respectively. 
The  author  had  now  felt  warranted  in  giving  a  larger  space 
to  deduction,  and  a  smaller  one  to  minute  particulars  of 
inquiry  in  a  work  which  aimed  at  offering  some  practical  assist- 
ance to  Homeric  study  in  our  schools  and  universities,  '  and 
even  at  conveying  a  partial  knowledge  of  this  subject  to  persons 
who  are  not  habitual  students.'  But  while  anxious  to  commend 
to  readers  generally  conclusions  from  the  Homeric  poems  which 
appeared  of  great  interest  with  reference  to  the  general  history 
of  human  culture,  and  of  the  Providential  government  of  the 
world,  he  was  much  more  anxious  to  encourage  and  facilitate 
the  access  of  educated  persons  to  the  actual  contents  of  the  text. 
Mr.  Gladstone  pointed  out  that  the  doubts  cast  upon  the  origin 
of  the  poems  have  assisted  in  iostering  a  vague  instinctive 
indisposition  to  laborious  examination  ;  '  the  very  splendour  of 
the  poetry  dazzles  the  eye  as  with  whole  sheets  of  light,  and  may 
often  seem  almost  to  give  to  analysis  the  character  of  vulgarity 
or  impertinence.'  He  did  not  shrink  from  his  main  object, 
however,  namely,  to  provoke  the  close  textual  study  of  the 
poet  as  opposed  to  the  second-hand  method  of  seeking  for 
information  anywhere  save  in  Homer  himself. 

A  knowledge  of  the  text  of  Homer  is  not,  as  Mr.  Gladstone 
insists,  by  any  means  a  commonplace  accomplishment,  seeing 
that  this  text  involves  an  aggregate  of  27,000  lines,  as  full  of 
infinitely  varied  matter  as  an  egg  is  full  of  meat.  And  readers 

address  as  Lord  Rector  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  on  the  3rd  of  November 
1865,  Mr.  Gladstone  took  for  his  subject, '  The  place  of  ancient  Greece  in  the  Provi- 
dential order  of  the  World  ; '  and  visiting  Eton  College  in  June,  1879,  he  gave  a 
lecture  on  the  great  Greek  poet,  in  the  library  of  the  College.  Mr.  Gladstone  endea- 
voured to  prove  that  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  were  really  the  work  of  one  poet, 
Homer — that  they  were  constructed  at  the  time  of  the  Trojan  war,  and  were  not  the 
composite  works  of  several  persons  compiled  at  a  much  later  period  of  the  Greek 
history. 


240  WILLIAM    fiWARt    GLADSTONE. 

require  to  be  very  careful  in  accepting  unverified  statements  of 
what  i ',  or  is  not,  in  Homer.  Touching  the  difficulty  of  the 
unsettled  and  transitionary  state  of  the  rules  and  practice 
with  respect  to  Greek  names,  and  to  the  Latin  forms  of  them, 
Mr.  Gladstone  follows  many  high  authorities  in  adopting 
generally  the  Greek  names  of  the  deities  and  mythological 
personages  instead  of  the  Latin  ones. 

The  introductory  chapter  of  this  work  is  a  more  succinct 
statement  than  appeared  in  the  author's  previous  treatise  of  the., 
historic  character  of  Homer's  poetry  ;  the  second  deals  with  the 
three  great  appellatives,  Panaoi,  Argeioi,  and  Achaioi ;  the  third 
is  concerned  with  the  Pelasgoi ;  the  fourth  is  entitled  '  Hellas  ' ; 
the  5th  is  upon  the  Phoenicians  and  the  Egyptians  ;  the  sixth  on 
the  title  '  Anax  Andron' ;  the  seventh  on  the  Olympian  system ; 
the  eighth  on  the  divinities  of  Olympos;  the  ninth  gives  a 
further  sketch,  and  presents  the  moral  aspects,  of  the  Olympian 
system  ;  the  tenth  discusses  the  ethics  of  the  Heroic  Age  ;  the 
eleventh  its  polity  ;  the  twelfth  the  resemblances  and  differences 
between  the  Greeks  and  the  Trojans ;  the  thirteenth  the  geo- 
graphy of  Homer ;  the .  fourteenth  his  plots,  characters,  and 
similes ;  while  the  fifteenth  and  concluding  chapter  treats  of  mis- 
cellaneous aspects  in  Homer — his  idea  of  beauty ;  his  physics, 
metals,  and  measure  of  value j  his  use  of  number,  and  his  sense 
of  colour. 

Homeric  Synchronism  is  an  inquiry  into  the  time  and  place 
of  Homer.  The  author  speaks  with  more  certitude  upon  these 
important  questions  than  he  had  done  hitherto,  believing  that  the 
time  had  at  length  come  for  serious  efforts  to  connect  the  poems 
of  Homer,  by  means  of  the  internal  evidence  which  they  supply, 
with  events  and  personages  which  are  now  known  from  other 
sources  to  belong  to  periods,  already  approximately  defined,  of  the 
primeval  history  of  the  human  race.  Mr.  Gladstone  is  fully 
impressed  with  the  magnitude  of  the  task  before  him,  and  admits 
that  a  rational  reaction  against  the  irrational  excesses  and 
vagaries  of  scepticism  may  readily  degenerate  into  the  rival  folly 
of  credulity.  Opposing  wrong  does  not  always  carry  with  it  the 
assurance  of  being  right.  While  conservative  as  regards  the  poet, 
Mr.  Gladstone  observes  that  he  is  radical  and  dissenter  to  the 
uttermost  as  respects  several  of  the  opinions  too  freely  accepted 
from  a  lazy  and  incomplete  tradition.  He  agrees  with  Lucian 
in  his  criticism  of  some  preceding  critics,  that  they  would  have 
been  saved  from  much  erroneous  and  much  gratuitous  specula- 
tion had  they  been  more  careful  to  observe  the  primary  laws  of 
poetic  insight,  and  to  acknowledge  that  seal  and  stamp  with 
which  it  is  the  prerogative  of  supreme  genius  to  authenticate  its 


HOMERIC    STUDIES.  241 

handiwork.  His  own  method  had  been  to  distinguish  carefully 
between  certainty  and  probability,  between  knowledge  and  con- 
jecture ;  and  he  had  been  especially  careful  to  found  all  inquiries 
and  conclusions  upon  a  close  and  painstaking  examination  of  the 
Homeric  text,  and  to  conduct  his  researches  according  to  the 
established  laws  of  evidence  as  opposed  to  the  lawlessness  of  ipse 
dixi  and  of  arbitrary  assertion.  It  is  not  only  an  important 
investigation,  but  one  of  supreme  interest,  that  of  attempting  to 
fix  the  place  of  Homer  in  history,  and  also  in  the  Eg}ptian 
chronology. 

Mr.  Gladstone  had  contended  for,  or  admitted,  in  previous  works, 
the  following  six  points : — That  the  poems  of  Homer  are  in  the 
highest  sense  historical ;  that  there  was  a  solid  nucleus  of  fact  in 
his  account  of  the  Trojan  war ;  that  there  did  not  yet  exist  ade- 
quate data  for  assigning  to  him,  or  to  the  Troica,  a  place  in  the 
established  chronology ;  that  his  own  chronology  was  to  be  found 
in  his  genealogies,  which  were  usually  careful  and  consistent ;  that 
there  was  no  extravagance  in  supposing  he  might  have  lived 
within  half  a  century  after  the  war,  though  he  was  certainly  not 
an  eye-witness  of  it ;  and  that  there  was  very  strong  reason  to 
believe  that  he  flourished  before  the  Dorian  conquest  of  the  Pelo- 
ponnesos.  On  another  occasion  he  also  pointed  out  that  the  time 
might  be  at  hand  when,  with  the  aid  of  further  investigations,  it 
would  be  possible  to  define  with  greater  precision  those  periods 
of  the  Egyptian  chronology  to  which  the  Homeric  poems  and 
their  subject  appeared  to  be  related.  Data  of  considerable  impor- 
tance had  been  gradually  gathering  and  enlarging,  so  that  the 
missing  links  now  recovered  might  frame  at  least  the  disjecta 
membra  of  a  chain  of  evidence.  Assyrian  as  well  as  Egyptian 
research  now  supplied  valuable  material  in  aid  of  the  general 
design. 

In  this  new  work  the  author  carried  his  affirmative  propositions 
much  further,  and  offered  presumptive  evidence  which  bore 
students  greatly  on  the  road  no  proof,  of  a  distinct  relation  of 
time  between  the  Homeric  poems  and  other  incidents  of  human 
history,  which  are  extraneous  to  them,  but  are  already  in  the 
main  reduced  into  chronological  order  and  succession ;  namely, 
portions  of  the  series  of  Egyptian  dynasties.  With  this  relation 
established,  a  further  relation  indirectly  followed  to  the  chro- 
nology of  the  Hebrew  records.  Mr.  Gladstone  has,  perhaps 
naturally,  by  many  critics  been  regarded  as  too  sanguine  in  thus 
endeavouring  to  build  up  an  unbroken  body  of  actual  history 
from  materials  which  can  never  be  completely  harmonised.  But 
the  manner  in  which  he  has  pursued  his  inquiries,  and  the  results 
he  arrives  at,  betoken  more  than  ingenuity  ;  they  establish  a  fair 

B 


242  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

theory  of  presumption  and  credibility.  More  they  could  not  do, 
owing  to  the  extraordinary  exigencies  of  the  case. 

This  treatise  upon  Homeric  Synchronism  is  divided  into  two 
parts.  The  first  treats  of  matters  connected  generally  with  the 
place  and  date  of  Homer  in  history,  and  the  topics  dealt  with  in 
this  relation  are — the  Plain  and  Site  of  Troy  ;  the  Hissarlik 
Remains,  discovered  by  Dr.  Schliemann  ;  the  European  habitat 
of  Homer,  and  his  priority  to  the  Dorian  Conquest ;  and  the 
Authorship  of  the  Hymn  to  the  Delian  Apollo.  In  the  second 
part  the  author  endeavours  '  to  drive  at  least  a  single  pile  into 
the  solid  ground  of  history,  as  a  kind  of  first  fruits  from  modern 
Egyptology ;  as  a  beginning  towards  marking  out,  and  fencing 
in,  the  historical  limits  both  of  Homer's  subject  and  of  his  career. 
My  warrant  for  introducing  the  topics  treated  in  Part  I.  is  to  be 
found  in  this — that,  if  Homer  were  an  Asiatic  Greek,  of  the  period 
most  commonly  supposed,  at  some  time  after  the  Dorian  Con- 
quest, it  is  idle  to  talk  of  placing  him  in  any  particular  relation 
to  the  Egyptian  chronology,  and  a  waste  of  labour  to  trace  out  in 
detail  his  possession  of  Egyptian  knowledge  and  traditions ;  for, 
to  Asiatic  Greece,  Egypt  was  but  the  name  of  one  among 
foreign  lands,  and  its  wide-reaching  Empire  was  neither  any 
longer  felt  in  action,  nor  witnessed  of  by  patent  and  accessible 
records,  nor  retained  in  the  living  memory  of  man.'  Having 
thus  prepared  his  ground,  Mr.  Gladstone  contends  in  the  second 
part  of  his  work  that  there  are  detailed  matters  as  of  fact  in  the 
poems,  which  fit  themselves  on  to  other  matters  of  fact,  either 
originally  made  known,  or  brought  into  greatly  clearer  light,  by 
the  Egyptian  monuments ;  also,  that  we  have  a  large  number  of 
scattered  indications  of  Homer's  Eastern,  and  especially  his 
Egyptian,  knowledge,  in  his  cosmological  ideas  and  representa- 
tions, as  well  as  in  a  variety  of  incidental  notices.  By  the  aid 
of  these  contentions  and  arguments  the  author  leads  up  to  the 
one  grand,  general  conclusion — that  there  are  probable  grounds 
of  an  historical  character  for  believing  that  the  main  action  of 
the  Iliad  took  place,  and  that  Homer  lived  between  certain 
chronological  limits,  which  may  now  be  approximately  pointed 
out  to  the  satisfaction  of  reasonable  minds. 

Having  thus  indicated  the  general  aims  of  this  work,  it  is  not 
our  purpose  to  trace  its  arguments  in  detail,  nor  the  steps  by 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  shows  that  the  Homeric  poems  could  not 
have  had  their  birthplace  in  Asia,  nor  have  been  composed  after 
the  Dorian  invasion  :  but  before  leaving  the  subject,  we  will  quote 
the  following  passage  on  the  extraordinary  interest  which 
attaches  to  the  warlike  incidents  of  the  infancy  of  Greece : — 
*  We  have  examples  in  modern  times,  and  even  in  the  most 


HOMERIC    STUDIES.  243 

recent  experience,  of  great  States  which  owe  all  their  greatness  to 
successful  war.  The  spectacle  offered  to  a  calm  review  by  this 
process  is  a  mixed,  sometimes  a  painful  one.  So,  too,  it  seems, 
that  the  early  life  of  the  most  wonderful  people  whom  the  world 
has  ever  seen  was  largely  spent  in  the  use  of  the  strong  hand 
against  the  foreigner.  That  people  was  nursed,  and  its  hardy 
character  was  formed,  in  the  continuing  stress  of  danger  and 
difficulty.  But  the  voyage  of  Argo,  the  march  of  the  Seven 
against  Cadmeian  Thebes,  the  triumphant  attack  of  the  Epigonoi, 
the  enormous  and  prolonged  effort  of  the  war  of  Troy,  the 
Achaian  and  so-called  Danaan  attempts  against  Egypt,  were  not 
wars  or  expeditions  of  simple  conquest.  They  were  not  waged 
in  order  to  impose  the  yoke  upon  the  necks  of  others.  And  yet, 
though  varied  in  time,  in  magnitude,  in  local  destination,  they 
seem,  with  some  likelihood  at  least,  to  present  to  us  a  common 
character.  They  speak  with  one  voice  of  one  great  theme ;  a 
steady  dedication  of  nascent  force,  upon  the  whole  noble  in  its 
aim,  as  well  as  determined  and  masculine  in  its  execution.  For 
the  end  it  had  in  view,  during  a  course  of  effort  sustained  through 
so  many  generations,  was  the  worthy,  the  paramount  end  of 
establishing,  on  a  firm  and  lasting  basis,  the  national  life,  cohe- 
sion, and  independence.' 

We  now  part  from  these  Homeric  studies,  into  which  Mr. 
Gladstone  has  thrown  so  much  perception,  learning,  and  research. 
The  Siege  of  Troy  and  the  Wanderings  of  Ulysses  possess  an 
undying  charm,  whether  their  chief  incidents  be  wholly  fictitious, 
partially  fictitious,  or  veritable  history;  and  no  nobler  study 
could  well  engage  the  leisure  of  a  man  of  culture.  It  is  worthy 
of  note,  in  conclusion,  that  after  all  his  just  and  lofty  encomiums 
upon  the  Homeric  records,  Mr.  Gladstone  deduces  from  them  the 
great  abiding  lesson,  that  they  do  but '  show  us  the  total  inability 
of  our  race,  even  when  at  its  maximum  of  power,  to  solve  for 
ourselves  the  problem  of  our  destiny  ;  to  extract  for  ourselves  the 
sting  from  care,  from  sorrow,  and,  above  all,  from  death  ;  or  even 
to  retain  without  waste  the  knowledge  of  God,  where  we  have 
become  separate  from  the  source  which  imparts  it.' 

The  author  has  brought  to  his  investigations  of  the  Homeric 
text  an  almost  unexampled  patience,  an  intrepid  judgment,  and 
a  keen  analytical  faculty  ;  but,  above  all,  there  glows  throughout 
his  pages  that  spirit  which  is  the  outcome  of  the  Christian 
religion — a  religion  higher  and  deeper  than  that  of  the  great 
Greek  poet,  a  religion  which  has  transfigured  all  the  relations  of 
this  mortal  life,  and  which  forms  a  great  and  indissoluble  link 
uniting  humanity  with  God. 

R2 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  SESSION  OF  1859.— THE  BUDGET  OP  1860  AND 
THE  FRENCH  TREATY. 

Public  Affairs  in  1859 — The  Reform  Question — Introduction  of  the  Government  Bill 
— Its  Rejection  moved  by  Lord  John  Russell — Speech  of  Mr.  Gladstone — Defeat 
of  the  Government — Appeal  to  the  Country — The  New  Parliament — Resignation 
of  the  Derby  Ministry — A  Palmerston  Administration — Mr.  Gladstone  again 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer — Opposed  on  appealing  for  Re-election  at  Oxford — 
Returned  by  a  large  majority — The  Budget  of  1859 — Debate  on  the  Peace  Confer- 
ence— Roman  Catholic  Relief  Act  Amendment  Bill — Animated  Scene  in  the  House 
^ — Negotiation  of  the  French  Treaty — The  Budget  of  1860  — Details  of  the  Chan- 
"cellor  of  the  Exchequer's  Proposals — Relief  of  Trade  and  Commerce — The 
Commercial  Treaty  and  Free  Trade— A  new  Bond  of  Union  with  France — Tribute 
to  Mr.  Cobden — Customs  Reform  Scheme — Proposed  Abolition  of  the  Paper  Duty 
— Character  of  the  P'inancial  Statement  of  1860 — Attacks  upon  it  by  the  Opposi- 
tion— Repeal  of  the  Paper  Duty  strongly  opposed — Views  of  Protectionist  Paper- 
makers — The  Lords  and  the  Paper  Duty — Important  Deputation  to  Lord  Derby 
— The  Bill  rejected — Feeling  in  the  Country — A  Constitutional  Question — The 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  carries  his  Proposals  for  the  Reduction  of  the  Duty 
on  Foreign  Paper. — Mr.  Gladstone  on  Lord  John  Russell's  Reform  Bill — The 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  elected  Lord  Rector  of  Edinburgh  University. 

A  REVOLUTION  of  the  political  wheel  —wholly  unexpected  in  some 
quarters,  but  predicted  in  others — once  more  brought  Mr. 
Gladstone  into  office  in  the  year  1859.  At  the  commencement 
of  this  session,  and  indeed  for  some  time  previously, 
two  important  questions  agitated  the  public  mind,  almost 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  others.  These  were,  first,  the  state 
of  our  foreign  relations,  especially  as  affecting  France, 
Austria,  and  Italy  ;  and,  secondly,  the  subject  of  Parliamentary 
Reform.  Unable  to  struggle  against  the  unmistakable  expres- 
sion of  the  popular  will,  the  Derby  Government  had  pledged 
itself  to  bring  in  a  Reform  Bill ;  but  long  before  this  measure 
was  even  framed,  or  Parliament  had  assembled,  the  feeling  in 
the  country  had  been  greatly  stirred  by  Mr.  Bright  and  others 
in  favour  of  a  large  extension  of  the  franchise.  The  member  for 
Birmingham  had  expressed  himself  with  more  than  his  wonted 
fervour  upon  this  question,  and  the  supporters  of  the  Government 
indulged  the  belief  that  he  had  damaged  the  cause  he  intended 
to  advance  by  the  '  violence '  of  his  advocacy.  In  several  great 
public  meetings,  Mr.  Bright  had  condemned  and  denounced  in 
vigorous  rhetoric  the  existing  state  of  the  representation,  and 


THE   BUDGET   6F   1866.  245 

demanded  a  wide  extension  of  the  suffrage.  For  a  time,  the 
turbulent  demonstrations  which  took  place  in  various  parts  of 
the  country  acted  as  a  check  upon  many  moderate  men,  who  had 
hitherto  advocated  a  fair  measure  of  Parliamentary  reform,  and 
there  was  a  partial  reaction  amongst  certain  classes  against  the 
movement. 

But  the  time  had  come  when  some  concessions  must  be  made, 
and  it  was  admitted,  alike  on  Conservative  as  on  Liberal  benches, 
that  upon  the  nature  of  the  Ministerial  proposals  in  this 
direction  depended  the  very  stability  of  the  Government 
itself.  After  interpellations  from  the  Opposition,  and  remon- 
strances against  delay,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
fixed  the  28th  of  February  for  the  first  reading  of  the 
Government  Reform  Bill.  Amid  a  scene  of  great  expectation 
and  excitement,  Mr.  Disraeli,  on  the  day  named,  proceeded  to 
unfold  the  details  of  the  scheme.  It  was  not  intended,  he  said, 
to  alter  the  limits  of  the  franchise,  but  to  introduce  into  the 
borough  a  new  kind  of  franchise,  founded  upon  personal  property, 
and  to  give  votes  to  persons  receiving  £10  yearly  from  the  funds, 
or  £'20  in  pensions,  as  well  as  to  graduates  in  the  universities, 
ministers  of  religion,  members  of  the  legal  and  medical  profession, 
and  various  other  classes.  The  bill  also  recognised  the  principle 
of  the  identity  of  suffrage  between  the  counties  and  the  towns, 
of  which  the  effect  would  be  to  add  about  200,000  persons  to  the 
county  constituency.  Mr.  Disraeli  said  the  change  which  it 
would  be  his  duty  to  recommend  would  not  rest  upon  the 
principle  of  population,  nor  upon  that  of  property  joined  with 
population.  He  finally  described  the  Government  measure  as 
'wise,  prudent,  adequate  to  the  occasion,  conservative,  and 
framed  by  men  who  reverence  the  past,  are  proud  of  the  present, 
and  confident  of  the  future.' 

The  bill  was  allowed  to  pass  its  first  reading,  but  it  speedily 
became  evident  that  it  was  not  regarded  with  satisfaction  by 
the  country,  and  also  that  it  would  meet  with  strenuous 
opposition  in  the  House.  The  Liberals,  joined  by  a  portion 
of  the  Conservatives,  objected  strongly  to  the  clause  by  which 
it  was  proposed  to  take  away  from  freeholders  in  boroughs 
the  franchise  by  which  they  were  now  qualified  to  vote  in 
counties.  The  Ministry  was  also  weakened  by  the  secession  oi 
two  of  its  prominent  members,  Mr.  Walpole  and  Mr.  Henley, 
who  as  Conservatives  could  not  support  the  measure.  On  the 
order  for  the  second  reading  of  the  bill  on  the  20th  of  March, 
Lord  John  Russell  moved  the  following  amendment : — *  That 
this  House  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  neither  just  nor  politic  to 
interfere  in  the  manner  proposed  by  this  bill  with  the  freehold 


246  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

franchise  as  hitherto  exercised  in  counties  in  England  and 
Wales ;  and  that  no  re-adjustment  of  the  franchise  will  satisfy 
this  House  or  the  country  which  does  not  provide  for  a  greater 
extension  of  the  suffrage  in  cities  and  boroughs  than  is 
contemplated  in  the  present  measure.'  The  mover  of  this 
resolution  delivered  an  able  speech  in  its  support,  concluding 
with  the  expression,  'With  regard  to  this  great  question  of 
Reform,  I  may  say  that  I  defended  it  when  I  was  young,  and  1 
will  not  desert  it  now  that  I  am  old.' 

There  were  members  who,  like  Mr.  Horsman,  thought  the  bill 
could  be  modelled  in  committee,  so  as  to  meet  the  wishes  of 
the  country,  but  others,  again — as,  for  example,  Mr.  Sidney 
Herbert — while  disclaiming  all  question  of  party  feeling, 
supported  the  amendment.  Mr.  Bright  maintained  that  the 
measure  excluded  the  working  classes,  told  them  they  were 
dangerous,  and  that  these  were  privileges  they  ought  not  to 
share.  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  gave  a  modified  support  to 
the  Government  on  this  occasion,  began  by  remarking  upon 
.the  singular  coincidence  of  opinion  on  all  sides  with  regard 
to  this  great  question  of  Parliamentary  Eeform.  As  there  was 
no  controversy  traceable  to  differences  between  political  parties 
he  regretted  that  the  House  was  now  in  hostile  conflict,  with 
a  division  before  them,  which  would  estrange  those  by  whose 
united  efforts  alone  a  satisfactory  settlement  could  be  come 
to.  He  objected  to  the  form  of  the  resolution,  but  confessed 
that  if  they  could  have  had  a  strong  Government  he  should 
have  been  induced  to  vote  for  it.  He  saw,  however,  that 
after  carrying  the  resolution  the  Opposition  would  pursue  separate 
courses.  The  House  should  do  what  it  could  in  respect  of  the 
bill,  and  the  Government  had  a  claim  upon  members.  Sketch- 
ing the  failures  of  previous  Governments,  amidst  the  laughter 
and  cheers  of  the  House,  Mr.  Gladstone  remarked,  '  In  1851  my 
noble  friend,  then  the  First  Minister  of  the  Crown,  approached 
the  question  of  Reform,  and  commenced  with  a  promise  of  what 
was  to  be  done  twelve  months  afterwards.  In  1852,  he  brought 
in  a  bill,  and  it  disappeared,  together  with  the  Ministry.  In 
1853  we  hac"  the  Ministry  of  Lord  Aberdeen,  which  commenced 
with  a  promise  of  Reform  in  twelve  months'  time.  Well,  1854 
arrived ;  with  it  arrived  the  bill,  but  with  it  also  arrived  the  war, 
and  in  the  war  was  a  reason,  and  I  believe  a  good  reason,  for 
abandoning  the  bill.  Then  came  the  Government  of  my  noble 
friend  the  member  for  Tiverton,  which  was  not  less  unfortunate 
in  the  circumstances  that  prevented  the  redemption  of  those 
pledges  which  had  been  given  to  the  people  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Sovereign  on  the  Throne.  In  1855  my  noble  friend 


THE    BUDGET    OF    1860.  247 

escaped  all  responsibility  for  a  Reform  Bill  on  account  of 
the  war,  in  1856  he  escaped  all  responsibility  for  Reform  on 
account  of  the  peace;  in  1857  he  escaped  that  inconvenient 
responsibility  by  the  dissolution  of  Parliament;  and  in  1858  he 
escaped  again  by  the  dissolution  of  his  Government. '  Pointing 
the  moral  of  these  failures,  the  speaker  affirmed  that  they 
strengthened  the  misgivings  of  the  people  as  to  the  reluctance  of 
the  House  to  deal  with  this  question,  made  it  more  hazardous 
to  interpose  obstacles,  and  required  the  progress  of  the 
Government  bill  to  completion.  Examining  the  measure  itself, 
he  announced  that  he  could  not  be  a  party  to  the  disfranchise- 
ment  of  the  county  freeholders  in  boroughs  ;  he  could  not  be  a 
party  to  the  uniformity  of  the  franchise;  he  could  not  be  a 
party  to  a  Reform  Bill  which  did  not  lower  the  suffrage  in 
boroughs.  Unless  they  could  have  a  lowering  of  the  suffrage,  it 
would  be  better  not  to  waste  time  upon  the  subject.  He 
approved  that  portion  of  the  bill  relating  to  the  redistribution  of 
seats,  but  put  in  a  strong  plea  on  behalf  of  the  small  boroughs. 

These  boroughs  were  the  nursery  ground  of  men  who  were 
destined  to  lead  the  House  and  be  an  ornament  to  their 
country;  and  he  maintained  that  the  extension  and  the  dura- 
bility of  our  liberty  were  to  be  attributed,  under  Providence,  to 
distinguished  statesmen  introduced  to  the  House  at  an  early  age. 
These  were  reasons  for  going  into  committee.  If  they  passed  the 
amendment,  it  could  have  no  other  effect  than  that  of  retarding 
a  settlement  of  the  question:  it  was  not  the  question  of  the 
Government,  but  of  Reform.  He  urged  the  House  not  to  let  slip 
its  golden  opportunity.  For  himself,  he  should  be  governed  by  no 
other  consideration  than  the  simple  one — what  course  would 
most  tend  to  settle  the  question  ?  When  he  voted  to  negative  the 
resolution  of  Lord  John  Russell,  he  should  give  his  vote  neither 
to  the  Government  nor  to  party. 

No  forecast  of  the  division  could  be  indulged  in,  for  it  was 
admitted  to  be  a  very  open  question  indeed  ;  but  the  utmost 
excitement  prevailed  when  it  became  known  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  been  defeated  by  a  substantial  majority  in  an  exceed- 
ingly full  House.  The  numbers  were — For  the  second  reading, 
291;  against,  330 — majority  against  the  Government,  39.  Lord 
Derby  thereupon  decided  on  appealing  to  the  country,  a  step 
which,  as  Mr.  Bright  said,  while  causing  much  inconvenience,  was 
a  constitutional  and  perhaps  necessary  one.  Parliament  was 
prorogued  by  Commission  on  the  19th  of  April,  and  the  new 
writs  were  immediately  issued.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  again  returned 
for  Oxford  University.  The  new  Parliament,  which  found  the 
Government  in-  a  considerable  minority,  met  on  the  31st  of 


248  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

May.  A  debate  immediately  arose  in  the  House  of  Commons 
upon  the  conduct  of  the  Ministry,  an  amendment  to  the  Address 
being  moved  by  the  Marquis  of  Hartington.  The  debate  was  a 
highly  animated  and  protracted  one.  Upon  its  conclusion,  the 
division  gave  the  following  result — For  the  amendment,  323; 
against  it,  310 — majority  against  the  Government,  13.  The 
House  having  now  twice  pronounced  against  the  Ministry,  the 
latter  had  no  option  but  to  resign.  Lord  Palmerston  was 
sent  for,  and  he  succeeded  in  forming  an  Administration.  In  this 
Ministry  Mr.  Gladstone  accepted  the  post  of  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  which  he  now  filled  for  the  second  time. 

Although  in  giving  his  vote  against  Lord  John  Russell's  resolu- 
tion Mr.  Gladstone  expressly  stated  that  he  did  it  with  the  view  of 
procuring  a  settlement  of  the  great  Reform  question,  and  not 
with  a  view  of  generally  supporting  Lord  Derby's  Government, 
he  speedily  discovered  that  he  had  alienated  from  himself  a  con- 
siderable body  of  his  constituents.  Consequently,  on  applying 
for  re-election  he  was  strongly  opposed,  the  Conservative  can- 
didate being  the  Marquis  of  Chandos.  The  Rev.  H.  L.  Mansel, 
B.D.,  Wayuflete  Professor,  was  the  chairman  of  the  Marquis's 
committee.  In  a  manifesto  addressed  to  the  electors,  and  signed 
by  Mr.  Mansel,  appeared  this  passage: — 'By  his  acceptance  oi 
office,  Mr.  Gladstone  must  now  be  considered  as  giving  his 
definite  adhesion  to  the  Liberal  party,  as  at  present  re-con- 
structed, and  as  approving  of  the  policy  of  those  who  overthrew 
Lord  Derby's  Government  on  the  late  division.  By  his  vote  on 
that  division,  Mr.  Gladstone  expressed  his  confidence  in  the 
administration  of  Lord  Derby.  By  accepting  office,  he  now 
expresses  his  confidence  in  the  Administration  of  Lord  Derby's 
opponent  and  successor.'  T  his  representation,  the  Rev.  R. 
Gresley,  chairman  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  committee,  replied,  in  a 
letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Mansel.  He  denied  that  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  been  guilty  of  an  act  of  tergiversation  by  accepting  office  in 
the  new  M  inistry,  and  added  that  he  simply  gave  a  silent  vote 
against  turning  out  the  Government  of  Lord  Derby  on  a  motion 
of  want  of  confidence  at  that  time  and  under  those  circum- 
stances. There  was  no  ground  for  the  charge  of  inconsistency. 
The  nomination  took  place  on  the  27th  of  June.  The  Dean  of 
Christ  Church  proposed  Mr.  Gladstone  in  a  Latin  speech,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  translation: — 'Members  of  the  ^Univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  I  stand  before  you  to  offer  to  your  suffrages  the 
Right  Hon.  William  Ewart  Gladstone,  D.C.L.,  of  Christ  Church, 
as  your  representative  in  Parliament.  There  is  no  need  that  I 
should  be  copious  in  eulogising  him  to  you,  although  I  could  do 
so  with  ease.  For  who  among  you  but  knows  how  convincing 


T11K    BUDGET    OP    1860.  249 

is  his  argument,  how  great  his  experience  as  a  statesman,  how 
universal  his  information,  how  pure  his  life,  how  deep  his  religious 
feeling  ?  In  a  word,  who  can  so  worthily  as  he  represent  our 
University  in  the  legislative  assembly  of  the  country?  But  I 
would  further  remind  you  that  it  is  not  any  ordinary  man  who 
can  bear  this  dignity,  not  any  one  taken  at  random  who  is  fit 
to  be  honoured  with  your  votes,  but  one  whose  talents,  elo- 
quence, weight,  learning  all  may  see,  and  may  not  only  see  but 
respect,  one,  in  short,  with  regard  to  whom,  if  elected,  there  shall 
be  but  one  opinion;  that  the  University  most  worthily  enjoys 
and  most  worthily  exercises  the  right  of  election.  For  him, 
therefore,  so  often  returned  by  you,  I  again  solicit  your  votes, 
and  in  my  opinion  no  adequate  cause  either  has  been  or  can  be 
alleged  for  breaking  through  the  standing  custom  of  the 
University :  once  elected,  always  elected.'  The  Rev.  Dr.  Wynter, 
President  of  St.  John's  College,  proposed  the  Marquis  of 
Chandos.  Both  candidates  had  their  warm  and  apparently  equal 
bodies  of  supporters  at  the  nonination.  The  polling,  however, 
which  continued  for  five  days,  closed  with  a  large  majority  for 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  the  numbers  being — For  Mr. 
Gladstone,  1,050 ;  Lord  Chandos,  859. 

The  new  Chancellor  had  but  scant  breathing  space  in  which  to 
prepare  his  financial  statement,  which  was  produced  in  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  18th  of  July.  The  budget,  never- 
theless, was  a  very  important  one  in  some  respects,  and 
was  awaited  with  eagerness  by  the  House.  Mr.  Gladstone, 
after  recapitulating  the  estimates  of  income  made  by  his 
predecessor  in  the  previous  year,  which  had  been  exceeded 
by  the  results,  stated  that  the  estimated  revenue  of  the 
current  year  would  be  £64,340,000,  and  the  estimated  expen- 
diture of  the  year  £69,207,000.  There  would  thus  be  a 
gross  deficiency  in  the  current  year  of  £4,867,000.  This  being 
the  time  when  it  became  the  Committee  to  make  adequate 
and  effective  provision  for  the  wants  of  the  year,  it  was 
likewise  a  time  when  its  attention  should  be  rigidly  con- 
fined to  those  wants,  the  charges  being  of  an  exceptional 
character,  especially  those  for  the  army  and  navy.  The 
Committee,  therefore,  were  not  to  busy  themselves  with  compre- 
hensive plans  of  finance  upon  the  present  occasion ;  next  year  it 
would  be  necessary  to  enter  upon  larger  views  of  our  financial 
system,  for  next  year  the  income-tax  would  lapse,  as  well  as 
certain  war  duties  upon  tea  and  sugar  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Long  Annuities  would  fall  in.  How  were  they  to  raise  the 
necessary  funds  to  meet  the  present  deficiency — by  borrowing  or 
by  taxes?  The  sum  required  was  a  large  one,  but  it  ought 


250  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

never  to  drive  the  British  Parliament  to  the  expedient  of  aug- 
menting the  National  Debt,  which  nothing  but  dire  necessity 
should  induce  it  to  do.  It  appeared  to  him  that  a  loan  ought 
not  to  be  resorted  to  ;  that  there  never  was  a  period  when  the 
people  of  England  were  more  satisfied  with  the  justice  and 
necessity  of  the  demands  upon  the  public  purse,  or  more 
able  or  willing  to  meet  those  demands.  Then,  if  they  were 
driven  to  taxes  in  order  to  meet  the  expenditure  of  the 
next  year,  should  the  taxation  be  direct  or  indirect?  It 
was  not  desirable  to  augment  the  malt  duty,  nor  would 
it  be  wise  to  increase  the  spirit  duties.  It  would  be  impolitic 
to  increase  the  duties  of  customs  or  excise.  There  conse- 
quently remained  the  income-tax.  That  tax  had  been  ori- 
ginally introduced  for  two  objects :  first,  to  make  reforms  in 
our  fiscal  system  ;  secondly,  to  meet  sudden  public  exigencies ; 
and  when  it  was  for  the  dignity,  honour,  and  safety  of  the 
country  that  efforts  should  be  made  to  augment  the  national 
defences,  the  income-tax  was,  al>ove  all  others,  a  regular  and  legi- 
timate resource.  The  gross  deficiency  to  be  met  was  £4,867,000. 
By  a  re-arrangement  of  the  credit  allowed  to  maltsters  they  could 
procure  almost  immediately  a  sum  of  £780,000.  The  deficiency 
would  thus  be  reduced  to  a  little  over  £4,000,000,  and  this  it  was 
proposed  to  raise  by  an  augmentation  of  the  income-tax.  It  now 
stood  at  the  rate  of  5d.  in  the  pound,  and  an  additional  4d.  would 
yield  something  over  £4,000,000.  He  proposed  that  this  addi- 
tional sum  should  be  levied  on  incomes  amounting  to  upwards  of 
£150,  but  that  incomes  under  that  sum  should  pay  only  l£d. 
extra ;  and  be  also  proposed  that  the  augmented  tax  should  be 
leviable  upon  the  first  half-yearly  payment  after  the  resolution 
should  have  been  adopted  by  the  House.  This  addition  to  the 
tax,  added  to  the  sum  derived  from  the  maltsters,  would  produce 
£5,120,000.  Deducting  the  whole  deficiency  of  the  year,  there 
would  thus  remain  a  surplus  of  £253,000.  Mr.  Gladstone  con- 
cluded with  this  appeal : — '  Instead  of  ascribing  to  the  great 
English  people  a  childish  impatience  to  meet  necessary  demands 
with  which  they  were  never  chargeable,  I,  on  the  contrary. 
shall  rely  on  their  unyielding,  inexhaustible  energy  and  generous 
patriotism,  and  shall  be  confident  that  they  will  never  shrink  from 
or  refuse  any  burden  required  in  order  to  sustain  the  honour  or 
provide  for  the  security  of  the  country.' 

On  the  order  for  going  into  committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 
some  days  afterwards,  Mr.  Disraeli  criticised  his  rival's  budget, 
and  reviewed  the  financial  policy  of  the  late  Government.  He 
strongly  protested  against  the  continuance  of  the  current 
enormous  expenditure,  which  rendered  it  necessary  to  fritter 


THE    BUDGET    OF    I860.  251 

away  the  treasure  of  the  income-tax.  The  nation,  he  main- 
tained, could  not  go  on  raising  ^270,000,000  annually ;  and  he 
demanded  that  France  and  England  '  should  mutually  prove, 
with  no  hypocrisy,  but  by  the  unanswerable  evidence  of  reduced 
armaments,  that  they  really  desired  peace.'  Such  an  agree- 
ment would  render  practicable  the  cessation  of  the  income-tax 
in  1860. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  replying  to  Mr.  Disraeli's  objection  to  the 
proposed  mode  of  levying  the]  income-tax,  said  the  House  of 
Commons  was  as  much  entitled  to  tax  six  months' profits  as  those 
of  twelve  months.  The  effect  of  the  modification  would  be  to 
throw  half  the  additional  tax  on  the  year  1860-61,  making  it 
part  of  the  Ways  and  Means  not  of  the  current  year,  but  of 
the  next.  Coming  to  more  general  matters,  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  observed  that  Mr.  Disraeli  had  endeavoured 
to  impress  upon  the  present  Government  the  necessity  of 
preserving  the  alliance  between  England  and  France — which 
had  become  almost  the  law  of  our  foreign  policy — and  he 
said,  'Kequire  the  diminution  of  armaments.'  He  (Mr.  Glad- 
stone) expressed  his  opinion  that  the  moment  the  state 
of  Europe  allowed,  it  would  be  the  duty  of  the  English 
Government  to  use  every  effort  in  that  sense.  But  why 
should  Mr.  Disraeli,  he  asked,  denounce  all  congresses  ?  Three 
months  before  Lord  Malmesbury  was  despatching  telegrams  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  about  a  congress.  For  himself,  he  was 
not  prepared  to  subscribe  to  all  Mr.  Disraeli's  opinions  as  to  the 
peace ;  he  would  rather  reserve  his  judgment  than  pledge  himsel. , 
in  the  present  state  of  Europe,  by  giving  a  distinct  approval  Oi. 
its  terms.  The  budget  resolutions  were  eventually  agreed  to. 

Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  session  ah  important  debate 
arose  upon  the  Peace  Conference,  with  special  reference  to  the 
affairs  of  Italy.  Lord  Elcho  proposed  an  address  to  her  Majesty, 
stating  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  House,  it  would  be  consistent 
neither  with  the  honour  nor  the  dignity  of  this  country  to  take 
part  in  any  conference  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  details  of 
a  peace  the  preliminaries  of  which  had  been  arranged  between 
the  Emperor  of  the  French  and  the  Emperor  of  Austria.  Mr. 
Kinglake  moved  upon  this  the  i  previous  question.' 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  at  once  rose  and  said  that, 
so  far  as  he  and  his  colleagues  were  concerned,  they  were  prepared 
to  meet  the  motion  with  a  direct  negative ;  but  if  the  House 
was  of  opinion  that  it  was  inconvenient  to  entertain  the  motion 
at  all,  they  were  ready  to  concur  in  that  which  Mr.  Kinglake 
had  made  without  any  concert  with  them.  Lord  Elcho's 
motion  spoke  of  taking  part  in  a  conference  for  the  purpose 


252  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

of  settling  the  details  of  the  peace  arranged  between  the  two 
Emperors.  He  was  not  aware  of  any  such  intention.  The 
details  of  the  peace  would  be  settled  by  the  belligerents  themselves, 
and  what  remained  would  be,  not  the  details  of  the  peace, 
but  great  questions  of  European  policy,  vitally  affecting  the 
happiness  of  Italy.  The  principal  point  made  by  Lord  Elcho 
was  the  contrast  between  the  neutrality  of  the  late  and  that  of 
the  present  Government.  He  (Mr.  Gladstone)  gave  credit  to 
the  late  Government,  represented  by  Lord  Malmesbury,  for 
their  intention,  and  for  a  restless  but  a  sound  and  manly  assi- 
duity to  maintain  peace,  and  there  had  been  no  departure 
from  the  neutrality  on  the  part  of  the  present  Government. 
The  object  of  the  noble  lord's  motion  was  to  prevent  the 
Government  from  taking  part  in  the  conference,  lest  they  should 
be  hostile  to  Austria.  To  disclaim  such  a  motive,  he  said, 
was  needless,  and  would  be  disparaging.  There  was  no 
foundation  for  such  a  supposition.  It  was  the  desire  of  the 
Government  to  see  Austria  strong,  flourishing,  and  happy  ;  but 
it  did  not  follow  that  they  might  not  have  their  own  feeling  and 
conviction  that  she  might,  by  another  policy,  .better  discharge 
her  duties  and  consult  her  own  separate  and  individual  interests. 
To  understand  the  present  position  of  Austria  it  was  necessary 
to  go  back  for  the  last  forty-five  years.  During  that  interval, 
wherever  liberty  raised  its  head  in  Italy  it  was  crushed  by 
the  iron  hand  of  Austria,  and  abuses  were  re-established 
in  all  their  rigour.  The  position  of  Sardinia,  with  her  im- 
improved  institutions,  became  of  necessity  a  standing  danger 
to  Austria.  It  was  necessary  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment should  consider  what,  in  the  present  state  of  circum- 
stances, was  best  for  Italy,  for  Austria,  and  for  Europe.  Might 
not  Austria  be  stronger  out  of  Italy  than  in  it  ?  This  was  an 
opinion  which  might  be  held  by  honest  men,  and  he  was  himself 
strongly  of  that  opinion.  But  the  true  policy  of  this  country, 
according  to  Lord  Elcho,  was  the  policy  of  non-intervention. 
What,  then,  he  asked  (here  Mr  Gladstone  triumphantly  held 
aloft  the  blue-book),  is  the  policy  adopted  and  enforced  in  these 
papers  ?  The  questions  the  noble  lord  had  referred  to  had  not 
been  proposed  before  going  into  the  conference.  The  mover  of 
the  resolution  had  argued  that  we  had  confidence  in  the  Emperor 
of  the  French  or  we  had  not,  and  in  either  case  we  should  not 
enter  the  conference.  He  (Mr.  Gladstone)  agreed  that  if  we  had 
not  confidence,  and  were  essentially  at  variance  with  France,  it 
would  be  a  question  of  prudence  how  far  we  should  enter  into  the 
conference ;  but  he  could  not  understand  the  other  branch  of  the 
dilemma,  which  would  come  to  this :  that  whatever  might  be  the 


THE    BUDGET    OF    1860.  253 

liberal  sentiments  of  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  we  would  refuse 
to  assist  him,  but  leave  him  to  struggle  with  his  difficulties. 
This  was  a  recommendation  which  he  concluded  by  earnestly 
entreating  the  House  to  discountenance. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  was  followed  (amongst  other 
speakers)  by  Mr.  Horsman,  Mr.  S.  Herbert,  Lord  John  Eussell, 
Mr.  Disraeli,  and  Lord  Palmerston.  It  was  generally  agreed,  how- 
ever, that  Mr.  Gladstone's  speech  had  effectually  disposed  of  the 
motion ;  and  Lord  Elcho,  expressing  himself  satisfied  with  the 
discussion,  withdrew  it. 

Perhaps  the  most  exciting  debate  of  the  whole  session  arose 
over  the  Eoman  Catholic  Relief  Act  Amendment  Bill.  By 
this  measure,  which  was  supported  by  the  Government,  it  was 
proposed  that  a  Roman  Catholic  should  be  eligible  for  the 
office  of  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland.  To  English  members  like 
Mr.  Newdegate,  and  Irish  members  of  the  Orange  type  of  Mr. 
Whiteside,  the  bill  appeared  a  suicidal  one.  Pass  it,  and  the 
Constitution  was  gone.  Mr.  Newdegate,  in  particular,  it  is  to 
be  feared,  must  have  spent  many  sleepless  nights  while  this 
attempted  base  betrayal  of  the  Protestant  liberties  of  England 
was  going  forward.  The  hon.  member  moved  the  rejection  of 
the  measure,  which  he  described  as  being  an  invasion  of  the 
Protestant  Constitution,  and  as  practically  abrogating  the 
settlement  of  1829.  Mr.  Whiteside  was  equally  strong  in  his 
denunciation  of  the  bill,  and,  in  an  unfortunate  moment  for 
himself,  brought  Mr.  Gladstone's  name  into  his  speech  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  rouse  the  ire  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 
The  physical  atmosphere  of  the  House  was  very  sultry  (it  was 
now  the  middle  of  July),  but  the  mental  speedily  transcended  it. 
An  eye-witness,  describing  the  scene,  remarked  that  he  was  not 
surprised  at  the  loudness  of  Mr.  Newdegate's  groans  and  the 
double-dyed  Orange  hue  of  Mr.  Whiteside's  stupendous  oration, 
especially  seeing  how  nearly  within  the  grasp  of  the  latter  had 
been  the  Irish  Chancellorship  ;  but  what  was  surprising  was  the 
tone  and  manner  of  Mr.  Gladstone.  While  the  Irish  Secretary, 
Mr.  Cardwell,  was  balancing  the  two  parties  in  Ireland  in  his 
elaborate  sentences,  Mr.  Gladstone  stood  at  the  bar  in  an  attitude 
very  near  akin  to  contempt  for  the  business  which  the  Govern- 
ment official  was  manipulating  so  unskilfully ;  but  after  Mr. 
Whiteside  had  spoken,  and  his  own  time  came,  Mr.  Gladstone 
'  started  up  with  his  face  full  of  fire  and  his  manner  flushed  with 
vigour,  and  delivered  a  masterly,  keen,  crushing  speech  of  ten 
minutes — no  more — which  was  at  once  dignified,  humorous, 
argumentative,  and  piled  up  with  grand  phraseology,  concen- 
trating every  faculty  of  an  orator  and  all  the  scorn  of  an  offended 


254  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

member  of  Parliament.  It  was  one  of  those  bursts  of  earnest 
speechmaking  which  are  now  so  rare  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  which  are  worth  waiting  through  a  long,  hot  summer  night 
to  listen  to.  It  even  roused  Mr.  Walpole  into  a  diluted  imita- 
tion of  a  style  which  had  so  successfully  carried  the  House  along 
with  it ;  it  brought  out  sarcasm  and  irony  bitter  enough  from 
Mr.  Disraeli ;  elicited  something  of  the  insolent  tone  of  1857 
from  Lord  Palmerston ;  animated  the  torpor  of  Sir  George  C. 
Lewis ;  and  actually  flashed  inspiration  into  the  lymphatic  and 
apathetic  idiosyncrasy  of  Sir  William  Somerville ;  while  it  put 
the  House  into  one  of  those  fevers  of  excitement  which,  when 
they  begin  about  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  are  so  difficult  to 
allay.  Certainly  one  has  not  for  a  long  time  witnessed  so  decided 
a  case  of  that  electrification  of  the  House  and  its  prolonged 
effects  with  which  at  times  it  is  affected  in  the  strangest  and 
strongest  manner.'  The  measure  thus  violently  opposed  has 
since  become  law,  as,  indeed,  have  many  other  measures  which 
led  men  who  failed  to  move  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  to  look 
for  the  setting  of  the  sun  of  England's  greatness.  Yet  that  noble 
but  impalpable  inheritance,  the  English  Constitution,  still 
remains  to  us — as  great,  as  glorious,  as  durable  at  this  day  as  in 
any  generation  of  our  past  history. 

The  year  1860  will  be  for  ever  memorable  as  a  new  point  ot 
departure  in  British  commerce  and  manufactures.  The  country 
was  at  peace  with  foreign  nations ;  calmness  and  moderation 
reigned  at  home;  and  Parliament  was  enabled  to  proceed 
unfettered  with  those  wise  and  beneficent  acts  of  legislation 
which  have  caused  the  session  to  occupy  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  positions  in  our  domestic  history.  England  and 
France  were  to  be  in  the  future  bound  together,  not  by  such  ties 
of  alliance  as  the  mutual  dread  of  war  involves,  but  by  the 
deeper  and  more  lasting  ties  of  friendship  and  of  peace.  Mr. 
Cobden,  commissioned  by,  and  acting  in  unison  with,  the  English 
Government,  was  successful  in  negotiating  with  France  a 
commercial  treaty  based  on  Free  Trade  principles — a  treaty 
which  gave  an  impetus  to  the  trade  of  this  country  whose  far- 
reaching  effects  are  felt  even  to  our  own  day.  Whatever  may 
be  the  views  of  Englishmen  upon  the  general  tenor  and  spirit 
of  the  Government  of  the  third  Napoleon,  his  ready  acqui- 
escence in,  and  determination  to  carry  through,  a  treaty  based 
upon  hitherto  much-combated  principles,  redounded  greatly  to 
his  sagacity  and  penetration.  The  fight  in  France  against  the 
adoption  of  Free  Trade  was  not  so  long  or  so  bitter  as  in 
England  ;  but  the  Emperor's  resolve,  notwithstanding,  involved 
a  sharp  and  severe  struggle.  In  the  end  the  treaty  was  success- 


THE    BUDGET    OF    1860.  255 

fully  negotiated  by  Mr.  Cobden,  under  the  auspices,  and  with 
the  aid,  of  Mr.  Gladstone  as  our  Finance  Minister. 

The  conclusion  of  this  treaty  invested  the  budget  of  the  year 
with  additional  importance.  It  was  awaited  with  the  deepest 
interest  and  solicitude,  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
fixed  the  earliest  day  possible  for  its  delivery,  namely,  the  6th  of 
February.  Unfortunately,  however,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  seized 
with  indisposition,  and  the  statement  was  postponed  until  the 
10th.  On  that  day  the  Minister  appeared  before  a  densely  crowded 
assembly.  The  House  was  packed  to  the  doors  and  through  all 
its  approaches.  Never  in  the  memory  of  members  had  a 
financial  statement  possessed  such  fascination.  Combating  his 
physical  weakness  so  far  as  to  come  down  to  the  House  three  days 
before  the  time  originally  specified  after  the  announcement  of  his 
illness,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  '  walked  up  the  floor  of 
the  House  with  an  alacrity  which  was  surprising,  and  bent  his 
head  with  conscious  pleasure  before  the  hearty  cheers  which 
greeted  his  appearance.'  There  was  in  him,  apparently,  no  trace 
of  weakness,  physical  or  mental. 

The  House  having  resolved  itself  into  a  committee  of  Ways 
and  Means,  Mr.  Gladstone  rose,  and  at  once  plunged  into  his 
statement.  '  Sir,'  he  began,  '  public  expectation  has  long  marked 
out  the  year  1860  as  an  important  epoch  in  British  finance.  It 
has  long  been  well  known  that  in  this  year,  for  the  first  time,  we 
were  to  receive  from  a  process  not  of  our  own  creation  a  very 
great  relief  in  respect  of  our  annual  payment  of  interest  upon  the 
National  Debt — a  relief  amounting  to  no  less  a  sum  than 
£2,146,000 — a  relief  such  as  we  never  have  known  in  time  past, 
and  such  as,  I  am  afraid,  we  shall  never  know  in  time  to  come. 
Besides  that  relief,  other  and  more  recent  arrangements  have 
added  to  the  importance  of  this  juncture.  A  revenue  of  nearly 
£12,000,000  a  year,  levied  by  duties  on  tea  and  sugar,  which 
still  retain  a  portion  of  the  additions  made  to  them  on  account 
of  the  Kussian  war,  is  about  to  lapse  absolutely  on  the  31st  of 
March,  unless  it  shall  be  renewed  by  Parliament.  The  Income- 
tax  Act,  from  which  during  the  financial  year  we  shall  have 
derived  a  sum  of  between  £9,000,000  and  £10,000,000,  is  likewise 
to  lapse  at  the  very  same  time,  although  an  amount  not  incon- 
siderable will  still  remain  to  be  collected  in  virtue  of  the  law  about 
to  expire.  And  lastly,  an  event  of  not  less  interest  than  any  of 
these,  which  has  caused  public  feeling  to  thrill  from  one  end  of 
the  country  to  the  other — I  mean  the  treaty  of  commerce,  which 
my  noble  friend  the  Foreign  Minister  has  just  laid  on  the  table 
— has  rendered  it  a  matter  of  propriety,  nay,  almost  o'f  absolute 
necessity,  for  the  Government  to  request  the  House  to  deviate, 


256  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case,  from  its  usual,  its 
salutary,  its  constitutional  practice  of  voting  the  principal 
charges  of  the  year  before  they  proceed  to  consider  the  means  of 
defraying  them,  and  has  induced  the  Government  to  think  they 
would  best  fulfil  their  duty  by  inviting  attention  on  the  earliest 
possible  day  to  those  financial  arrangements  for  the  coming  year 
which  are  materially  affected  by  the  Treaty  with  France,  and 
which,  though  they  reach  considerably  beyond  the  limits  of  that 
treaty,  yet,  notwithstanding,  can  only  be  examined  by  the  House 
in  a  satisfactory  manner  when  examined  as  a  whole.'* 

Mr.  Gladstone  then  went  on  to  announce  that  the  financial 
results  of  the  year — so  far,  at  least,  as  the  receipts  were  con- 
cerned— were  eminently  satisfactory.  The  total  estimated  revenue 
was  £69,460,000  ;  the  actual  amount  produced  was  not  less  than 
£70,578,000.  The  expenditure  had  been  £68,953,000.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances  this  amount  would  have  left  a  surplus  of 
£1,625,000;  but  there  had  been  additional  charges,  arising  out 
of  the  expedition  to  China,  in  the  army  of  £900,000,  and 
the  navy,  £270,000.  Then  came  the  effect  of  the  treaty  with 
France,  for  which  there  was  to  be  deducted  from  the  customs 
£640,000.  The  total  was  £1,800,000,  which  would  have  placed 
the  revenue  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  account ;  but  in  a 
happy  moment,  Spain — 'not  under  any  peculiar  pressure 
from  us,  but  with  a  high  sense  of  honour  and  duty'- 
had  paid  a  debt  of  £500,000,  of  which  £250,000  would  be 
available  at  once,  so  that  a  small  surplus  would  still  be  left 
on  the  total  revenue  With  regard  to  the  interest  of  the- 
debt  in  the  coming  year,  the  estimated  charge  was  £26,200,000, 
leaving  £2,438,000,  or  more  than  the  annuities  which  were 
about  to  lapse.  The  Consolidated  Fund  charges  would  be 
£2,000,000 ;  the  army,  militia,  and  the  charge  for  China 
would  be  £15,800,000 ;  the  navy  and  packet  service,  £13,900,000  ; 
or  altogether,  £29,700,000,  being  an  increase  of  more  than 
£3,000,000  on  the  military  estimates  of  the  preceding  session. 
The  miscellaneous  estimates  were  £3,500,000;  the  revenue 
departments,  £4,700,000 ;— the  grand  total  being  £70,100,000. 
Coming  to  the  estimate  of  the  year  in  perspective,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone said  that,  taking  the  imports  as  they  then  st«od,  it 
was :—  Customs,  £22,700,000;  excise,  £19,170,000;  stamps, 
£8,000,000  ;  taxes,  £3,250,000 ;  income-tax,  £2,400,000  ;  with 
the  post-office  the  total  being  £60,700,000 ;  thus  leaving  a  deficit 

*  A  corrected  verbatim  report  of  this  and  other  budget  speeches  appears  in  the 
volume — published  under  Mr.  Gladstone's  authority — The  Financed  Statements  of 
1853, 1860-1863.  To  which  are  added  a  Speech  on  Tax  Bills,  1861,  and,  on  Charities, 
1863,  By  the  Right  Hop,  W,  E.  Gladstone. 


THE    BUDGET    OF    1860.  257 

of  £9,400,000 ;  and  this  without  any  provision  for  £1,000,000 
coming  due  on  Exchequer  bonds.  Even  if  the  existing  war  duties 
on  tea  and  sugar  should  be  retained,  the  deficit  would  still  be 
£7,300,000.  This  would  require  an  income-tax  of  9d.  in  the 
pound,  there  being  no  remission  of  taxation  in  the  trade  and 
commerce  of  the  country ;  but  the  £9,400,000  would  require  an 
income-tax  of  1  s.  in  the  pound.  He  knew  that  it  might  with 
justice  be  demanded  of  him,  '  What  has  become  of  the  calcula- 
tions ot  1853  ?  '  His  answer  was,  that  in  that  ysar  it  was  reckoned 
there  would  be  gained  by  taxes  then  imposed  between  that  and 
the  present  time  a  sum  of  £5,959,000,  which  was  about  the  sum 
that  the  income-tax  would  have  reached  at  5d.  in  the  pound  in 
the  present  year.  The  succession  duty  had  failed  to  produce 
what  was  expected  ;  surpluses  had  been  stopped  by  the  interven- 
tion of  war  ;  and  there  was,  moreover,  the  charge  for  additional 
debt  incurred  by  the  Kussian  war,  which  amounted  to  £2,920,000. 
The  alteration  in  the  spirit  duties,  however,  had  added 
£2,000,000  to  the  revenue ;  and  the  revenue  generally  had  been 
so  prosperous,  that  if  the  expenditure  had  not  rapidly  increased 
the  amount  calculated  in  1853  would  have  been  realised.  It 
was  a  constantly  increasing  expenditure  which  had  destroyed  the 
calculations  of  1853. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  next  demonstrated  by 
elaborate  statistics  how  much  richer  the  country  was  than  in 
1842  and  1853.  In  the  former  year  the  annual  income  of 
the  country  was  £154,000,000;  in  1853  it  had  risen  to 
£172,000,000;  in  1857-8  it  stood  at  £191,000,000;  and  in 
1859-60  at  £200,000,000.  The  increase  had  occurred  in  every 
class  in  the  country,  and  in  the  agricultural  class  most  of  all. 
In  1842,  the  gross  expenditure  of  the  country  was  £68,500,000  ; 
in  1853  it  was  £71,500,000;  in  1859-60  it  was  £87,697,000; 
these  totals  including  the  local  expenditure  as  well  as  that 
of  the  State  properly  so  called,  showing  a  gradual  but  large 
increase.  The  comparative  growth  of  wealth  and  expenditure 
was  therefore  wholly  unequal,  and  it  showed  the  course  which 
the  country  was  pursuing — a  course  with  which  he  was  far  from 
being  satisfied.  But  there  was  a  deficit  of  £9,400,000  to  be 
met.  He  had  shadowed  out  a  budget  by  which  with  an  income- 
tax  of  Is.  in  the  pound  their  object  could  be  achieved,  with  a 
relief  to  the  consumers  of  tea  and  sugar  to  the  extent  of  the 
remaining  portions  of  the  war  duty ;  or,  there  was  a  more 
niggardly  budget,  which  would  keep  up  the  duties  on  tea  and 
sugar,  yet  still  leave  the  country  liable  to  an  income-tax  of  not 
less  than  9d.  in  the  pound.  It  was  his  intention  to  apply  in  aid 
of  the  expenditure  of  the  year  a  sum  of  not  less  than  £1,400,000, 

s 


253  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

which  was  no  part  of  the  proposed  taxation  of  the  year,  but  which 
would  be  obtained  by  rendering  available  another  portion  of  the 
malt  credit,  and  likewise  the  credit  usually  given  on  hops.  The 
heavy  income-tax  which  had  been  borne  would  not  have  been 
borne  as  it  had  been  without  discontent,  but  for  the  strength 
which  the  country  had  derived  from  the  recent  commercial 
legislation,  and  the  confidence  of  the  nation  in  the  integrity  and 
wisdom  of  Parliament.  Slightly  modifying  the  statement  as 
to  the  absence  of  discontent,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  said,  *  I 
speak  in  general  terms.  Indeed,  I  now  remember  that  I  myself 
had,  about  a  fortnight  ago,  a  letter  addressed  to  me  complaining 
of  the  monstrous  injustice  and  iniquity  of  the  income-tax,  and 
proposing  that,  in  consideration  thereof,  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  should  be  publicly  hanged  ! ' 

Enforcing  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  take  further  steps 
in  the  direction  of  relieving  trade  and  commerce  from  imposts 
in  pursuance  of  the  principles  of  Free  Trade  (nowithstanding 
the  difficulties  which  existed),  Mr.  Gladstone  subsequently 
entered  into  calculations  to  show  that  remissions  of  taxation  had 
always  been  accompanied  by  increase  of  revenue,  consequent  on 
the  increase  of  trade  and  commerce.  He  then  announced  that  he 
did  not  propose  to  touch  the  taxes  on  tea  or  sugar,  which  would 
be  renewed  as  they  then  stood  for  one  year.  '  I  now  come,'  con- 
tinued the  speaker,  'to  the  question  of  the  commercial  treaty 
with  France.  And,  sir,  I  will  at  once  confidently  recommend  the 
adoption  of  the  treaty  to  the  committee  as  fulfilling  and  satisfy- 
ing all  the  conditions  of  the  n?ost  beneficial  kind  of  change  in 
our  commercial  legislation.'  With  regard  to  the  points  of  the 
treaty,  France  was  to  reduce  the  duties  on  coal  and  iron  in 
1860 ;  on  yarn,  flax,  and  hemp  early  in  1861.  On  the  1st  of 
October,  1861,  the  duties  would  be  reduced  or  prohibition 
removed  from  all  British  articles,  so  that  no  duty  should  be 
higher  than  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  all  the  staple  manufactures 
of  Britain  being  included.  In  three  years  afterwards  the 
maximum  duty  was  to  be  25  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  England,  on 
her  part,  engaged  herself  immediately  and  totally  to  abolish  all 
duty  on  all  manufactured  goods  from  France,  to  reduce  the  duty 
on  brandy  to  8s.  2d.  per  gallon,  on  foreign  wine  (not  merely 
French)  to  3s.  per  gallon,  and  in  1861  still  further,  in  reference 
to  the  strength  of  the  wine — the  lowest  duty  being  Is.  per 
gallon ;  the  charge  on  French  articles  liable  to  excise  duty  in 
England  to  be  the  same  as  the  English  duty.  The  treaty  was  to 
be  in  force  for  ten  years.  Mr.  Gladstone  denied  the  charge  of 
subserviency  to  France  brought  against  the  treaty,  and  said  that 
he  was  aware  it  would  be  held  to  bear  a  political  character.  He 


THE    BUDGET    OF    1860.  259 

thus   eloquently  enlarged   upon  the  real  friendship  which  the 
treaty  would  inaugurate  between  the  two  countries  : — 

'  I  do  not  forget,  sir,  that  there  was  once  a  time  when  close  relations  of  amity 
were  established  between  the  Governments  of  England  and  France.  It  was  in  the 
reign  of  the  later  Stuarts ;  it  marks  a  dark  spot  in  our  annals ;  but  the  spot  is  dark 
because  the  union  was  an  union  formed  in  a  spirit  of  domineering  ambition  on  the 
one  side,  and  of  base  and  most  corrupt  servility  on  the  other.  But  that,  sir,  was 
not  an  union  of  the  nations  ;  it  was  an  union  of  the  Governments.  This  is  not  to  be 
an  union  of  the  Governments  apart  from  the  countries ;  it  is,  as  we  hope,  to  be 
an  union  of  the  nations  themselves ;  and  I  confidently  say  again,  as  I  have  already 
ventured  to  say  in  this  House,  that  there  never  can  be  any  union  between  the 
nations  of  England  and  France,  except  an  union  beneficial  to  the  world,  because 
directly  that  either  the  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  begins  to  harbour  schemes  of 
selfish  aggrandisement,  that  moment  the  jealousy  of  its  neighbour  will  be  aroused, 
and  will  beget  a  powerful  reaction  ;  and  the  very  fact  of  their  being  in  harmony 
will  of  itself  at  all  times  be  the  most  conclusive  proof  that  neither  of  them  can  be 
engaged  in  meditating  anything  which  is  dangerous  to  Europe.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  next  combated  the  objection  that  a  commercial 
treaty  is  an  abandonment  of  the  principles  of  Free  Trade.  That 
would  be  so  in  one  sense  if  it  involved  the  recognition  of  exclu- 
sive privileges.  This  particular  treaty  was  an  abandonment  of 
the  principle  of  Protection.  He  was  not  aware  of  any  entangling 
engagement  which  it  contained ;  and  it  certainly  contained  no 
exclusive  privilege.  '  It  is  a  means,  I  hope,'  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  added,  l  tolerably  complete  and  efficacious,  of  sweep- 
ing from  the  statute  book  the  chief  among  such  relics  of  that 
miscalled  system  of  Protection  as  still  remain  upon  it.  The  fact 
is — and  you  will  presently  see  how  truly  it  is  so — that  oar  old 
friend  Protection,  who  used  formerly  to  dwell  in  the  palaces  and 
the  high  places  of  the  land,  and  who  was  dislodged  from  them 
some  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago,  has,  since  that  period,  still  found 
pretty  comfortable  shelter  and  good  living  in  holes  and  corners  ; 
and  you  are  now  invited,  if  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  concur 
in  the  operation,  to  see  whether  you  cannot  likewise  eject  him 
from  those  holes  and  corners.'  Dwelling  upon  the  effects  of  the 
treaty,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the  reduction  on  wine  would 
cause  a  loss  in  revenue  of  £515,000,  on  brandy  of  £225,000,  on 
manufactured  goods  of  £440,000— making  a  total  of  £1,180,000. 
He  maintained  that  these  were  not  revenue  duties,  but  were  all 
protective  duties.  Statistics  were  quoted  to  show  that  it  was 
desirable  to  make  such  a  bargain  with  France  as  would  allow  of 
the  interchange  of  manufactures  and  commodities,  which  was 
already  important,  and  which  must  largely  increase  when  France 
was  induced  to  break  down  her  prohibitory  system.  That  which 
had  been  done  would  have  been  good  for  this  country  if  France 
had  done  nothing ;  it  was  better  for  us  in  proportion  as  France 
did  something.  One  result  of  the  high  duly  on  French  brandy, 
for  example,  was  the  manufacture  of  an  unhappy  production  in 

32 


2CO  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

the  shape  of  a  spirit  called  British  brandy.  As  to  wine,  it  was 
said  to  be  the  rich  man's  luxury,  and  tea  the  poor  man's  luxury ; 
but  in  1760  tea  was  the  rich  man's  luxury,  and  sold  at  20s.  a 
pound  ;  and  by  reducing  the  duty  you  might  make  wine  the  poor 
man's  luxury.  In  fact,  the  existing  duties  were  not  merely  pro- 
tective but  prohibitory,  and  there  was  a  pressure  with  regard  to 
that  article  which,  apart  from  any  treaty  Avith  France,  would 
compel  a  dealing  with  the  wine  duties.  The  consumption  of 
foreign  wines  in  this  country  had  greatly  increased — by  at  least 
168,000 gallons  in  the  last  year;  and  concurrent  with  that  there 
had  been  a  large  consumption  of  colonial  wines  and  even  of 
British  wines.  This  showed  a  great  demand  for  wine,  and  there 
was  reason  to  believe  that  a  greater  production  of  wines,  fitted 
for  the  English  market  and  middle  and  lower  classes  of  this 
country,  could  be  effected.  The  idea  that  under  no  possible  cir- 
cumstauf  s  could  Englishmen  like  French  wines  ought  to  be 
exploded,  there  being,  in  fact,  a  great  taste  in  England  for  those 
wines;  but  it  was  stifled  by  prohibitory  duties,  which  generated  a 
mass  of  evils  in  the  shape  of  fraud  and  adulteration.  The  altera- 
tion in  the  tariff  with  France  would  tend  greatly  to  facilitate 
personal  intercourse  with  the  Continent,  by  enabling  the  Customs 
authorities  to  withdraw  the  greater  part  of  the  annoying 
restraints  now  existing  on  the  rapid  transit  of  passengers  and 
their  baggage. 

No  passage  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  speech  was  more  warmly 
applauded  than  the  following,  with  its  especially  glowing  and 
generous  tribute  to  Mr.  Cobden  : — '  Sir,  I  cannot  pass  from  the 
subject  of  the  French  Treaty  without  paying  a  tribute  of  respect 
to  two  persons,  at  least,  who  have  been  the  main  authors  of  it. 
I  am  bound  to  bear  this  witness,  at  any  rate,  with  regard  to  the 
Emperor  of  the  French :  that  he  has  given  the  most  unequivocal 
proofs  of  sincerity  and  earnestness  in  the  progress  of  this  great 
work,  a  work  which  he  has  prosecuted  with  clear-sighted  resolu- 
tion, not,  doubtless,  for  British  purposes,  but  in  the  spirit  oi 
enlightened  patriotism,  with  a  view  to  commercial  reforms  at  home, 
and  to  the  advantage  and  happiness  of  his  own  people  by  means 
of  those  reforms.  With  regard  to  Mr.  Cobden,  speaking  as  I  do 
at  a  time  when  every  angry  passion  has  passed  away,  I  cannot 
help  expressing  our  obligations  to  him  for  the  labour  he  has,  at 
no  small  personal  sacrifice,  bestowed  upon  a  measure  which  he — 
not  the  least  among  the  apostles  of  Free  Trade — believes  to  be 
one  of  the  most  memorable  triumphs  Free  Trade  has  ever 
achieved.  Rare  is  the  privilege  of  any  man  who,  having  fourteen 
years  ago  rendered  to  his  country  one  signal  and  splendid  service, 
now  again,  within  the  same  brief  span  of  life,  decorated  neither 


THE    BUDGET    OF    1860.  261 

by  rank  nor  title,  bearing  no  mark  to  distinguish  him  from  the 
people  whom  he  loves,  has  been  permitted  again  to  perform  a 
groat  and  memorable  service  to  his  Sovereign  and  to  his  country.' 

When  the  cheers  evoked  by  this  eulogiurn — alike  honourable 
to 'the  speaker  and  its  subject — had  subsided,  Mr.  Gladstone 
proceeded  to  unfold  his  supplemental  measure  of  customs  reform. 
It  was  proposed  to  reduce  customs  duties,  in  addition  to  those 
named,  to  the  extent  of  £910,100,  but  to  supply  that  sum  by 
other  impositions  on  trade.  The  duties  to  be  abolished  were 
those  on  butter,  tallow,  cheese,  oranges  and  lemons,  eggs,  &c., 
which  amounted  to  £380,000  a-year.  There  were  to  be  reduc- 
tions of  duties  on  timber,  currants,  raisins,  figs,  and  hops, 
making  together  £658,000 ;  the  total  reduction  being  £1,039,000. 
An  extension  of  penny  taxation  would  be  resorted  to,  in  order  to 
compensate  this  loss,  and  by  this  means  £982,000  would  be  res- 
tored to  the  general  revenue.  The  loss  to  the  revenue  by  the  French 
Treaty  and  reduction  of  duties  he  estimated  at  £2,146,000,  but 
of  this  sum  half  was  redeemed  by  the  imposts  specified. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  next  announced  that  he  pro- 
posed the  abolition  of  the  excise  duty  on  paper.  Some  of  the 
reasons  advanced  for  this  step  were  not  very  dissimilar  to  those 
which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  he  once  adduced  for  the  retention 
of  the  duty  ;  but  the  press  had  shown  a  capacity  to  wield  its  enor- 
mous power  with  (speaking,  of  course,  generally)  justice  and 
purity  ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone  now  augured  the  happiest  results  from 
a  spread  of  cheap  literature.  Besides,  not  only  had  the  duty 
been  condemned  by  the  Commons'  House  of  Parliament,  but  it 
was  a  bad  and  untenable  one.  It  operated  most  oppressively  on 
the  common  sorts  of  paper,  and  tended  to  restrict  the  circulation 
of  cheap  literature.  The  materials  which  the  duty  affected  were 
of  boundless  scope,  as  everything  fibrous  could  be  converted  into 
paper,  which  was  an  article  extensively  used  in  sixty-nine  trades. 
The  duty  on  paper  had  closed  all  the  small  mills,  and  the  manu- 
facture of  paper  was  monopolised  by  two  or  three  makers.  By 
taking  off  the  duty  it  was  contended  that  the  House  would  pro- 
mote rural  labour,  and  so  produce  a  beneficial  effect  on  the  poor- 
rates  of  the  various  districts.  Mr.  Gladstone  mentioned  in  proof 
of  this  the  case  of  a  gentleman,  *  second  to  no  man  in  England 
for  his  enterprise,'  *  who  a  few  years  before  had  established  a 

*  Mr.  Herbert  Ingram,  then  M.P.  for  Boston,  and  proprietor  of  the  Illustrated  London 
News.  Besides  its  effects  upon  the  newspaper  branch  of  literature,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  exaggerate  the  beneficial  results  of  the  repeal  of  the  paper  duty  upon 
literature  generally,  through  the  operations  of  the  great  publishing  houses  of  the 
metropolis ;  and  amongst  these  the  author  cannot  reconcile  himself  to  omit  mention, 
of  the  firm  through  whose  instrumentality  this  work  is  presented  to  tho  public. 
Did  space  permit,  startling  statistics  could  be  adduced  in  proof  of  the  wisdom  and 
foresight  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  policy. 


262  WILLIAM   EWAET  GLADSTONE. 

paper  manufactory  at  Kickmansworth,  with  the  result  that  within 
three  or  four  years  after  its  establishment  the  poor-rates  were 
diminished  in  that  parish  by  one-half.  This  was  an  argument  of 
a  nature  to  be  readily  appreciated  and  understood.  He  therefore 
proposed  that  the  paper  duty  should  be  abolished  from  the  1st  of 
July,  allowing  the  usual  drawback  to  those  who  bad  stocks  on 
hand.  It  was  also  proposed  to  abolish  the  impressed  stamp  on 
newspapers.  With  this  announcement  he  had  reached  the  end  of 
the  remissions  it  was  proposed  to  make. 

It  was  still  necessary,  however,  to  refer  to  some  articles  which 
were  connected  with  the  departments  of  excise  and  taxes.  With 
regard  to  hops,  the  system  of  credits  would  be  altered.  It  was 
proposed  to  remove  the  prohibition  on  malt,  and  to  fix  a  duty  on 
it  of  3s.  a  bushel.  The  alterations  and  reductions  he  had  proposed 
would  give  a  total  relief  to  the  consumer  of  £3,931,000,  and 
cause  a  net  loss  to  the  revenue  of  £2,108,000,  a  sum  about  equi- 
valent to  the  amount  falling  in  from  the  cessation  of  Government 
annuities  that  year.  The  number  of  articles  which  would  remain 
on  the  customs'  tariff  would  be  forty-eight,  and  next  year  forty- 
four — spirits,  tea,  tobacco,  sugar,  wine,  coffee,  corn,  currants,  and 
timber  being  the  principal — only  fifteen  of  the  whole  being 
retained  for  purposes  of  revenue.  He  expected  to  obtain  £1 ,400,000 
by  taking  up  the  malt  and  hop  duties  within  the  year.  Mr. 
Gladstone  then  carne  to  the  last  of  the  chief  points  of  his  budget. 
There  was  no  liberty  of  choice  but  to  retain  the  income-tax.  He 
consequently  proposed  that,  in  order  to  supply  the  remainder  of 
the  deficit  of  £9,400,000,  the  tax  should  be  renewed  at  the  rate 
of  lOd.  in  the  pound  on  incomes  of  upwards  of  £150  a-year,  and  at 
7d.  below  that  sum  ;  the  tax  to  be  taken  for  one  year  only,  three- 
quarters  of  the  year's  rate  to  be  collected  within  the  year,  which 
would  give  a  sum  of  £8,472,000.  This  would  bring  the  total 
income  up  to  £70,564,000.  The  total  charge  was  £70,100,000 ; 
and  thus  they  remained  with  an  apparent  or  estimated  surplus  of 
£464,000.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  concluded  this 
important  and  elaborate  financial  statement  with  the  following 
peroration : — 

'  Our  proposals  involve  a  great  reform  in  our  tariff ;  they  involve  a  large  remis- 
sion of  taxation,  and  last  of  all,  though  not  least,  they  include  that  commercial 
treaty  with  France  which,  though  we  have  to  apprehend  that  objections  in  some 
quarters  will  be  taken  to  it,  we  confidently  recommend,  not  only  on  moral,  and 
social,  and  political,  but  also,  and  with  equal  confidence,  on  economical  and  fiscal 
grounds.  .  .  .  There  were  times,  now  long  by,  when  Sovereigns  made  progress 
through  the  land,  and  when,  at  the  proclamation  of  their  heralds,  they  caused  to 
be  scattered  whole  showers  of  coin  among  the  people  who  thronged  upon  their 
steps.  That  may  have  been  a  goodly  spectacle ;  but  it  is  also  a  goodly  spectacle, 
and  one  adapted  to  the  altered  spirit  and  circumstances  of  our  times,  when  our 
Sovereign  is  enabled,  through  the  wisdom  of  her  great  Council,  assembled  in  Par- 
liament around  her,  again  to  scatter  blessings  among  her  subjects  by  means  of  wise 


THE   BttDGET    Oi1    1866.  2C3 

and  prudent  laws ;  of  laws  which  do  not  sap  in  any  respect  the  foundations  of  duty 
or  of  manhood,  but  which  strike  away  the  shackles  from  the  arm  of  industry,  which 
give  new  incentives  and  new  rewards  to  toil,  and  which  win  more  and  more  for 
the  Throne  and  for  the  institutions  of  the  country  the  gratitude,  the  confidence 
and  the  love  of  an  united  people.  Let  me  say,  even  to  those  who  are  anxious,  and 
justly  anxious,  on  the  subject  of  our  national  defences,  that  that  which  stirs  the 
rlame  of  patriotism  in  men,  that  which  binds  them  in  one  heart  and  soul,  that  which 
gives  them  increased  confidence  in  their  rulers,  that  which  makes  them  feel  and 
know  that  they  are  treated  with  justice,  and  that  we  who  represent  them  are 
labouring  incessantly  and  earnestly  for  their  good — is  in  itself  no  small,  no  feeble, 
and  no  transitory  part  of  national  defence.  We  recommend  these  proposals  to  your 
impartial  and  searching  inquiry.  We  do  not  presume,  indeed,  to  make  a  claim  on 
your  acknowledgments ;  but  neither  do  we  desire  to  draw  on  your  unrequited 
confidence,  nor  to  lodge  an  appeal  to  your  compassion.  We  ask  for  nothing  more 
than  your  dispassionate  judgment,  and  for  nothing  less ;  we  know  that  our  plan 
will  receive  that  justice  at  your  hands ;  and  we  confidently  anticipate  on  its  behalf 
the  approval  alike  of  the  Parliament  and  the  nation.' 

This  speech  occupied  four  hours  in  delivery,  but  it  was 
listened  to  without  the  least  sign  of  weariness — a  result  to 
which  the  character  of  the  speaker's  oratory  in  no  small  degree 
contributed.  It  was  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
budget  addresses  that  they  roused  curiosity  in  the  outset,  and, 
being  delivered  in  a  musical,  sonorous,  and  perfectly  modulated 
voice,  kept  the  listeners  interested  to  the  very  close.  This  finan- 
cial statement  of  1860  was  'admirably  arranged  for  the  purpose 
of  awaking  and  keeping  attention,  piquing  and  teasing  curiosity, 
and  sustaining  desire  to  hear  from  the  first  sentence  to  the  last. 
It  was  not  a  speech,  it  was  an  oration  in  the  form  of  a  great 
State  paper  made  eloquent,  in  which  there  was  a  proper  restraint 
over  the  crowding  ideas,  the  most  exact  accuracy  in  the  sentences, 
and  even  in  the  very  words  chosen ;  the  most  perfect  balancing 
of  parts,  and,  more  than  all,  there  were  no  errors  of  omission ; 
nothing  was  put  wrongly,  and  nothing  was  overlooked.'  With  a 
House  crowded  in  every  corner,  with  the  strain  upon  his  own 
mental  faculties,  and  the  great  physical  tax  implied  in  the 
management  of  the  voice,  and  the  necessity  for  remaining  upon 
his  feet  during  this  long  period,  '  the  observed  of  all  observers,' 
Mr.  Gladstone  took  all  as  quietly,  we  are  told,  as  if  he  had  just 
risen  to  address  a  few  observations  to  Mr.  Speaker.  Indeed 
it  was  laughingly  said  that  he  could  address  a  House  for  a  whole 
week,  and  on  the  Friday  evening  have  taken  a  new  departure, 
beginning  with  the  observation,  '  After  these  preliminary  remarks, 
I  will  now  proceed  to  deal  with  the  subject  matter  of  my  finan- 
cial plan.' 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's  great  scheme  was  not  to 
pass  unchallenged,  He  had  brought  forward  proposals  conceived 
in  a  large  and  liberal  spirit — proposals  in  which  neither  the  rich 
nor  the  poor  were  forgotten ;  proposals  which  provided  for  a 
remission  of  taxes  upon  the  simple  necessaries  of  life,  and  which 
gave  a  large  stimulus  to  trade  and  industry.  But  no  budget  yet 


2<u  WILLIAM  EWAUT  GLADSTONE. 

produced  ever  gave  satisfaction,  in  all  points,  to  every  class  of 
the  community  :  the  shoe  necessarily  pinches  somewhere.  The 
budget  of  I860  accordingly  had  its  opponents.  The  shipowners 
condemned  it  because  it  failed  to  place  the  shipping  of  both 
countries  on  the  same  footing  ;  the  licensed  victuallers  organised 
a  movement  for  opposing  the  licences  for  eating-houses ;  and 
several  minor  details  were  objected  to ;  but  on  the  whole  the 
scheme  was  favourably  viewed  by  the  country.  The  Manchester 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  followed  by  other  Chambers,  petitioned 
the  House  of  Commons  to  pass  the  budget  with  all  convenient 
speed  ;  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Lancashire  Keformers'  Union 
Mr.  Bright  warmly  expressed  his  approval  of  it. 

The  Opposition  made  one  strong  formal  attack  upon  the 
budget  and  the  treaty.  Mr.  Du  Cane,  who  had  given  notice  of 
a  motion  impeaching  the  principle  of  the  budget,  was  induced 
to  postpone  it ;  and  Mr.Dis  raeli  brought  forward  a  resolution  to 
the  effect  that  'this  House  does  not  think  fit  to  go  into 
committee  on  the  Customs  Acts,  with  a  view  to  the  reduction 
or  repeal  of  the  duties  referred  to  in  the  treaty  of  commerce 
between  her  Majesty  and  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  until  it 
shall  have  considered  and  assented  to  the  engagements  in  that 
treaty.'  The  right  lion,  gentleman  attacked  the  treaty,  attacked 
the  Government,  and  attacked  Mr.  Cobden.  *  The  treaty  bears 
marks,'  he  said,  '  of  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the  negotiator.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  retorted  that  he  did  not  know  what  the  resolu- 
tion meant,  and  he  did  not  believe  Mr.  Disraeli  himself  knew 
what  it  meant.  He  ridiculed  the  latter's  attributing  to  the 
Government  a  course  which  had  caused  the  Queen  to  commit  an 
illegal  act,  and  to  make  an  attack  on  the  constitutional  privi- 
leges of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  repudiated  the  charitable 
protection  of  inadvertence  offered  to  him  by  the  leader  of  the 
Opposition,  and  rejected  his  proposition.  The  precedent  of 
Mr.  Pitt  had  been  followed  in  every  respect,  and  Mr.  Disraeli 
was  wrong  both  in  his  facts  and  his  arguments  Avith  regard  to 
the  course  taken  by  Mr.  Pitt  in  1786.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
debate  there  appeared-  For  Mr.  Disraeli's  motion,  230  ;  against, 
293 — majority  for  the  Government,  63.  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
exceedingly  buoyant,  and  even  triumphant,  in  his  speech  in  answer 
to  Mr.  Disraeli ;  he  had  the  advantage  of  a  strong  case.  One  of 
the  journals  at  the  time  remarked  that  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  '  won  his  Magenta  gallantly,  and  with  extraordinary 
damage  to  the  enemy.  The  battle  has  been  renewed,  and  is 
raging  while  we  write,  but  the  Opposition  army  is  dispirited  and 
charges  languidly,  and  all  seems  tending  towards  a  Ministerial 
Solferino.  Mr.  Gladstone  distinguished  himself  in  the  first 


THE    BUDGET    OF    1860.  265 

engagement  by  a  feat  of  arms  of  the  most  brilliant  character, 
and  none  of  his  own  Homeric  heroes  could  have  more  terribly 
"  poured  in  thunder  on  the  foe."  Dropping  martial  metaphor,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  best  debater  in  the  House  of  Commons 
delivered,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Disraeli — no  unworthy  antagonist  — 
a  speech  in  which  the  lucidity  of  the  argument  was  worthy  of 
the  powerful  declamation  of  the  orator.  When  Mr.  Gladstone 
addresses  himself  in  his  best  manner  to  his  work,  as  he  did  upon 
the  occasion  in  question,  the  House  of  Commons  is  justly  proud 
of  its  illustrious  member.  Sometimes,  like  Burke, 

"  He  goes  on  refining, 
And  thinks  of  convincing  while  they  think  of  dining  " 

(or  rather  of  dividing,  for  he  seldom  throws  himself  away  upon 
the  Impransi) ;  but  there  was  no  such  waste  of  thought  upon 
this  occasion,  when  he  closed  with  his  adversary  like  a  man  who 
meant  mischief; — and  he  did  it.  Mr.  Disraeli  knows  best 
whether  it  was  wise  to  get  his  forces  so  exceedingly  well  beaten 
at  the  beginning  of  the  financial  campaign  ;  but  that  is  his  affair 
and  Prince  Rupert's.' 

Mr.  Du  Cane  subsequently  brought  forward  his  motion, 
affirming  the  inexpediency  of  any  remission  of  duties,  and  the 
disappointment  which  would  be  caused  throughout  the  country 
by  the  reimposition  of  the  income-tax  at  an  unnecessarily  high 
rate.  The  debate  was  continued  through  three  sittings,  and 
towards  its  close  Mr.  Gladstone  replied  to  the  principal 
arguments  urged  against  his  financial  scheme.  With  consider- 
able power  and  vivacity,  he  vindicated  the  policy  of  the  treaty 
with  France,  which  he  considered  would  do  more  to  unite  the 
two  countries  in  the  bonds  of  amity  than  any  measure  that  could 
be  adopted.  The  division  showed  an  increased  majority  for  the 
Government,  the  numbers  being — For  Mr.  Du  Cane's  amend- 
ment, 223  ;  against,  339 — majority  for  the  Ministry,  116.  A 
futile  attempt  was  afterwards  made  to  retain  the  paper  duty. 

The  budget,  nevertheless,  was  not  safe  yet.  Several  of  its 
leading  provisions  were  repeatedly  attacked — :as,  for  example,  the 
remission  of  wine  duties  and  the  reimposition  of  the  income-tax 
— and  on  the  order  for  the  third  reading  of  the  Paper  Duty 
Repeal  Bill,  Sir  S.  Northcote  moved  that  the  existing  state  of 
the  finances  of  the  country  rendered  it  undesirable  to  proceed 
further  with  the  measure.  The  Opposition  mustered  strongly, 
but  the  supporters  of  the  Government,  probably  thinking  the 
bill  safe,  did  not  attend  to  vote  in  large  numbers,  the  figures 
being — For  the  third  reading,  219  ;  against,  210. 

As  this  budget  of  1860  is  the  most  important  with,  which  Mr. 


266  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Gladstone's  name  is  associated,  some  reference  must  be  made  to 
the  opposition  which  arose  out  of  doors  to  one  of  its  most 
important  provisions,  before  the  scheme  finally  passed  the  House 
of  Commons.  The  turning  point  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer's  success  in  the  matter  of  the  paper  duty  was  the 
provision  to  repeal  not  only  the  paper  duty  at  home,  but  the  duty 
upon  foreign  paper  coming  in  ;  which  was  the  provision  practically 
settling  the  matter,  inasmuch  as  the  large  paper-makers  at 
home  could  not  compete  with  the  foreign  manufacturers,  who 
would  not  allow  their  rags  to  come  into  the  English  market. 
This  provision,  whilst  it  served  to  turn  the  flank  of  the  opposi- 
tion, did  not  immediately  disarm  the  hostility  of  the  small 
section  of  protective  paper-makers  in  this  country,  and  a  paper 
warfare  ensued.*  The  real  state  of  the  case,  however,  was  well 
exposed  in  one  of  the  daily  journals.  The  Government,  in 
abolishing  the  excise  duty  on  paper,  proposed  (as  above  stated) 
also  to  abolish  the  import  duty  of  l^d.perlb.  hitherto  charged 
on  paper  brought  into  the  United  Kingdom^from  abroad,  and  to 
establish,  so  far  as  England  was  concerned,  entire  free  trade  in 
that  commodity.  The  effect  of  this  undoubtedly  was  to  expose 
our  own  paper-manufacturers  to  foreign  competition.  But  paper 
of  the  highest  class  had  hitherto  been  made  chiefly  from  rags, 
which  thus  became  an  important  article  of  commerce ;  and  the 
French  Government,  while  doing  away  with  the  prohibition 
which  had  so  far  prevented  our  getting  any  rags  at  all  from 
France,  intended  to  levy  a  tax  ou  their  exportation.  The  effect  of 
this  would  be  to  make  rags  cheaper  in  France  than  in  England, 
and  consequently  the  manufacture  of  paper  cheaper ;  and  as 
French  paper  was  to  be  admitted  without  duty,  our  manufacturers 
complained  that  they  would  be  exposed  to  an  unfair  and  ruinous 
competition.  Such  was  the  nature  of  the  arguments  advanced 
by  the  protectionist  section  on  this  question.  In  reply,  it  was 
asked,  looking  at  the  question  from  a  consumer's  point  of  view, 
whether  we  were  to  allow  French  blunders  of  a  protective 
character  to  control  British  legislation  ?  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
asked  to  lay  an  import  duty  on  French  paper,  in  or,der  to  make 
English  paper  dearer  than  it  otherwise  would  be,  and  enable 
English  paper-makers  to  get  a  higher  price  than  they  would 
have  to  pay  if  we  allowed  the  free  importation  of  paper  from 
France.  This  would  have  been  an  abandonment  of  the 
principles  of  Free  Trade,  of  which  we  had  hitherto  boasted.  In 
fact,  as  the  French  Treaty  reserved  to  us  the  right  of  laying  an 

*  The  literature  upon  this  subject  was  most  voluminous  ;  but  the  arguments  of 
the  Protectionist  minority  were  fully  and  effectively  answered  by  some  of  the 
leading  publishers,  as  well  as  by  the  daily  journals,  which  almost  unanimously  sup« 
ported  the  budget  propositions. 


THE    BUDGET    OF    i860.  267 

import  duty  on  French  goods  sufficient  to  counterbalance  any 
excise  duty  which  might  be  levied  in  England  on  the  same 
articles,  consequently  the  abolition  of  the  excise  duty  on  paper 
required  usto  admit  French  paper  duty  free.  If  the  counter- 
proposition  had  been  adopted,  it  would  have  upset  the  treaty. 
It  was  merely  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  few  leading  paper- 
makers  who  were  foremost  in  the  powerful  phalanx  of  resistance 
to  be  saved  from  the  proposed  effects  of  foreign  competition. 
Immediately  Mr.  Gladstone  perceived  the  full  bearing  of  the 
question,  and  the  effect  his  measure  must  produce  on  this 
opposition,  he  resolved  upon  pushing  forward  his  comprehensive 
propositions ;  and  we  have  seen  that,  after  considerable 
opposition,  his  financial  scheme  passed  the  Commons  in  its 
entirety. 

But  the  question  now  arose,  What  will  the  Lords  do  ?  will 
they  consent  to  the  repeal  of  the  paper  duty  ?  Unfortunately, 
they  resolved  upon  the  rejection  of  the  measure.  Lord  Monteagle 
gave  notice  of  a  hostile  motion  to  this  effect,  and  Lord  Derby 
stated  his  intention  of  supporting  it.  Immediately  upon  the 
announcement  of  this  resolution  by  the  Conservative  chief,  an 
influential  deputation  waited  upon  his  lordship  to  procure  a 
reconsideration  of  his  decision.  Lord  Derby  himself  was  surprised 
at  the  numbers  and  importance  of  those  forming  the  deputation, 
which  included  representatives  of  literature  and  journalism,  as 
well  as  some  of  the  leading  publishing  houses  in  the 
metropolis.*  A  memorial,  adopted  at  a  public  meeting  held  at 
St.  Martin's  Hall,  was  presented  to  his  lordship,  protesting 
against  the  course  he  had  intimated  it  to  be  his  intention  to 
take.  In  reply,  Lord  Derby  made  a  remarkable  statement.  He 
said  that  in  1858  and  1859,  as  he  had  been  reminded,  he  had 
expressed  his  own  opinion  that  the  tax  was  objectionable,  and 
that  it  was  desirable  it  should  be  repealed  as  soon  as  the  state 
of  the  revenue  would  permit  it ;  and  the  question  between  him- 
self and  the  deputation  was  whether  the  present  state  of  the 
revenue  and  the  financial  prospects  of  the  country  admitted  of 
the  Legislature  taking  a  step  which  he  would  assume,  for  the 
sake  of  argument,  to  be  beneficial  in  itself. 

This  admission  was  a  virtual  condemnation  of  Lord  Derby's 
own  course ;  for  Mr.  Gladstone,  as  the  administrator  of  the 
national  finances,  was  certainly  best  able  to  judge  whether  those 
finances  would  stand  the  strain  of  repeal.  Lord  Derby  made  the 

*  It  may  bo  stated  that  amongst  those  comprising  the  deputation  were  Mr.  Ewart, 
M.P.,  Mr.  Ingram,  M.P.,  Mr.  Crawford,  M.P.,  and  Mr.  Serjeant  Parry.  The  last- 
named  gentleman  presented  the  memorial,  adding  some  remarks,  and  the  case  for 
repeal  was  forribly  and  exhaust.ivdy  placed  before  Lord  Derby  by  Mr.  Ewart,  Mr. 
G.  William  Petter,  Mr.  F.  Evans,  and  some  other  speakers. 


2<58  WILLIAM   EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

further  acknowledgment  that  not  only  must  the  House  of  Com- 
mons originate  all  taxes  that  are  to  be  imposed,  but  that  the 
House  of  Lords  had  no  right  to  modify  a  tax  in  the  slightest 
degree.  The  proposed  rejection  of  the  Paper  Duty  scheme  was 
therefore  diametrically  opposed  to  Parliamentary  usage  and 
practice,  and  to  the  rights  of  the  people.  Lord  Derby  could  not 
defend  the  tax  on  its  intrinsic  merits ;  and,  moreover,  while  its 
abolition  was  a  positive  and  undeniable  good,  its  retention  under 
any  circumstances  could  not  be  very  long. 

Before  the  division  in  the  Upper  House  was  taken,  Mr.  Bright 
attended  a  great  public  meeting,  held  to  protest  against  'the 
usurpation,  proposed  by  Lord  Derby  to  the  House  of  Lords,  in 
the  retention  of  the  tax  upon  paper,  independent  of  the  House 
of  Commons  and  the  Crown.'  The  hon.  member  for  Birmingham 
denied  the  right  of  the  House  of  Lords  to  supersede  a  vote  of 
the  Commons,  who  had  the  right — the  sole  right — of  voting 
money  for  the  service  of  the  Crown.  The  step  was  an  attack 
upon  liberty,  upon  the  dignity  and  rights  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons. If  the  Government  tamely  submitted  they  would  lose  the 
confidence  of  the  country.  'And  who  would  come  in? — the  old 
thing  over  again :  Derby  in  one  House,  Disraeli  in  the  other — 
men  who  appear  to  have  no  principle.  Wherever  you  see  them 
travelling,  if  you  study  with  the  minutest  investigation  their 
political  Bradshaw,  you  will  find  that  every  line  converges  to 
one  point,  which  is  Downing  Street.'  The  constitutional  ques- 
tion he  declared  to  be  worth  a  hundred  times  the  excise  duty 
upon  paper. 

When  the  bill  came  on  for  second  reading  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  notwithstanding,  evil  counsels  prevailed,  and  it  was 
rejected  by  the  large  majority  of  89.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  now 
face  to  face  with  the  gravest  constitutional  crisis  in  his  career — 
not  excepting,  perhaps,  that  which  subsequently  arose  respecting 
the  abolition  of  Purchase  in  the  Army. 

It  was  held  by  many — and  .those  unquestionably  the  great 
majority  in  the  country — that  the  rejection  of  the  bill  by  the 
Lords,  if  sustained,  would  establish  a  marked  precedent  for  the 
future.  The  minority  again,  looking  at  the  question  in  what 
they  deemed  to  be  a  practical  light,  regarded  the  decision  of  the 
Lords  as  wise  and  prudent.  Eventually,  the  House  of  Commons 
appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up  a  report  on  historical 
precedents  in  the  matter ;  and  on  the  oth  of  July  Lord  Palmer- 
ston  moved  the  following  resolutions : — *  1.  That  the  right  of 
granting  aids  and  supplies  to  the  Crown  is  in  the  Commcn.3 
alone,  as  an  essential  part  of  their  constitution,  and  the  limita- 
tion of  all  such  grants  as  to  matter,  manner,  measure,  and  time 


THE    BUDGET    01*    18CO.  2(5S 

is  only  in  them.  2.  That  although  the  Lords  have  exercised  the 
power  of  rejecting  bills  of  several  descriptions  relating  to  taxa- 
tion by  negativing  the  whole,  yet  the  exercise  of  that  power  by 
them  has  not  been  frequent,  and  is  justly  regarded  by  this 
House  with  peculiar  jealousy  as  affecting  the  right  of  the  Com- 
mons to  grant  the  supplies,  and  to  provide  the  Ways  and 
Means  for  the  service  of  the  year.  3.  That  to  guard  for  the 
future  against  an  undue  exercise  of  that  power  by  the  Lords,  and 
to  secure  to  the  Commons  their  rightful  control  over  taxation 
and  supply,  this  House  has  in  its  own  hands  the  power  so  to 
impose  and  rernit  taxes  and  to  frame  bills  of  supply  that  the 
right  of  the  Commons  as  to  the  matter,  manner,  measure,  and 
time  may  be  maintained  inviolate.'  His  lordship  said  that  as  the 
House  of  Lords  had  been  encouraged  by  the  diminution  of  the 
majority  in  the  Lower  House — which  had  fallen  from  53  on  the 
second  to  9  on  the  third  reading — it  would  be  better  for  the 
Commons  to  satisfy  themselves  with  a  mere  declaration  of  their 
constitutional  privileges  The  resolutions  were  carried. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  in  speaking  upon  them,  said  that  while  the 
resolutions  did  all  that  language  could  do  to  defend  the  honour 
of  that  House,  he  was  prepared  to  go  further,  and  to  reserve 
to  himself  the  right  of  acting.  The  precedents  quoted  had 
not  touched  in  the  slightest  degree  the  case  under  consideration ; 
for  there  was  a  great  difference  between  the  House  of  Lords 
advising  an  alteration  in  a  money  bill  and  rejecting  the  repeal 
of  a  tax.  The  House  of  Commons  had  declared  that  they 
could  spare  from  the  revenue  of  the  country  £1,125,000  of  ihe 
taxation,  and  having  an  option  between  the  tea  and  the  paper 
duties  as  to  which  they  should  remit,  they  chose  that  which 
they  believed  would  prove  more  beneficial  to  the  country,  though, 
perhaps,  not  the  most  popular.  The  result  had  been  that  the 
House  of  Lords  had  chosen  to  assume  to  themselves  the  power 
of  dictating  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  of  saying  that  the 
country  could  not  spare  such  a  remission  of  taxation.  Mr. 
Gladstone  maintained  that  the  House  had  the  undoubted  right 
to  select  the  manner  in  which  the  people  should  be  taxed,  and 
they  were  bound  to  preserve  intact  that  precious  deposit.  He 
reserved  to  himself  the  privilege  of  submitting  such  practical 
measures  as  would  give  effect  to  the  resolutions. 

In  the  closing  days  of  the  session  this  important  financial 
question  was  once  more  discussed  in  a  House  which  (owing  to 
the  strenuous  exertions  of  the  Whips)  numbered  exactly  five  hun- 
dred members,  including  the  Speaker.  This  was  an  unusual 
spectacle  in  a  session  already  almost  moribund.  Mr.  Gladstone 
moved  his  resolutions  for  the  reduction  of  the  duty  on  foreign 


270  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE). 

paper.  The  question,  he  said,  was  great  in  connection  with 
important  commercial  principles,  and  obligations  of  honour  and 
policy,  as  it  related  to  a  contract  with  France.  Reducing  the 
customs  duty  on  paper  to  that  of  the  excise  Avas  clearly  within 
the  sense  and  meaning  of  the  treaty  with  France.  On  the  ground 
of  humanity  towards  the  papermakers,  it  would  be  desirable  to 
settle  the  question  then.  The  obligation  of  the  treaty  was,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  law  officers  of  the  Crown,  undoubted ;  and  in 
that  opinion  the  legal  authorities  of  France  concurred.  The 
question  was  also  one  of  policy,  and  a  touchstone  was  now  to  be 
applied  to  old  and  new  friends  of  Free  Trade,  and  that  was,  this 
very  last  article  which  claimed  protection.  He  could  not  doubt 
that  the  sense  of  honour  of  the  House,  as  well  as  its  sense  of 
policy,  would  dictate  to  them  the  acceptance  of  a  resolution  which 
for  the  last  time  would  deal  with  Protection. 

The  first  resolution  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  33,  the 
numbers  being — For  the  resolution,  266  ;  against,  233.  The 
cheers  which  followed  the  announcement  of  these  figures  were 
loud  and  prolonged ;  and  when  Mr.  Gladstone  rose  to  read  his 
second  resolution  he  was  kept  standing  for  five  or  six  minutes, 
in  consequence  of  the  continued  applause  from  the  Liberal 
benches.  With  the  passing  of  these  resolutions,  the  constitutional 
question,  which  had  given  rise  to  so  much  acrimonious  debate, 
remained  in  abeyance  for  the  time,  but  only  to  be  re-opened  in 
the  following  session.* 

In  the  course  of  this  session  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  the 
House  on  the  subject  of  Lord  John  Russell's  Reform  Bill.  This 
measure  proposed  to  add  to  the  £10  occupation  franchise  in 
counties  a  security  that  would  make  it  a  bond  fide  franchise,  and 
to  introduce  a  £6  franchise  in  towns,  which  would  add  (said  Mr. 
Disraeli)  about  200,000  to  the  borough  constituency.  There  were 
also  some  redistribution  changes  in  the  bill,  and  the  payment  of 
poor-rates  only  was  to  be  the  condition  of  the  vote.  In  the  debate 
on  the  second  reading,  Mr.  Gladstone  vindicated  the  conduct  and 
consistency  of  the  introducer  of  the  bill,  as  well  as  of  the  Govern- 
ment, upon  the  Reform  question.  The  bill  was  brought  forward 
in  obedience  to  frequent  pledges,  and  after  these  pledges  and  the 
expectations  which  had  been  raised,  he  must  warn  hon.  gentle- 
men opposite  of  the  danger  of  further  and  unnecessary  delay.  He 
ridiculed  the  fears  of  those  who  thought  that  the  proposed 
franchise  would  have  the  effect  of  deteriorating  the  constituencies 

*  It  was  pointed  out  by  Lord  Brougham  and  others  how  great  would  have  been 
the  injustice  and  loss  inflicted  upon  the  whole  body  of  publishers  if  the  tax  had 
been  retained.  Engagements  entailing  enormous  expenditure  had  been  entere'd 
upon,  on  the  faith  of  the  determination  of  the  House  of  Commons — expressed 
in  the  outset  of  the  struggle — to  abolish  the  tax. 


THE   BUDGET   OF    I860.  271 

of  the  country  ;  and  contended,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  class  of 
voters  created  by  the  bill  were,  by  their  position  and  intelligence, 
fully  as  capable  of  exercising  the  franchise  as  independently  as 
many  of  the  shopkeeping  electors  in  our  boroughs.  The  appre- 
hensions of  the  £6  electors  becoming  so  numerous  as  to  swamp 
the  representation  of  property  and  station  in  that  House  were,  he 
maintained,  utterly  unfounded  and  delusive. 

The  bill  was  read  a  second  time  without  a  division  ;  but 
finding  it  impossible  to  carry  it  through  both  Houses  this 
session,  Lord  J.  Eussell  withdrew  it. 

It  is  refreshing,  for  the  moment,  to  turn  from  the  arena  of 
politics,  and  to  regard  Mr.  Gladstone  in  another  capacity,  and 
one  in  which  he  has  appeared  on  several  occasions  during  his 
lengthened  career.  On  the  16th  of  April,  1860,  he  was  installed 
as  Lord  Rector  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  receiving 
previous  to  the  installation  the  degree  of  LL.D.  Having  been 
formally  introduced  as  Rector  of  the  University  by  Sir  David 
Brewster,  Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  the  customary  address. 
The  right  hon.  gentleman  began  by  stating  that  he  intended 
to  speak  to  the  assembled  students  of  the  work  of  the  University 
as  a  great  organ  of  preparation  for  after  life,  with  the  view 
of  assisting  them  in  arming  themselves  for  the  efforts  and 
trials  of  their  career.  Every  generation  of  men,  it  was  said, 
as  it  traversed  the  vale  of  life,  laboured  under  that  which 
succeeded  it,  and  accumulated  new  treasures  for  the  race. 
No  small  part  of  that  treasure  was  stored,  and  no  small  part  of 
that  part  was  performed  by  universities,  which  had  been  entitled 
to  rank  among  the  greater  lights  and  glories  of  Christendom.  Mr. 
Gladstone  then  described  the  work  of  the  University  as  covering 
the  whole  field  of  knowledge,  human  and  divine ;  the  whole  field 
of  nature ;  the  whole  field  of  time,  in  binding  together  successive 
generations  as  they  passed  in  the  prosecution  oi  their  common 
destiny ;  aiding  each  to  sow  its  proper  seed  and  to  reap  its  proper 
harvest  from  what  had  been  sown  before ;  storing  up  into  its  own 
treasure  house  the  spoils  of  every  new  venture  in  the  domain  of 
mental  enterprise  ;  and  ever  binding  the  present  to  pay  over  to 
the  future,  at  least,  an  acknowledgment  of  the  debt  it  owed  to 
the  past.  In  the  olden  history  of  the  universities,  they  were  to 
knowledge  and  mental  freedom  what  the  castle  was  to  the  feudal 
baron — what  the  guild  was  to  the  infant  middle  classes.  The 
universities  were  a  great  mediating  power  between  the  high  and 
the  low — the  old  and  the  new  ;  between  the  speculative  and  the 
active ;  between  authority  and  freedom.  In  countries  which 
enjoyed  political  liberty,  the  universities  were  usually  firm  sup- 
porters of  the  established  order  of  tilings  ;  but  in  countries  undei 


2:2  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

absolute  government  they  required  a  bias  towards  innovation. 
After  some  remarks  on  the  proper  work  of  universities,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone noticed  the  difficulties  attending  the  question,  how  far 
endowments  for  education  were  desirable,  urging  upon  students 
and  teachers  the  duty  of  bestirring  themselves  in  their  own 
persons  to  refute  the  charge  that  endowments  of  universities  gravi- 
tated towards  torpor  as  their  natural  termination.  The  new 
Lord  Rector  finally  impressed  upon  the  students  the  importance 
of  the  acquisition  of  those  particular  forms  of  knowledge  which 
would  be  directly  serviceable  to  them  in  their  several  professions, 
and  the  value  of  the  study  of  ancient  literature,  as  affording  the 
most  effective  intellectual  training. 

Thus  closed  an  address  whose  special  characteristic  was  its  great 
practical  value. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63. 

The  Results  of  Free  Trade — England's  Foreign  Relations — Mr.  Gladstone's  Post 
Office  Savings  Hank  Bill — Church  Kates — The  Affairs  of  Italy — Speech  of  Mr. 
Gladstone — Tl-t?  Budget  of  1861 — Effects  of  the  French  Treaty— Character  of  the 
Financial  Statement — The  Paper  Duty — Its  Repeal  Opposed — Attacks  on  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer — The  Bill  passed — Mr.  Gladstone's  Mission  to  the 
Ionian  Islands — Financial  measuresof  1862 — Their  Scope  and  Character — Another 
Debate  on  the  Affairs  of  Italy — Mr.  Gladstone's  reply  to  Sii  George  Bowyer — The 
Confederate  States  of  America — Indiscreet  Utterance  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer — Presentation  to  Mr.  Charles  Kean — The  Budget  of  1863 — Applica- 
tion of  the  Surplus — Proposed  Taxation  of  Charities — The  Scheme  abandoned — 
Debate  on  the  Income-tax — Dissenters'  Burials  Bill — The  International  Exhibition 
Building. 

THE  sagacity  of  the  statesmen  who,  through  evil  report  and  good 
report,  had  remained  the  steadfast  friends  of  the  principles  of 
Free  Trade,  was  strongly  attested  in  the  year  1861.  The  harvest 
of  the  preceding  year  had  failed,  and  the  most  lugubrious  vatici- 
nations of  poverty  and  distress  were  indulged  in  by  those  who 
had  alike  opposed  the  great  measure  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  the 
Commercial  Treaty  with  France.  These  prognostications  were 
defeated,  and  England  discovered  that  Free  Trade,  which  had 
been  described  as  the  parent  of  innumerable  evils,  was  her  saviour 
in  the  period  of  national  crisis.  The  removal  of  the  restrictions 
which  had  hitherto  impeded  the  free  interchange  of  commodities 
with  other  countries,  now  operated  in  a  most  salutary  manner, 
when  the  country  was  driven,  by  her  enlarged  necessities,  to  the 
resources  of  a  foreign  supply  ;  and  Free  Trade  exercised  a  health- 
ful influence  in  many  other  respects  upon  English  industry. 
Under  other  circumstances,  the  scarcity  of  the  harvest  and  the 
fetters  upon  trade  would  have  seriously  crippled  the  country  at 
this  juncture;  but  the  working  classes  especially  now  experienced 
the  most  beneficial  results  from  the  removal,  by  the  Legislature, 
of  a  pressure  that  must  long  otherwise  have  retarded  the  internal 
progress  of  the  Empire. 

When  the  session  opened,  the  relations  of  England  with  foreign 
Powers  were  friendly  and  satisfactory ;  and  though  events  of  great 
importance  were  transpiring  in  Italy,  it  was  hoped  that  the 

T 


2V4  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

moderation  of  the  Powers  of  Europe  would  prevent  any  interrup- 
tion of  the  general  peace.  The  Speech  from  the  Throne 
announced  that  the  operations  of  the  allied  forces  in  China  had 
been  attended  with  complete  success.  With  the  occupation  ot 
Pekin,  an  honourable  and  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  all  the 
matters  in  dispute  had  been  procured.  Serious  differences  had 
arisen  amongst  the  States  of  the  North  American  Union,  but  it 
Avas  hoped  that  these  differences  might  still  prove  susceptible  of 
a  pacific  adjustment. 

In  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Earl  of  Derby  strongly  condemned 
the  policy  of  the  Government  with  regard  to  France  and  Italy — 
a  policy  which  he  described  as  placing  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
people  '  an  amount  of  taxation  absolutely  unprecedented  in  time 
of  peace,  and  only  made  more  intolerable  by  the  financial  freaks 
of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.'  To  this  attack  upon  Mr. 
Gladstone,  the  records  of  the  session  of  1861  furnish  the  best  of 
all  possible  answers — an  eminently  practical  one.  The  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  again  proceeded  with  his  legislation  on 
behalf  of  the  people,  and  only  three  days  after  the  speech  of  Lord 
Derby  in  the  Upper  House,  he  brought  forward  in  the  House  of 
Commons  the  preliminary  resolutions  on  which  he  designed  to 
found  his  new  Post  Office  Savings  Bank  Bill.  The  object  of  this 
measure  was  to  give  increased  facilities  for  the  deposit  of  small 
savings  to  those  who  now  only  possessed  imperfect  ones,  through 
the  medium  of  the  savings-banks.  Whereas,  up  to  that  time, 
the  savings-banks  could  only  afford  limited  accommodation  for 
small  depositors,  there  being  only  600  in  England  and  Wales— 
which  opened  only  on  two  days  in  the  week — the  post-offices,  of 
which  he  proposed  now  to  avail  himself,  numbered  2,000  or 
3,000,  and  were  open  every  day  in  the  week,  and  for  ten  hours 
each  day.  The  plan  would  be  worked  through  the  Postmaster- 
General,  and  the  functions  of  the  commissioners  would  be  simply 
to  receive  the  deposits.  The  Government  proposed  to  offer  the 
working  classes  £2  10s.  per  cent,  interest  on  their  deposits,  with- 
out any  expense  to  the  public.  The  system  was  intended  to  be 
self-supporting.  There  was  nothing  in  the  project  to  give  it  the 
character  of  a  national  bank.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  moved  a 
resolution  to  provide  for  the  payment  out  .of  the  Consolidated 
Fund  of  any  deficiency  which  might  arise  from  the  establishment 
of  Post  Office  Savings  Banks.  It  would  be  impossible  to  over- 
estimate the  advantages  which  have  accrued  to  certain  classes  of 
the  community  from  the  legislation  thus  initiated. 

Taking  the  most  important  occasions  upon  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
addressed  the  House  during  this  session  in  their  natural  order, 
we  find  that,  l>efore  the  close  of  February,  he  took  part  in  the 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  275 

discussion  on  the  vexed  question  of  Church  rates.  Sir  John 
Trelawny  had  once  more  introduced  his  Church  Rates  Abolition 
Bill,  and  on  a  proposition  to  defer  the  bill  for  six  months,  or 
virtually  to  reject  it,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  said 
there  was  a  growing  persuasion  that  it  would  be  for  the  credit  of 
the  legislature  to  bring  this  contentious  matter  to  an  end.  He 
did  not  regard  the  present  bill  as  one  calculated  to  effect  a 
settlement.  The  people  of  England  were  not  prepared  to  part 
with  the  union  of  Church  and  State,  which  was  one  of  the  avowed 
objects  of  the  abolition  of  Church  rates.  Abolish  Church  rates, 
and  the  support  of  the  fabric  of  the  Church  in  the  rural  districts 
would  be  at  an  end.  Dissenters  in  the  main  were  congregated 
in  the  populous  parishes,  and  the  offer  was  made  to  them  to 
exempt  themselves  from  the  rate  if  they  pleased ;  but  they  did 
not  please.  Accepting  Church  rates  as  the  means  of  providing 
religious  worship  for  the  great  majority  of  the  poor,  were  they 
to  be  abolished  for  the  sake  of  a  minority  who  declared  they 
had  a  grievance  from  which  they  would  not  accept  exemption  ? 
Mr.  Gladstone  concluded  by  suggesting  that  an  arrangement 
might  be  made  to  accept  the  power  of  a  majority  of  a  parish  to 
reject  or  agree  to  Church  rates  as  a  right,  at  the  same  time 
allowing  a  parish  also  to  tax  itself  by  the  will  of  the  majority. 
He  should  deeply  regret  if  no  agreement  could  be  arrived  at ; 
but  he  thought  that  the  House  of  Lords,  in  rejecting  these  bills 
from  time  to  time,  occupied  a  strong,  and  perhaps  impregnable 
position,  and  he  felt  it  his  bound  en  duty  to  vote  against  the 
second  reading  of  the  bill  then  before  the  House. 

Mr.  Bright  complained  that  in  effect  Mr.  Gladstone's  proposi- 
tion was  no  more  than  what  the  existing  law  amounted  to,  viz., 
that  where  you  could  not  get  Church  rates  you  were  to  let  them 
alone,  and  where  a  majority  was  in  favour  of  them  they  were  to 
prevail.  The  bill  was  carried  by  281  to  266.  In  the  majority 
were  Lords  Palmerston  and  Russell,  and  other  members  of  the 
Government,  but  Mr.  Gladstone  voted  in  the  minority. 

The  debates  which  arose  in  both  Houses  on  the  progress  of 
events  in  Italy  demand  some  notice.  The  cause  of  the  ex-King 
of  Naples  had  certain  defenders  in  England,  who  likewise  scouted 
the  notion  of  a  united  Italy.  Victor  Emmanuel  was  strongly  con- 
demned for  supporting  Garibaldi  in  Sicily,  and  approving  the 
invasion  of  Naples.  Mr.  Roebuck  predicted  that  if  Garibaldi 
attempted  to  do  in  Venetia  what  he  had  done  in  Sicily  and 
Naples,  he  would  be  hanged  within  a  week.  In  the  House  of 
Commons,  upon  the  motion  for  going  into  committee  of  Supply 
on  the  4th  of  March,  Mr.  Pope  Hennessy  rose  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  *  active  interference  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for 

T2 


276  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Foreign  Affairs,  in  promoting  Piedmontese  policy,'  and  to  the 
effect  of  that  policy  in  increasing  the  national  burdens  in  Pied- 
mont, in  the  decline  of  its  trade  and  commerce,  the  waste  of  the 
population  in  predatory  war,  and  the  consequent  decay  of  agri- 
culture. The  speaker  contrasted  this  state  of  things  with  the 
alleged  flourishing  condition  of  the  Papal  dominions  in  these 
several  respects. 

Mr.  Hennessy's  resolution  gave  rise  to  the  most  exciting  debate 
of  the  session.  Mr.  Layard  maintained  that  the  policy  of  her 
Majesty's  Government  in  regard  to  the  affairs  of  Italy  was  in 
accordance  with  the  sentiments  of  the  large  mass  of  the  English 
people.  He  entirely  sympathised  with  the  Italian  people.  Sir 
George  Bowyer  took  the  opposite  view,  alleging  that  by  our  sup- 
port of  the  ambitious  designs  of  the  Emperor  of  the  French  we 
were  paralysing  all  our  European  Allies.  The  Government 
policy  had  destroyed  that  prestige  of  honour  and  justice  which 
used  to  attend  the  British  flag.  That  flag  now  inspired  dis- 
trust and  apprehension  in  the  minds  of  sovereigns  and  nations, 
and  encouraged  none  but  the  revolutionary  party  in  Europe, 
who  were  the  unprincipled  tools  of  the  unbounded  ambition  of 
the  French  Emperor. 

These  speeches  drew  forth  some  impassioned  replies  on  the 
second  night  of  the  debate.  The  eloquence  of  Sir  Eobert  Peel 
and  Air.  Gladstone  especially  roused  the  feelings  of  the  majority 
of  the  House  to  a  high  pitch  of  enthusiasm.  The  picture  of 
Venice  drawn  by  the  former  was  very  graphic.  '  Venice,'  he  said, 
'  is  not  Austrian  ;  it  is  certainly  Italian  ;  but  it  is  trampled  under 
foot  by  Austria,  and  held  in  subjection  by  10,000  bayonets,  by 
a  race  foreign  to  Italy  in  language,  sympathies,  and  feelings. 
Do  not  tell  me  that  this  state  of  things  can  last.  Venice  may  be 
trodden  down  and  ground  into  the  dust,  but  they  cannot  destroy 
her  nature,  nor  change  her  from  what  she  is.  Venice  is  Italian  1 

"States  fall,  arts  fade,  but  Nature  doth  not  die, 
Nor  yet  forget  how  STenice  once  was  dear, 
The  pleasant  place  of  all  festivity, 
The  revel  of  the  earth,  the  masque  of  Italy!" 

That  is  what  Venice  was.  What  is  she  now  ?  See  her  "  in  her 
voiceless  woe ;"  see  her  palaces  crumbling  into  ruin  !' 

But  the  most  crushing  retort  to  Sir  George  Bowyer  and  his 
friends  came  from  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  He  began 
his  speech  by  saying  that  if  the  debate  had  been  confined  to 
criticisms  of  the  King  of  Sardinia,  or  if  it  concerned  only  the 
policy  of  the  English  Foreign  Minister,  he  should  have  remained 
silent,  because  that  policy  was  one  which  commanded  approval 
far  beyond  the  limits  of  party  connection,  far  beyond  the  walls 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  277 

of  that  House,  far  beyond  class  or  interest.  He  believed  it  to  be 
stamped  with  approval  throughout  the  body  of  the  people  of 
England,  from  the  greatest  to  the  least.  But  Sir  George  Bowyer 
and  Mr.  Hennessy  had  extended  the  subject  of  debate,  and  raised 
a  great  issue.  They  had  called  upon  the  House  to  lament  the 
foreign  policy  of  the  Government,  which  they  alleged  was 
founded  on  injustice  and  could  not  prosper;  and  they  also  said 
that  the  cause  which  we  favoured  in  Italy  was  the  persecution  of 
righteous  governments.  The  member  for  Dundalk  had  asserted 
that  a  revolution  which  the  people  of  England  looked  upon  with 
wonder  was  the  result  of  a  wicked  conspiracy  carried  on  by  an 
unprincipled  king  and  a  cunning  Minister ;  and  that  the  people 
of  Naples,  governed  by  benignant  laws  wisely  administered,  were 
devoted  to  their  sovereign.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  went  on  to  show 
how  the  Constitution  of  Naples  had  been  trodden  under  foot, 
and  detailed  the  melancholy  history  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
people  since  the  late  king  had  so  shamelessly  set  aside  and  vio- 
lated the  constitution  he  had  sworn  to  maintain.  Keferring  to 
*  that  miserable  monarch '  Francis  II.,  and  the  courage  he  was 
said  to  have  manifested  during  the  siege  of  Gaeta,  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  remarked, '  It  is  all  very  well  to  claim  consideration 
for  him  on  account  of  his  courage,  but  I  confess  I  feel  much 
more  admiration  for  the  courage  of  the  hon.  member  for  Dun- 
dalk (Sir  G.  Bowyer)  and  the  hon.  member  for  King's  County 
(Mr.  Pope  Hennessy)  ;  for  I  think  I  would  rather  live  in  a  stout 
and  well-built  casemate  listening  to  the  whizzing  of  bullets 
and  the  bursting  of  shells,  than  come  before  a  free  assembly 
to  vindicate,' — here  Mr.  Gladstone  was  interrupted  by  the  loud 
cheering  of  members,  and  for  some  time  he  was  unable  to 
complete  the  sentence  When  allowed  to  proceed,  he  added, 
'  than  to  vindicate  such  a  cause  as  that  which  those  hon.  gentle- 
men have  espoused.'  Francis  II.  had  ascended  the  throne  under 
circumstances  unusually  favourable,  but  he  had  added  to  the 
long  roll  of  crimes  for  which  the  day  of  retribution  was  «,t  hand. 
Adverting  to  the  government  of  the  States  of  the  Church, 
Mr.  Gladstone  detailed  various  cases  of  outrage  and  executions 
in  the  Romagna,  long  before  the  late  revolution — acts  which, 
whether  perpetrated  by  their  own  Government  or  by  a  foreign 
soldiery,  would  naturally  and  justly  exasperate  the  most  patient 
people.  Wanton  and  deliberate  murders  at  Perugia  the  speaker 
established  by  documentary  proofs,  and  he  supplemented  these 
with  details  of  particular  instances  of  illegal  executions  in 
Modena,  the  favourite  and  pet  state  of  Austria,  under  the  late 
'  paternal '  government.  Italy  owed  much  to  England,  and  a 
heavy  debt  of  gratitude  to  France;  but  neither  of  these  countries, 


278  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

nor  even  Victor  Emmanuel,  had  created  Italian  unity :  it  was 
the  policy  which  had  been  pursued  by  Austria  towards  Italy 
that  was  responsible  for  this  consummation.  Mr.  Gladstone 
closed  with  this  felicitous  reference  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
revolution  in  Italy  had  been  accomplished  : — '  Never  were  changes 
so  great  and  important  effected  with  so  little  to  raise  a  blush  on 
the  cheeks  of  those  who  promoted  them.  They  recall  to  my  mind 
the  words  with  which  Mr.  Fox  greeted  the  first  appearance  of  the 
French  Kevolution,  when  he  said  that  it  was  the  most  stupendous 
fabric  that  had  ever  been  erected  on  the  basis  of  human  integrity 
in  any  age  or  country  of  the  world.  Sadly  indeed  was  that 
prophecy  falsified  by  subsequent  events  from  causes  \rhieh  v»erc 
not  then  suspected ;  but  I  believe  the  words  were  not  far  from 
the  truth  at  the  time  when  they  were  spoken,  and  whether  they 
were  or  not,  they  arc  the  simple  and  solid  truth  in  their  applica- 
tion to  Italy.  For  long  years  have  we  been  compelled  to  reckon 
Italy,  in  its  divided  state — Italy  under  the  friends  of  the 
Austrians,  Italy  the  victim  of  legitimacy,  Italy  with  a  spiritual 
sovereignty  as  its  centre — to  reckon  it  as  one  of  the  chief  sources 
of  difficulty  and  disturbance  in  European  politics.  We  are  now 
coming  to  another  time.  The  miseries  of  Italy  have  been  the 
danger  of  Europe.  The  consolidation  of  Italy — her  restoration 
to  national  life  (if  it  be  the  will  of  God  to  grant  her  that  boon) — 
will  be,  I  believe,  a  blessing  as  great  to  Europe  as  it  is  to  all  the 
people  of  the  Peninsula.  It  will  add  to  the  general  peace  and 
welfare  of  the  civilised  world  a  new  and  solid  guarantee.' 

The  debate  was  continued  by  Mr.  Maguire  and  Mr.  Roebuck, 
and  concluded  by  Lord  John  Russell,  who  vindicated  his  policy, 
claiming  that  it  was  a  national  one,  and  that  the  country 
approved  it.  The  discussion  terminated  without  a  division. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  session  Italian  affairs  were  once  more 
discussed,  when  Mr.  Gladstone  strongly  denied  the  charge  of 
promoting  revolutionary  movements  in  Italy,  which  had  been 
brought 'against  the  Ministry.  He  also  adduced  facts  and  circum- 
stances in  justification  of  his  previous  indictment  against  the 
Duke  of  Modena,  as  to  the  administration  of  criminal  j  ustice  in 
his  dominions. 

The  annual  financial  statement  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  was  produced  on  the  loth  of  April.  Not  only  was 
the  budget  awaited  with  great  interest  by  the  House,  but  an 
extraordinary  desire  was  manifested  by  strangers  to  be  present 
at  its  delivery.  At  half-past  eight  in  the  morning  the  doors  of  St. 
Stephen's  were  opened,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  the  waiting-room 
appropriated  to  those  who  had  tickets  for  the  Strangers'  Gallery 
v  as  crowded,  while  a  long  stream  of  persons  ined  both  sides  of 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  279 

St.  Stephen's  Hall,  in  the  hope  that  unforeseen  circumstances 
would  arise  by  which  they  could  procure  seats  in  the  gallery. 

At  half-past  four  o'clock  Mr.  Gladstone   rose  in   a  densely 
crowded  House.     Commencing  with  the  prefatory  intimation  that 
the  retrospective  portion  of  the  statement  he  had  to  submit  to  the 
House  was  most  unfavourable,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
observed  that  in  the  previous  session  questions  of  no  ordinary 
moment  had  been  discussed.    '  In  the  beautiful  tragedy  of  Schiller, 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots  is  made  to  say  of  herself, "  I  have  been  much 
hated,  but  I  have  also  been  much  beloved  ;"  and  I  think  I  may 
say  with  equal  truth  that  the  financial  legislation  of  last  year,  while 
I  do  not  mean  to  contend  that  it  was  not  unacceptable  to  many, 
met,  as  a  whole,  with  signal  support  from  a  great  body  of  public 
opinion  in  this  country.'     The  past  year  had  been  signalised  by 
the   commercial  treaty   with  France,   by   the  removal  of  great 
national  burdens,  and  by  the  abolition  of  the  last  protective  duty 
from  our  system  ;  it  was  a  year   of  the  largest  expenditure   that 
had  occurred  in  time  of  peace,  while  it  was  characterised  by  an 
unparalleled  severity  of  the  seasons.     The  estimate  for  the  year 
1860,  excluding  the  charge  for  fortifications,  was  £73,664,000, 
while  the  actual  expenditure  was  £72,842,000,  leaving  a  balance 
of  £822,000.     In  1859  the  revenue  amounted  to  £71,089,000, 
and  in   1860  it  was  only  £70,283,000,  making  a  decrease  of 
£806,000.     The  actual  expenditure   of  the   year    1859-60,  as 
stated,  was  £72,842,000,  which,  as  compared  with  the  revenue 
received  of  £70,283,000,  left  an  apparent  deficiency  of  £2,559,000, 
but  with  certain  deductions  this  was  reduced  to  an  actual  defici- 
ency of  £221,000.     The  estimate  of  revenue  from  customs,  post- 
office,   &c.s  was  £27,457,000,  and  the  yield  was  £27,522,000. 
Whatever  might  be  the  loss  of  excise  in  a  bad  year,  it  was  gained 
by  customs  ;  and  this  was  the  case  last  year  with  regard  to  corn, 
which,  imported  under  a  nominal   duty,   produced  £866,000 ; 
while  the  deficiency  in  the  barley  crop  caused  an  increase  of  cus- 
toms in  the  article  of  sugar  for  breweries  of  £54,000,  and  the 
duty  on  imported  hops  was  £47,000.    Tea,  sugar,  and  tobacco  had 
been  almost  stationary.     Touching  articles  on  which  duty  had 
been  reduced,  such  as  timber,  &c.,  the  reduction  had  been  esti- 
mated to  amount  to  £663,000,  while  the  loss  had  actually  been  only 
£529,000.     An  abolition    of  the   differential  duties  as  affecting 
spirits,  made  a  reduction  on  brandy  of  £446,000 ;  but  in  July  an 
additional  duty  had  been  placed  on  foreign  spirits,  which  was 
estimated  to  yield    £400,000,  so  that  the  reduction  was  to  be 
only  £46,000 ;  and   the  result  had  been  altogether  a  gain  on 
spirits  of  £79,000.     The  loss  anticipated  by  the  reduction  in  the 
iuty  on  wine  was  £830,000,  and  the  actual  loss  had  been  £493,000 


280  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

only.  There  had  been  a  great  increase  in  the  importation  of  wines, 
including  French  wines ;  though,  with  regard  to  the  latter,  Mr. 
Gladstone  argued  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  national  taste  to 
undergo  some  change  before  the  full  effect  of  the  reduction  of  the 
duty  on  French  wines  could  be  felt.  Dealing  next  with  the  revenue 
from  excise,  he  stated  that  it  was  estimated  at  £21,361,000,  while 
it  had  yielded  £19,435,000  only.  The  deficit  arose  on  three 
articles — hops,  malt,  and  spirits — which  together  represented 
the  real  sources  and  points  of  the  failure  of  the  revenue  of 
the  year. 

In  considering  the  financial  condition  of  the  country,  it  was 
necessary  to  advert  to  the  growing  expenditure.  In  1858  the 
sum  voted  was  under  £64,000,000,  while  in  1861  it  was  nearly 
£74,000,000— an  increase  of  £10,000,000  in  three  years  ; 
£9,000,000  of  taxes  being  imposed  to  meet  those  requirements, 
while  of  temporary  resources  only  £2,700,000  had  been  called 
in  aid  for  that  purpose.  The  balances  in  the  Exchequer  in 
March,  1861,  were  £6,522,000.  As  regarded  the  National  Debt, 
£1,000,000  of  Exchequer  bonds  had  been  paid  off,  but  replaced 
by  a  new  set  to  the  same  amount.  The  addition  to  the  debt, 
exclusive  of  money  for  fortifications,  was  £460,000.  As  com- 
pared with  1853,  there  had  been  large  remissions  of  taxation, 
and  unfavourable  seasons;  but  although  1860  was  far  worse  in 
this  latter  respect,  it  would  be  found  that  the  immediate  and 
palpable  effect  of  remissions  of  taxation  presented  a  remarkable 
contrast.  In  1853  there  were  remitted  £1,500,000  of  customs 
duties,  which  loss  was  made  up,  and  more,  by  the  end  of  that 
year.  The  gain  on  the  year  in  excise  duties  was  £900,000.  In 
1860  the  excise  ought  to  have  produced  a  gain  of  £1,945,000,  but 
it  had  only  produced  a  gain  of  £265,000.  But  the  expenditure  of 
1854  was,  of  imperial  expenditure,  £56,000,000 ;  and  local  expen- 
diture, £16,000,000:  total,  £72,000,000.  In  1860  the  imperial 
expenditure  was  £73,000,000,  the  local  charge  £18,000,000: 
total,  £91,000,000,  or  an  increase  of  £20,00,0000  in  seven 
years ;  and  he  believed  that  there  must  be  some  reference  to 
this  cause  in  considering  the  falling  off  in  the  elasticity  of 
the  revenue. 

Mr.  Gladstone  next  dealt  with  the  question  of  trade  as 
affected  by  the  French  treaty.  He  was  prepared  to  show  that  if 
the  employment  of  the  people,  and  other  circumstances,  had  not 
been  such  as  to  yield  an  adequate  revenue  in  the  year,  as  it  had 
actually  proved  to  be,  the  condition  of  affairs  would  have  been 
far  less  satisfactory  but  for  the  wise  and  provident  legislation  of 
Parliament.  Once  more  he  referred  to  the  signal  services 
rendered  by  Mr.  Cobden,  and  observed,  with  regard  to  the  part 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  281 

taken  by  the  French  Government,  '  Looking  at  the  whole  course 
of  proceedings,  from  first  to  last,  no  one  can  conceive  a  more 
loyal,  thorough,  intelligent,  unflinching  determination  than  has. 
been  exhibited  by  the  Ministers  of  France,  under  the  animating 
spirit  and  guidance  of  the  Emperor,  to  give  full  effect  alike  to 
the  terms  and  to  the  principles  and  spirit  of  the  treaty,  not  for 
the  sake  of  British  interest,  nor  with  any  mere  wish  to  conciliating 
England,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  interests  of  France.'  With 
regard  to  the  effect  of  the  measures  of  1860,  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  went  on  to  state  that  the  export  trade  of  the  previous 
year  was  £136,000,000  of  declared  value  (as  against  £130,000,000 
in  1859),  and  this  the  largest  ever  known.  There  had  been  an 
increase  in  several  imported  articles :  butter,  cheese,  eggs,  and 
rice  gave  an  increase  of  £7,000,000  in  1860,  as  compared  with 
£4,000,000  in  1859;  and  these  were  articles  on  which  small 
customs  duties  had  been  abolished.  The  importation  of  corn 
had  risen  from  some  £17,000,000  in  1859  to  £38,154,000  in 
1860 — a  fearful  proof  of  the  failure  of  production  in  this 
country,  but  an  equally  cogent  proof  of  the  value  of  that  legisla- 
tion Avhich  had  removed  all  obstruction  to  the  importation  of 
that  article  of  necessity.  Articles  of  import  on  which  the  duties 
still  remained  had  been  about  the  same.  The  articles  on  which 
there  had  been  a  reduction  of  duty  last  year  were,  in  value,  in 
1859,  £11,346,000,  and  in  1860,  £13,323,000;  while  those  on 
which  the  duty  was  abolished  last  year  were,  in  1859,  in  value, 
£15,735,000,  and  in  I860,  £22,630,000,  an  increase  of  nearly 
six  millions  and  a  half. 

Arriving  at  the  estimated  expenditure  of  the  coming  year,  Mv, 
Gladstone  stated  its  total  to  be  £69,900,000.  The  revenue, 
assuming  the  continuance  of  the  tea  and  sugar  duties,  and  an 
income-tax,  he  calculated  at  £71,823,000,  thus  leaving  a  surplus 
of  £1,923,000  over  the  estimated  expenditure.  The  Government 
had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  not  be  justified  in 
keeping  so  large  a  balance  in  hand,  and  it  was  proposed  to  apply 
it  to  the  diminution  of  taxation.  There  were  four  articles  which 
would  at  once  present  themselves  for  notice,  namely,  the  tea  and 
sugar  duties,  the  tenth  penny  of  the  income-tax,  and  the  paper 
duty.  Mr.  Gladstone  announced,  amid  loud  cheers,  that  it  was 
proposed  to  remit  the  penny  on  the  income-tax,  which  had 
been  imposed  in  the  preceding  year.  *  I  think  that  it  would  be 
a  most  enviable  lot,'  he  said, '  for  any  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
— I  certainly  do  not  entertain  any  hope  that  it  will  be  mine — 
but  I  think  that  some  better  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in 
some  happier  time,  may  achieve  that  great  accomplishment,  and 
that  some  future  poet  may  be  able  to  sing  of  him  as  Mr.  Tenny- 


282  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

son  has  sung  of  Godiva — although  I  do  not  suppose  the  means 
employed  will  be  the  same — 

"  He  took  away  the  tax, 
And  built  himself  an  everlasting  name." 

But  the  business  we  have  before  us  is  of  a  much  humbler  order.' 
The  remission  of  the  penny  in  the  income-tax,  continued  the 
right  hon.  gentleman,  would  cause  a  loss  in  the  current  financial 
year  of  £850,000.  Kenewed  plaudits  greeted  the  announcement 
that  it  was  proposed  to  repeal  the  duty  on  paper  on  the  1st  of 
October,  making  a  loss  of  revenue  in  the  year  of  about  £665,000. 
There  would  thus  be  left  a  surplus  of  £408,000.  No  case  had  been 
made  out  against  the  minor  charges  on  commercial  operations, 
and  it  was  not  proposed  to  remit  them.  The  portions  of  the 
reduced  income-tax,  and  the  duty  on  paper,  would  be  provided 
for  by  the  China  indemnity,  and  reductions  in  military  estimates. 
It  was  only  proposed  to  re-enact  the  income-tax  and  tea  and 
sugar  duties  for  one  year.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
thus  concluded  his  statement : — 

'  We  have  seen  this  country  during  the  last  few  years  without  European  war, 
but  under  a  burden  of  taxation,  such  as,  out  of  a  European  war,  it  never  was  called 
upon  to  bear ;  we  have  also  seen  it  last  year  under  the  pressure  of  a  season  of 
blight,  such  as  hardly  any  living  man  can  recollect ;  yet,  on  looking  abroad  over 
the  face  of  England,  no  one  is  sensible  of  any  signs  of  decay,  least  of  all  can  such 
an  apprehension  be  felt  with  regard  to  those  attributes  which  are  perhaps  the 
highest  of  all,  and  on  which  most  of  all  depends  our  national  existence — the  spirit 
and  courage  of  the  country.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  neither  the  Sovereign  on 
the  Throne,  nor  the  nobles  and  the  gentry  that  fill  the  place  of  the  gallant  chieftains 
of  the  Middle  Age,  nor  the  citizens  who  represent  the  invincible  soldiery  of  Crom- 
well, nor  the  peasantry  who  are  the  children  of  those  sturdy  archers  that  drew  the 
cross-bows  of  England  in  the  fields  of  France — none  of  these  betray  either  inclination 
or  tendency  to  depart  from  the  tradition  of  their  forefathers.  If  there  be  any 
danger  which  has  recently  in  an  especial  manner  beset  us,  I  confess  that,  though  it 
may  be  owing  to  some  peculiarity  in  my  position,  or  some  weakness  in  my  vision, 
it  has  seemed  to  me  to  be  during  recent  years  chiefly,  in  our  proneness  to  constant, 
and  apparently  almost  boundless,  augmentations  of  expenditure,  and  in  the  conse- 
quences that  are  associated  with  them.  .  .  .  Sir,  I  do  trust  that  the  day  has 
come  when  a  check  has  began  to  be  put  to  the  movement  in  this  direction  ;  and  I 
think,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  trace  the  sentiments  of  the  House,  and  the 
indications  of  general  opinion  during  the  present  session,  that  the  tendency  to 
which  I  have  adverted  is  at  least  partially  on  the  decline.  I  trust  it  will  altogether 
subside  and  disappear.  .  .  .  The  spirit  of  the  people  is  excellent.  There 
never  was  a  nation  in  the  whole  history  of  the  world  more  willing  to  bear  the  heavy 
burdens  under  which  it  lies — more  generously  disposed  to  overlook  the  errors  of 
those  who  have  the  direction  of  its  affairs.  For  my  own  part,  I  hold  that,  if  this 
country  can  steadily  and  constantly  remain  as  wise  in  the  use  of  her  treasure  as  she 
is  unrivalled  in  its  production,  and  as  moderate  in  the  exercise  of  her  strength  as  she 
is  rich  in  its  possession,  then  we  may  well  cherish  the  hope  that  there  is  yet  reserved 
for  England  a  great  work  to  do  on  her  own  part  and  on  the  part  of  others,  and 
that  for  many  a  generation  yet  to  come  she  will  continue  to  hold  a  foremost  place 
among  the  nations  of  the  world.' 

Had  not  his  budgets  of  1853  and  1860  already  lifted  Mr. 
Gladstone  to  an  equality  with  the  great  Finance  Ministers  of  the 
past,  his  statement  of  1861  would  have  entitled  him  to  take  this 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OP    1861-63.  263 

distinguished  rank.  The  House  vibrated  to  his  '  touch '  like  an 
instrument  of  music  to  the  '  touch  of  genius.'  As  a  writer  in 
the  Daily  News  observed,  '  The  audacious  shrewdness  of  Lanca- 
shire married  to  the  polished  grace  of  Oxford  is  a  felicitous  union 
of  the  strength  and  culture  of  Liberal  and  Conservative  England, 
and  no  party  in  the*  House,  whatever  may  be  its  likings  or 
antipathies,  can  sit  under  the  spell  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  rounded 
and  shining  eloquence  without  a  conviction  that  the  man  who  can 
talk  "  shop  "  like  a  tenth  muse,  is,  after  all,  a  true  representa- 
tive man  of  the  market  of  the  world.'  Another  writer,  in  the 
Illustrated  London  News,  sketching  the  scene  on  the  production 
of  the  budget,  said,  *  Among  those  who  ought  to  be  judges  there  is 
an  almost  unanimous  opinion  that,  take  it  for  all  in  all,  this  was 
the  very  best  speech  Mr.  Gladstone  ever  made.  As  we  now  know, 
he  was  conscious  that  he  had  a  pleasant  surprise  in  store  for  those 
hearers  who  had  come  to  listen  to  a  woful  palinode,  and  there 
was  a  lurking  sense  of  triumph  over  his  avowed  opponents,  and 
still  more  over  his  skin-deep  friends,  which  gave  a  lightness  and 
a  buoyancy  to  his  demeanour  which  of  course  spread  to  his  audi- 
ence. It  even  gave  a  raciness  to  his  occasional  flights  of  humour. 
His  quotations  were  happy  and  neatly  introduced,  and  that  in 
Latin  was  loudly  cheered  by  the  gentlemen  below  the  gangway, 
probably  because,  they  not  understanding  it,  it  had  a  great  effect 
upon  them.  But  the  chief  merit  of  the  speech,  in  reference  to 
its  object,  was  the  remarkable  dexterity  with  which  it  appealed 
to  the  tastes,  feelings,  and  opinions  of  both  sides  of  the  House. 
At  one  sentence,  delivered  with  his  face  half  turned  to  the 
benches  behind,  Mr.  Bright  would  break  out  into  an  involuntary 
cheer,  at  once  both  natural  and  hearty ;  while  the  very  next 
moment  the  orator  would  lean,  with  a  fascinating  smile  on  his 
countenance,  over  the  table  towards  gentlemen  opposite,  and 
minister  to  their  weaknesses  or  prejudices  with  equal  power  and 
success.  Indeed,  at  times  one  could  not  but  be  reminded  of  Sir 
Joshua's  famous  picture  of  Garrick  between  tragedy  and  comedy, 
the  attitude  and  expression  of  face  possessing  that  duality  which 
the  great  limner  has  so  marvellously  pourtrayed  in  the  picture  in 
question.  In  every  possible  respect  it  was  a  masterpiece  of  ora- 
tory ;  and  as  it  in  the  result  actually  led  to  something  tangible — 
that  is  to  say,  to  a  surplus  and  a  reduction  of  taxation — it  was  in 
every  sense  triumphant.' 

Yet  there  was  a  fly  (if  a  small  one)  in  the  pot  of  ointment. 
Although  the  budget  was  regarded  generally  in  a  very  favourable 
light,  Mr.  Bentinck  made  a  fierce  personal  attack  on  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, alleging  that  his  policy  had  long  been  one  of  antagonism 
to  British  agriculture.  The  task  of  demolishing  the  Chancellor 


284  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

of  the  Exchequer  was,  indeed,  undertaken  at  various  times  during 
the  session,  both  by  Mr.  Bentinck  and  Lord  Robert  Montagu, 
but  the  records  of  the  House  show  what  chance  *  Thersites  had 
in  a  tongue-contest  with  Ulysses.' 

The  repeal  of  the  paper  duty  continued  to  be  viewed  with 
great  disfavour  by  the  Conservatives,  and"  on  the  motion  for 
going  into  committee  upon  the  propositions  of  the  budget  on 
the  22nd  of  April,  this  and  other  parts  of  the  financial  scheme 
were  strongly  attacked.  The  debate  lasted  for  four  nights.  It 
was  opened  by  Mr.  T.  Baring,  who  urged  the  House  to  pause  in 
the  removal  of  any  duty  which  would  not  give  an  impetus  to  the 
revenue,  unless  there  was  a  great  reduction  of  expenditure. 
Several  members  disputed  the  existence  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
surplus,  and  Sir  S.  Northcote  urged  that  that  was  not  a  time  to 
propose  the  surrender  of  a  large  amount  of  revenue. 

Mr.  Gladstone  replied  generally  to  the  criticisms  which  had 
been  passed  upon  his  scheme.  It  had  been  objected  that  there 
was  no  surplus,  and  that  it  was  the  interest  of  a  Government  to 
make  out  a  surplus  :  but  there  were  others  who  had  an  interest 
in  showing  there  was  none;  there  were  prophets  last  year  as 
much  pledged  to  a  negative  as  he  was  to  an  affirmative. 
Examining  in  detail  the  calculations  upon  which  the  arguments 
against  a  surplus  were  founded,  he  pointed  out  their  inaccuracies, 
and  justified  his  own  calculations.  The  estimate  of  the  amount 
to  be  received  from  China  was  a  perfectly  sound  one,  and  he 
demurred  to  the  doctrine  that  the  merchants  were  to  be  paid 
first.  The  inland  revenue  estimates  had  been  framed  with  the 
concurrence  of  able  and  experienced  officers,  and  he  demonstrated 
the  cautious  manner  in  which  the  produce  of  the  income-tax  had 
been  computed.  The  estimates  were  based  upon  the  expectation 
of  an  ordinary  season  and  ordinary  circumstances,  and  he  never 
had  a  stronger  conviction  than  that  there  was  likely  to  be  an 
excess  over  the  estimated  revenue.  As  to  the  disposal  of  the 
surplus,  he  balanced  the  claims  of  tea  and  sugar  on  the  one  hand 
and  paper  on  the  other.  The  reduction  of  the  duties  upon 
articles  of  popular  consumption  was  not  the  first  object  kept  in 
view  by  Sir  Robert  Peel  in  1842,  but  the  liberation  and 
extension  of  trade  ;  this  principle  lay  at  the  root  of  our  reformed 
financial  policy,  and  had  governed  almost  every  budget.  He 
urged  that  the  course  he  had  taken  in  comprising  the  repeal  of 
the  paper  duty  with  other  items  of  the  budget  in  one  bill, 
seemed  to  him  a  fair  and  legitimate  mode  of  meeting  the 
difficulty  which  had  occurred  with  the  House  of  Lords,  while 
the  remission  of  the  duty  was  accompanied  by  a  reduction  of  th3 
income-tax.  Mr.  Gladstone  concluded  by  demanding  that  if  hi* 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  285 

financial  scheme  was  opposed  to  the  real  opinion  of  the  House, 
it  should  be  declared  by  the  test  of  a  division,  instead  of  being 
dallied  with  in  long-drawn  out  and  aimless  debates. 

The  opposition  did  not  assume  the  definite  form  of  a  division, 
but  Mr.  Disraeli  announced  that  in  committee  he  should  ask  the 
House  whether  any  remission  of  indirect  taxation  should  not 
take  place  on  the  duties  on  tea,  and  take  the  sense  of  the  House 
thereon.  The  resolution  imposing  the  income-tax  was  agreed  to 
without  a  division.  After  an  abortive  amendment  by  Mr. 
Hubbard,  Mr.  Gladstone  moved  a  resolution  to  continue  until  the 
1st  of  July,  1862,  certain  duties  on  tea,  sugar,  and  other  articles 
of  the  same  class  as  sugar,  which  had  been  popularly,  though  not 
accurately,  described  as  war  duties.  He  recapitulated  his  argu- 
ments that  since  1846  remissions  of  duty  had  been  proposed  less 
for  the  benefit  of  the  consumer  than  for  the  abolition  of  Protection 
and  the  liberation  of  trade.  He  also  showed  that  the  motion  of 
which  Mr.  Horsfall  had  given  notice — for  the  reduction  of  the 
duty  on  tea  to  Is.  per  lb— would  have  a  destructive  effect  upon 
the  surplus  by  the  loss  of  £950,000 ;  and  he  referred  to  examples 
to  prove  the  influence  of  postponing  duties  in  paralysing  the 
revenue  and  diminishing  consumption,  the  consumer  having  to 
wait  long  before  he  derived  benefit  from  the  remission.  The 
reduction  might  be  desirable,  but  absurd  and  inflated  represen- 
tations had  been  indulged  in  as  to  the  effects  of  the  change.  He 
maintained  that  the  remission  of  duties,  although  non-recupera- 
tive, was  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  views  of  the  late  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  who  desired  to  augment  the  means  of  employ  ing 
labour.  The  reduction  of  the  duty  on  tea  would  only  give  an 
impulse  to  foreign  labour,  whereas  the  remission  of  the  paper 
duties  would  stimulate  British  labour  in  the  manufacture  of 
paper  and  the  produce  of  agricultural  fibre,  while  the  removal  of 
the  excise  regulations  would  relieve  the  trade  from  restrictions 
that  operated  as  a  check  upon  it  by  stinting  and  repressing 
enterprise.  Mr.  Horsfall's  amendment  was  supported  by  Sir  S. 
Northcote  and  Mr.  Disraeli,  but  on  a  division  there  was  a 
majority  of  18  in  favour  of  the  Government,  the  numbers  being 
— For  the  amendment,  281  ;  against,  299. 

The  Palmerston  Government  undoubtedly  adopted  a  bold 
course  in  supporting  Mr  Gladstone  in  his  determination  to 
include  all  the  chief  financial  propositions  of  the  budget  in  one 
bill,  instead  of  dividing  them  into  several  distinct  bills.  This 
was  an  effectual,  and,  under  the  circumstances,  a  legitimate 
circumvention  of  the  House  of  Lords  in  its  hostility  to  the  pro- 
posal for  tlie  repeal  of  the  paper  duty.  The  attitude  of  the 
Opposition  in  the  Commons  showed  their  chagrin  over  this 


286  WILLIAM   EWART   GLADSTONE. 

potent  means  which  had  been  devised  by  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  for  the  settlement  of  a  vexed  question.  When  the 
budget  as  a  whole  came  on  for  second  reading  on  the  13th  of 
May,  it  was  objected  that  such  a  procedure  was  contrary  to  prece- 
dent and  constitutional  usage,  that  it  was  intended  to  limit  the 
power  which  the  House  of  Lords  possessed  and  were  accustomed 
to  exercise  with  respect  to  each  bill  individually  of  adopting  or 
rejecting  it  in  toto,  and  that  it  left  them  no  alternative  but  to 
accept  any  obnoxious  clause  that  might  be  inserted  in  the  bill, 
or  to  throw  the  country  into  confusion  by  rejecting  the  entire 
financial  proposals  of  the  Government.  Sir  James  Graham 
made  a  powerful  defence  of  the  Government.  While  admitting 
that  the  Lords  had  exercised  an  undoubted  privilege  in  rejecting 
the  Paper  Duty  Bill,  he  as  decidedly  questioned  the  policy  of 
their  course  in  refusing  assent  to  a  bill  relating  to  finance  on 
financial  grounds.  This  was  such  an  innovation  on  established 
formula  from  the  Revolution  down,  that  he  thought  the  equally 
constituted  right  of  the  Commons  to  include  impositions  and 
remissions  of  taxation  in  one  bill  should  be  adopted,  with  a  view 
to  check  any  attempt  at  invading  their  independence. 

Mr.  Gladstone  was  subjected  to  several  violent  personal  attacks 
at  this  juncture,  and  of  these  none  was  more  bitter  or  more 
violent  than  that  of  Lord  Robert  Cecil  (Marquis  of  Salisbury)  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  His  lordship,  who  could  with  difficulty 
obtain  a  hearing  from  the  House,  described  the  budget  as  a  per- 
sonal budget.  '  They  had  no  guarantee  for  it  but  the  promises  of 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  experience  had  taught  them 
that  he  was  not  a  financier  who  was  always  to  be  relied  upon.' 
Amid  loud  cries  of  '  Oh  !  Oh  ! '  the  noble  Lord  proceeded  to  say 
that  on  a  former  occasion  he  had  described  the  policy  of  the 
Government  as  one  only  worthy  of  a  country  attorney ;  but  he  was 
now  bound  to  say  that  he  had  done  injustice  to  the  attorneys. 
The  attorneys  were  very  humble  men,  but  he  believed  they  would 
have  scorned  such  a  course  as  that  of  her  Majesty's  Ministers. 
Here  the  interruptions  and  cries  of  .'  Oh  ! '  were  so  continuous 
that  for  some  time  Lord  Robert  Cecil  was  unable  to  continue  his 
speech.  He  declared  that  the  course  which  Ministers  had 
adopted  was  one  distinguished  by  all  the  ingenuity  of  legal  chicane. 
In  any  other  place  it  would  be  called  a  '  dodge.'  Americanised 
finance  was  to  be  a  consequence  of  Americanised  institutions. 
He  thought  the  House  of  Commons  ought  to  mark  its  peculiar 
indignation  at  the  way  in  which  it  had  ben  treated  by  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer.  So  long  as  he  held  the  seals  of  office 
there  was  neither  regularity  in  the  House  of  Commons  nor  con- 
fidence in  the  country. 


STAffcMENTS    OF    18^1-63.  28? 

To  this  intemperate  attack  Mr.  Gladstone  condescended  no 
reply;  but  in  defending  his  policy  a  few  days  later,  the  right hon. 
gentleman  said  there  had  been  personal  matters  introduced  in 
the  course  of  the  debate  which  he  thought  it  best  to  pass  by,  but 
legitimate  criticisms  upon  his  proposed  plan  with  regard  to  the 
tax  bills  before  the  House  he  should  endeavour  to  meet.  Pro- 
ceeding to  discuss  the  constitutional  question,  he  adduced  a  great 
variety  of  precedents,  showing  the  power  of  combination  of 
different  provisions  in  the  same  financial  measure  exercised  by  the 
House  of  Commons  to  a  wider  extent  than  in  the  present  bill. 
He  observed  that  the  practice  was  not  only  justified  by  precedent, 
but  by  reason  and  convenience,  the  several  matters  in  the  bill, 
essentially  homogeneous,  being  items  of  one  and  the  same 
account.  It  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Constitution  that  to 
originate  matters  of  finance  was  the  exclusive  right  and  duty 
and  burden  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  to  divide  this 
function  between  two  distinct  and  independent  bodies  would  lead 
to  utter  confusion.  Keferring  to  Mr.  Horsman's  objection  that 
the  budget  gave  a  mortal  stab  to  the  Constitution,  he  asked, 
'  I  want  to  know  what  constitution  it  gives  a  mortal  stab  to.  In 
my  opinion  it  gives  no  stab  at  all;  but,  as  far  as  it  alters,  it  alters 
so  as  to  revive  and  restore  the  good  old  constitution  which  took 
its  root  in  Saxon  times,  which  groaned  under  the  Plantagenets, 
which  endured  the  hard  rule  of  the  Tudors,  which  resisted  the 
Stuarts,  and  which  had  now  come  to  maturity  under  the  House 
of  Brunswick.  I  think  that  constitution  will  be  all  the  better 
for  the  operation.  As  to  the  constitution  laid  down  by  my  right 
hon.  friend,  under  which  there  is  to  be  a  division  of  function  and 
office  between  the  House  of  Commons  and  the  House  of  Lords — 
with  regard  to  fixing  the  income  and  charge  of  the  country  from 
year  to  year,  both  of  them  being  equally  responsible  for  it, 
which  means  that  neither  would  be  responsible — as  far  as  that 
constitution  is  concerned  I  cannot  help  saying,  that  in  my 
humble  opinion  the  sooner  it  receives  a  mortal  stab  the  better.' 

Mr.  Gladstone's  course  was  approved  as  constitutional  by 
Sir  William  Heathcote,  his  colleague  in  the  representation  of 
the  University  of  Oxford,  and  also  by  Mr.  Walpole,  chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Precedents  in  the  preceding  year.  The 
influence  of  these  eminent  Conservative  members  had  great 
weight,  and  although  Mr.  Disraeli — in  condemning  the  financial 
policy  of  the  Government — said  Ministers  had  created  an  artificial 
surplus  in  order  that  they  might  perpetrate  a  financial  caprice, 
this  protracted  debate  ended  without  a  division,  and  the  bill  was 
read  a  second  time.  The  House  subsequently  went  into  com- 
mittee, after  an  abortive  motion  by  Mr.  Newdegate,  but  upon 


288  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

arriving  at  the  clause  repealing  the  paper  duty,  another  long 
discussion  arose,  and  all  the  arguments  before  advanced  against 
the  repeal  were  once  more  repeated. 

This  proved  to  be  the  most  critical  and  formidable  stage  at 
which  the  bill  had  yet  arrived,  and  in  some  quarters  the  fall  of 
the  Government  was  confidently  predicted.  Able  speeches  were 
made  from  different  points  of  view  by  Mr.  Disraeli,  Lord  John 
Russell,  Mr.  Cobden,  Mr.  Baring,  Lord  Palmerston,  and  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  The  last-named  speaker,  alluding 
to  a  conflict  of  opinion  between  Mr.  Baring  and  Mr.  Cobden, 
said  that  it  was  necessary  to  weigh  the  value  of  their  compara- 
tive authority ;  and  he  contended  that  the  latter  had  done  more 
than  any  man  living  or  dead  to  promote  the  principles  which 
had  brought  about  a  state  of  things  that  had  made  the  country 
as  Conservative  as  it  was  said  to  be,  while  on  every  occasion  the 
former  had  opposed  those  principles  ;  therefore  Mr.  Cobden  was 
best  qualified  to  advise  the  House  at  that  moment.  The  repeal  of 
the  paper  duty  was  just  and  to  be  expected ;  it  had  been  demanded 
both  out  of  doors  and  in  the  House.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied  to 
the  arguments  advanced  by  his  opponents,  and  combated  the 
assertions  which  had  been  made,  that  all  his  principles  of  finance 
and  politics  were  identical  with  those  attributed  to  Mr.  Bright, 
with  some  of  which  he  did  not  sympathise.  He  fully  sympathised 
with  him,  however,  in  the  great  commercial  doctrines  which  had 
conferred  such  blessings  on  the  community ;  and  as  regarded  the 
legislation  founded  on  those  doctrines,  it  was  not  now  at  its 
initiation,  but  its  conclusion.  He  anticipated  and  expected 
from  the  House  that  its  decision  would  not  only  be  faithful  to 
its  own  former  acts,  but  that  it  would  contribute  to  the  future 
and  permanent  welfare  of  the  countiy. 

The  result  of  the  division  was  awaited  with  great  anxiety  ;  and 
when  the  position  of  the  tellers  revealed  the  fact  of  the  majority 
being  for  the  Grovernment,  the  announcement  of  the  numbers 
was  delayed  for  some  time  by  the  vigorous  cheers  of  the  Minis- 
terialists. Order  having  been  restored,  the  figures  were  found  to 
be  as  follows  : — Ayes,  296  ;  Noes,  281 — majority  for  the  Govern- 
ment, 15.  The  bill  passed  the  Commons,  and  was  sent  up  to 
the  Lords.  The  Duke  of  Kutland  moved  its  rejection,  but  the 
Earl  of  Derby,  under  a  due  sense  of  the  gravity  of  the  position, 
advised  that  the  motion  should  not  be  pressed.  In  doing  so, 
'notwithstanding,  he  indulged  in  a  severe  attack  upon  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. The  amendment  was  withdrawn,  and  the  bill  eventually 
became  law.  By  this  means  was  averted  one  of  those  constitu- 
tional conflicts  between  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  which  are 
fortunately  of  rare  occurrence  in  our  Parliamentary  history. 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  289 

A  discussion  arose  during  this  session  respecting  the  results  of 
Mr.  Gladstone's  mission  to  the  Ionian  Islands.  Mr.  Maguire 
moved  for  papers  and  correspondence  relative  to  the  mission,  and 
others  in  continuation,  affecting  the  subsequent  administration 
of  Sir  Henry  Storks  as  Lord  High  Commissioner.  He  alleged 
that  the  people  of  the  Ionian  Islands  were  not  contented  with 
the  rule  of  England,  and  that  information  on  the  subject  ought 
not  to  be  withheld.  The  whole  course  of  events  up  to  the  present 
time  proved  that  annexation  to  Greece  and  the  establishment  of 
their  nationality  was  the  wish  of  the  lonians.  He  contended 
that  England  should  obtain  the  concurrence  of  the  other  Powers 
to  her  giving  up  this  protectorate  and  the  annexation  of  the 
Ionian  Islands  to  Greece.  Replying  to  this  speech,  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  said  the  Government  had  no  desire  to  with- 
hold information,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  peace  of  the  Islands  it 
was  not  deemed  advisable  to  produce  the  papers.  He  had  not 
repented  having  undertaken  his  mission  to  the  Ionian  Islands, 
his  object  being  to  place  their  relations  with  this  country  on  a 
more  satisfactory  footing,  by  the  offer  of  institutions  founded  on 
the  highest  principles  of  constitutional  liberty.  The  people  set 
a  high  value  on  nationality,  and  he  protested  against  that 
sentiment  being  treated  with  ridicule  ;  but  it  had  been  traded 
in  by  selfish  demagogues.  The  best  classes,  although  desiring 
to  hail  the  coming  of  Hellenic  nationality,  distinctly  declared 
that  the  time  had  not  yet  arrived  for  its  attainment  ;  while  the 
feeling  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  was  that  of  kindness  and 
even  gratitude  to  England,  and  they  certainly  preferred  her  rule 
to  that  of  any  other  foreign  Power.  England  had  no  selfish 
interest  or  advantage  in  the  retention  of  these  Islands,  but  was 
bound  to  retain  them  in  the  interest  of  Europe.  There  was  no 
evidence  that  Greece  desired ^this  union,  even  if  she  were  herself 
in  a  different  political  and  social  position  from  that  which  she 
actually  held.  He  admitted  that  the  Government  of  the  Islands 
was  not  free  in  the  sense  in  which  that  word  was  understood  in 
England,  and  there  was  an  incongruous  mixture  of  free  and 
despotic  institutions,  which  could  only  be  remedied  by  recon- 
struction. He  had  offered  the  Ionian  Islands  an  entirely  free 
constitution,  which  had  not  been  accepted.  With  the  offer  of  the 
Government  to  produce  such  papers  as  they  thought  proper,  the 
motion  was  withdrawn. 

We  have  seen,  in  a  previous  chapter,  that  the  Ionian  Islands 
were  ultimately  ceded  to  Greece. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  financial  measures  for  1862,  while  not  involving 
such  momentous  issues  as  those  of  the  preceding  year,  neverthe- 
less encountered  considerable  opposition.  Though  the  budget 

u 


290  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

speech  of  the  3rd  of  April  proved  to  be  another  tribute  to  his 
capacity  as  a  Finance  Minister,  and  though  it  excited  considerable 
interest,  it  contained  no  passages  of  special  rhetorical  excellence. 
It  was  a  business-like  statement  of  the  monetary  position  of  the 
country,  with  philosophical  diversions  upon  the  subject  of  national 
finance.  When  there  are  no  striking  novelties  expected  or 
assured,  it  would  require  more  than  the  genius  of  a  Pitt  to  make 
a  budget  enthralling.  Prefacing  his  address  by  the  remark  that 
the  statement  he  had  to  submit  was  of  a  simpler  character  than 
its  immediate  predecessors,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
announced  that  the  real  expenditure  of  the  past  year  was  much 
greater  than  the  estimate  by  means  of  supplementary  grants  in 
1861  and  1862,  principally  in  reference  to  the  despatch  of  troops 
to  Canada  and  a  small  amount  to  China ;  so  that  the  actual 
expenditure  of  the  past  year  was  £70,878,000.  The  total  expendi- 
ture of  the  year  1860-61  was  £72,504,000.  The  revenue  last 
year  was  £69,670,000.  This  was  a  decrease,  taking  into  account 
circumstances  connected  with  the  financial  year,  of  £809,000. 
This  must  be  considered  satisfactory,  when  it  was  remembered 
that  in  1861-62  they  had  parted  with  three  items  of  revenue — by 
reducing  the  income-tax  Id.  in  the  pound,  making  £850,000 ; 
the  paper  duty,  involving  a  loss  on  the  last  six  months  of  the 
financial  year  of  £665,000  ;  while  no  malt  credit  had  been  taken 
up,  as  was  the  case  in  1860-61,  to  the  extent  of  £1,122,000. 
In  the  face  of  a  diminished  trade  with  America,  which  amounted 
to  £12,609,000,  our  exports  having  sunk  from  £21,667,000  to 
£9,058,000 — the  depression  arising  from  want  of  cotton — and 
after  a  harvest  which,  though  good  in  quality,  was  deficient  in 
quantity,  there  had  been  an  increase  in  our  sources  of 
revenue  to  the  extent  of  £1,828,000.  It  was  not  a  fact 
that,  the  revenue  was  declining.  In  the  customs,  on  the  first 
three  quarters  of  last  year  there  was  an  increase  of  £468,000, 
but  in  the  last  quarter  there  had  been  a  decrease  of  £100,000. 
Yet  although  the  gross  revenue  had  fallen  off  by  £609,000,  the 
customs  had  exceeded  the  estimate  by  £464,000,  the  stamps  by 
£130,000,  taxes  by  £10,000,  the  income-tax  by  £15,000,  and 
the  miscellaneous  by  £81,000.  In  the  excise  there  had  been  a 
falling  off  amounting  to  £456,000  ;  there  had  been  a  loss  on 
spirits,  hops,  and  paper.  With  regard  to  the  estimates,  that  of 
the  China  indemnity,  which  had  been  placed  at  £750,000,  had 
only  realised  £478,000  up  to  September,  but  Avlien  the  two 
quarters  due  in  March  were  paid  there  would  be  a  gross  receipt 
of  £658,000.  There  were  other  deductions  which  would  make 
the  whole  sum  actually  received  this  year  from  this  source  only 
£266,000.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  stated  that  he  estimated  the 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  291 

expenditure  for  the  coming  year  as  follows : — For  the  interest  of 
the  public  debt,  £26,280,000  ;  the  consolidated  fund,  £1,900,000 ; 
the  army,  £15,300,000 ;  and  the  militia,  £700,000.  The  navy  was 
estimated  at  £11,800,000.  The  miscellaneous  estimates  were 
£7,819,000.  The  revenue  departments  were  estimated  at 
£4,750,000  ;  the  packet  service,  £916,000  ;  and  a  vote  for  China 
would  be  asked  of  £500,000.  The  total  estimate  was  £70,040,000 
— an  announcement  of  expenditure  which  created  considerable 
surprise  in  the  House.  The  estimate  of  total  revenue  would  be 
£70,190.000,  which  would  leave  a  balance  of  £150,000  com- 
pared with  the  expenditure.  The  question  arose  whether  new 
taxes  were  to  be  imposed.  He  (Mr.  Gladstone)  had  entertained 
not  long  before  the  hope  of  being  able  to  remit  taxes,  but 
subsequently  there  appeared  a  probability  of  heavy  expenditure, 
and  there  was  now  the  prospect  of  additional  taxation. 

Looking  to  our  resources,  everything  was  favourable  except  as 
regarded  our  relations  with  America.  There  had  been  a  great 
improvement  in  our  exports  to  the  United  States,  but  it  was  in 
reference  to  cotton  that  anxiety  must  be  felt,  and  the  prospect 
in  that  respect  was  not  improving.  But  examining  the  results 
of  our  trade  with  France  since  the  treaty  had  come  into  opera- 
tion, there  had  been  in  1861-62  a  real  increase,  as  compared 
with  the  previous  year,  of  £3,039,000.  There  had  also  been  an 
increase  of  foreign  and  colonial  exports  in  connection  with  the 
treaty,  amounting  to  £4,572,000.  The  total  result  of  the  opera- 
tion of  the  treaty  for  1861-62  was  over  £10,000,000.  It  was 
unnecessary  again  to  congratulate  the  author  of  the  treaty, 
whose  services  Avould  become  matter  of  history.  The  Govern- 
ment had  come  to  the  conclusion  to  do  without  a  surplus,  and 
to  impose  no  new  taxes,  reserving  to  themselves  the  privilege  of 
taking  the  necessary  steps  to  meet  any  contingency  which  might 
arise.  There  could  be  no  remission  of  taxes  after  the  figures 
which  he  had  brought  forward.  The  burdens  of  the  country, 
however,  would  be  lighter  by  £600,000  or  £700,000.  After 
alluding  to  the  demands  which  had  been  made  upon  the  Govern- 
ment by  various  interests,  Mr.  Gladstone  indicated  certain  minor 
changes  he  proposed  to  make  in  the  inventory  duty  in  Scotland, 
a  moderate  charge  of  an  eighth  per  cent,  upon  all  loans  raised  in 
this  country,  and  upon  supplementary  licences  to  publicans  to 
supply  fairs ;  and  he  then  touched  upon  the  spirit  duties.  There 
had  been  a  falling  off  last  year  below  the  estimate  ;  but  as  it  was 
proved  not  to  have  arisen  from  an  increase  of  illicit  distillation, 
but  from  a  diminished  power  of  consumption  combined  with  the 
increased  sobriety  of  the  people,  it  was  not  proposed  to  deal  with 
the  spirit  duties.  The  sugar  duties,  being  classified  duties,  were 

U2 


292  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

unequal  in  their  pressure ;  but  the  difficulties  of  removing  this 
classification  were  so  great  that  no  change  could  be  effected 
without  a  complete  inquiry  into  the  subject,  and  he  would  con- 
sequently be  prepared  to  assent  to  a  committee  for  the  purpose. 
With  regard  to  the  malt  credits,  no  case  for  a  change  had  been 
made  out,  and  an  alteration  would  deprive  the  revenue  of 
£1,300,000  a-year.  The  minor  duties  on  exports  and  imports, 
while  entailing  an  amount  of  labour  in  collection  which  gave 
them  a  claim  to  repeal,  yet  amounted  to  £182,000 ;  and  with  a 
surplus  of  £150,000,  it  was  not  possible  to  deal  with  them, 
besides  which  they  afforded  a  means  to  the  Board  of  Trade  of 
obtaining  valuable  statistical  information.  But  he  was  willing 
to  grant  an  inquiry  into  the  subject.  With  regard  to  the  wine 
duties,  there  was  a  favourable  increase  in  the  trade ;  but  on  the 
whole,  it  was  determined  to  retain  what  was  called  the  alcoholic 
test,  but  altering  and  modifying  it  by  reducing  the  four  scales  to 
two,  admitting  all  wines  from  18  to  26  degrees  of  alcohol  at  a 
duty  of  Is.,  while  from  26  to  42  the  scale  would  be  raised  from 
2s.  5d.  to  2s.  6d.,  and  above  45  an  additional  duty  of  3d.  on 
every  additional  rise  of  strength.  This  would  yield  a  net  gain 
of  £15,000  a-year  to  the  revenue.  Coming  to  the  hop  duties,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  announced  that  it  was  not  possi;  le 
to  surrender  duties  which  yielded  £300,000  a-year  on  the 
average.  He  proposed,  however,  to  do  something  in  the  way  of 
commutation,  by  re-adjusting  the  system  of  brewers'  licences  and 
including  in  them  a  charge  for  the  hop  duty ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  relief  would  be  given  to  smaller  brewers  in  respect  of  the 
charge  for  their  licences.  The  result  of  this  plan  would  be  to 
secure  to  the  revenue  nearly  as  much  duty  as  now,  while  it  would 
cause  a  complete  free  trade  in  home  and  foreign  hops.  The 
customs  and  excise  duty  on  hops  would  be  repealed  from  next 
September;  and  it  was  also  proposed,  as  regarded  private 
brewer?,  to  exempt  from  licence  all  brewing  carried  on  by  the 
labouring  classes.  By  this  financial  operation,  there  would  be  a 
loss  to  the  revenue  of  £45,000. 

Having  announced  that  the  House  was  now  in  possession  of 
the  proposals  of  the  Government,  Mr.  Gladstone  reviewed  the 
financial  results  of  the  past  three  years.  He  corrected  an 
erroneous  impression  that  the  public  expenditure  was  still 
growing,  for  that  of  1861  was  less  than  that  of  1860,  while  in 
the  year  ensuing  there  was  a  decrease  in  the  estimates  of  over 
£700,000.  Indeed,  putting  aside  new  items  of  expenditure 
which  had  never  been  included  in  the  estimates  before,  the 
actual  diminution  was  £1,700,000.  But  the  level  of  our  expen- 
diture still  demanded  attention,  for  it  was  a  higher  level  than 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  293 

could  be  borne  with  comfort  and  satisfaction  by  the  people,  or 
than  was  compatible  with  a  sound  condition  of  finance.  The 
growth  of  expenditure  was  partly  owing  to  the  growing  wants 
of  the  country  ;  then  to  a  sense  of  insecurity  which  had  prevailed 
in  the  country ;  next  to  the  influence  of  the  establishments  and 
expenditure  of  other  nations;  and  lastly,  to  special  demands 
which  had  arisen  out  of  exigencies  which  had  sprung  up, — 
demands  which  were  in  substance,  and  in  everything  except  the 
name,  war  demands.  '  With  respect  to  the  state  of  establish- 
ments and  expenditure  abroad,'  said  Mr.  Gladstone,  '  I  do  not 
know  whether  hon.  members,  in  their  perusal  of  the  journals 
and  in  their  observation  of  the  condition  of  other  countries, 
have  fully  comprehended  what  a  race  the  Governments  of  the 
world  are  running,  and  at  what  a  fearful  pace  outside  of  Eng- 
land national  obligations  are  now  in  course  of  accumulation.' 
Nearly  all  countries  were  in  the  same  predicament,  and  the  only 
flourishing  budget  he  had  seen  was  that  of  the  Ottoman  Empire. 
During  the  last  twenty  years  France  had  added  250  millions 
to  her  debt,  of  which  180  millions  was  not  attributable  to  war 
expenditure.  Austria  and  Russia  had  added  to  their  debts, 
and  the  financial  year  of  1861  alone  had  added  to  the  State 
debts  of  all  the  great  countries  200  millions  of  money.  England 
had  not  added  to  her  debt,  but  among  extraordinary  expenses 
there  was  the  cost  of  the  war  with  China,  which  had  been 
£7,054,000.  In  the  last  three  years,  what  might  be  called  war 
expenditure,  including  China,  New  Zealand,  and  the  despatch 
of  troops  to  North  America,  was  £8,600,000.  To  meet  this 
extraordinary  expenditure  the  income-tax  had  risen  since  1859 
by  three  millions,  and,  including  the  spirit  duties  and  other 
imposts,  there  had  been  taxes  imposed  exceeding  five  millions. 
The  taxes  reduced  or  abolished  amounted  to  over  four  millions. 
Their  extraordinary  resources  were  now  at  an  end ;  and  if  they 
looked  into  the  future,  and  asked  themselves  how  provision  was 
to  be  made  for  it,  they  must  make  their  reckoning  without  these 
resources.  About  eleven  millions  had  been  devoted  in  the  last 
three  years  to  extraordinary  expenditure,  of  which  six  millions 
had  been  met  by  extraordinary  resources,  and  five  millions  by 
taxes  drawn  from  the  people.  As  regarded  the  revenue,  it  had 
increased  since  1858-59  by  upwards  of  four  millions  in  1861-62. 
We  had  passed  through  exceptional  years  without  going  into  the 
market  for  loans, but — as  he  had  remarked — all  otherextraorclinary 
resources  were  now  exhausted,  and  to  meet  casualties  which  might 
occur,  it  was  only  to  ordinary  sources  of  revenue  we  had  to  look, 
and  any  difficulty  which  might  be  anticipated  was  only  to  be  met 
by  the  application  of  the  principles  of  true  and  strict  economy. 


204  WILLIAM  EWAET  GLADSTONE. 

This  budget  was  described  as  a  strictly  stationary  one ;  the 
existing  amount  of  taxation  being  neither  increased  nor  dimi- 
nished. Its  introduction  was  followed  by  a  long  discussion,  in 
which  various  points  of  the  scheme  were  objected  to ;  but  it  was 
not  until  the  motion  for  going  into  committee  some  days 
afterwards  that  the  objections  assumed  a  tangible  shape.  Mr. 
Disraeli,  as  the  representative  of  those  who  distrusted  the 
financial  measures  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  opened 
the  debate  by  expressing  his  regret  that  the  financial  year  should 
commence  with  only  a  nominal  surplus.  Why  was  there  not  a 
suijr lus  ?  If  the  paper  duty  had  been  retained,  instead  of  a  loss 
of  £850,000,  there  would  have  been  a  surplus  of  £1 ,400,000.  In 
the  years  1860-61,  and  1861-62,  there  had  been  a  total  deficiency 
of  £4,000,000;  and  in  addition  to  this  Mr.  Gladstone  had 
anticipated  the  resources  of  the  country  to  the  extent  of 
£3,500,000.  But  even  this  was  not  the  full  extent  of  his 
prodigality,  for  it  was  done  at  a  period  when  the  national  debt 
had  been  reduced  by  £2,000,000,  the  amount  of  the  terminable 
annuities.  All  the  rhetorical  arts  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  could  not  disguise  the  critical  position  of  our  finances. 
He  maintained  that  the  excuses  offered  to  calm  the  public  mind 
were  utterly  fallacious. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  having  replied  to  certain  questions  of  Mr.  Bass 
upon  the  new  brewing  licences,  applied  himself  to  the  '  historical 
survey '  of  the  finances  of  recent  years  by  the  leader  of  the  Opposi- 
tion. With  regard  to  the  protest  that  the  mode  of  conducting 
the  finances  of  the  country  was  derogatory  to  the  character  of 
public  men,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  sarcastically  observed, 
1 1  will  deal  strictly  with  the  speech  of  the  right,  hon.  gentle- 
man, and  I  will  endeavour  to  show  how  far  he,  forsooth !  is  trust- 
worthy when  he  enters  on  these  surveys.  He  does  not  resort  to 
rhetorical  artifices  !  Who  ever  heard  him  dealing  in  figures  or 
sarcasms  ?  It  is  plain  and  prosaic  information  which  he  delights 
to  lay  before  the  House.'  The  fallacy  of  his  speech,  continued 
Mr.  Gladstone,  was  that  which  ran  through  his  policy  and  that  of 
his  party — a  want  of  dependence  on  the  principles  of  Free  Trade, 
which  had  given  such  elasticity  to  the  resources  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Disraeli  had  erred  in  charging  him  with  exhausting  by 
anticipation  the  ordinary  revenue,  and  with  respect  to  the  failure 
of  the  China  receipts  he  met  him  with  a  positive  contradiction. 
He  had  given  no  personal  guarantee  of  the  amount,  but  he  had 
founded  his  estimate  upon  the  safest  authorities.  He  reasserted 
that  the  past  two  years  were  exceptional  years.  As  to  Mr. 
Disraeli's  own  financial  calculations,  in  the  only  two  cases  in 
which  he  had  prepared  estimates,  not  for  China,  bub  for  England 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  295 

— the  tax  on  checks  and  the.  duty  on  Irish  spirits — he  had 
egregiously  erred ;  they  had  not  realised  one-third  of  the  sums 
calculated  upon.  The  repeal  of  the  paper  duty  was  said  to  be 
an  improvident  proposal ;  yet  the  opponents  of  that  measure 
proposed  to  part  with  £950,000  of  tea  duty,  which  would  have 
been  so  much  addition  to  the  alleged  deficiency.  He  was  well 
content  to  be  called  by  Mr.  Disraeli  the  most  profuse  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  on  record.  He  was  satisfied  to  bear  any  epithets 
of  vituperation  he  had  already  produced  or  might  produce  on  a 
future  occasion.  It  was  not  difficult  to  bear  the  abuse  of  the 
right  hon.  gentleman,  when  he  remembered  that  far  better  men 
than  himself  had  had  to  suffer  it.  But  he  should  be  still  more 
content  if  the  effect  of  his  opponent's  speech  was  to  bring  the 
House  and  the  country  to  a  due  sense  of  the  gravity  of  the 
financial  situation,  and  the  necessity  for  a  reduction  of  expendi- 
ture. With  regard  to  the  income-tax,  he  did  not  desire  that  it 
should  be  permanent;  and  if  the  country  could  be  governed 
by  something  about  £60,000,000,  it  could  be  done  without 
—but  it  could  not  be  abolished  with  an  expenditure  of 
£70,000,000.  He  did  not  yet  despair  of  reduction  and  re- 
trenchment, though  he  did  not  look  forward  to  sweeping  re- 
ductions. 

The  budget  was  subjected  to  a  second  close  examination  by 
Sir  S.  Northcote,  but  eventually  the  House  went  into  committee. 
On  the  motion  for  the  second  reading  of  the  Customs  and  Inland 
Kevenue  Bill  (embodying  several  of  the  budget  resolutions),  Sir 
S.  Northcote  again  reviewed  the  financial  condition  of  the 
country,  and  referred  to  a«  speech  delivered  by  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  at  Manchester,  in  which'  the  latter  admitted 
that  the  national  finances  were  not  in  a  healthy  state,  because 
the  public  expenditure  was  too  large.  But  Mr.  Gladstone  had 
added  that  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  restore  our  affairs  to  a 
sound  condition  by  a  reduction  of  expenditure,  if  that  step 
should  be  urged  upon  Parliament  by  pressure  from  without. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  repudiating  the  construction 
which  Sir  S.  Northcote  had  put  upon  his  words,  and  denying  that 
he  had  asserted  the  doctrines  imputed  to  him,  replied  to  the  follow- 
ing charges,  which  he  understood  were  brought  against  him  : — 
First,  that  he  had  disclaimed  responsibility  for  the  estimates  laid 
before  Parliament ;  secondly,  that  he  had  not  provided  a  proper 
surplus  of  revenue ;  and,  thirdly,  that  he  had  taken  away  supplies 
by  which  a  surplus  would  have  been  provided.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  exceptional  circumstances  of  the  time,  the  Government 
had  reduced  the  amount  of  the  expenditure  by  £800,000  to 
£1,000,000  a  year,  and  would  continue  the  same  course  year  by 


29G  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

year.  Sir  S.  Northcote  must  have  been  taken  in  by  some  vendor 
of  scandalous  stories. 

The  Inland  Kevenue  Bill,  after  another  lengthy  discussion, 
was  allowed  to  pass  its  final  stage.  The  Lords  subsequently 
indulged  their  right  of  criticism  very  fully,  but  the  financial 
schemes  of  the  Government  ultimately  received  the  sanction  of 
Parliament. 

Sir  G.  Bowyer  once  more  furnished  Mr.  Gladstone  with  an 
opportunity  of  vindicating  the  GoYernment  and  people  of  Italy 
from  the  charges  brought  against  them  ;  and  this  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  accomplished,  as  stated  in  the  journals  of  the  day, 
with  remarkable  and  convincing  eloquence.  On  the  llth  of 
April,  on  the  motion  for  adjournment  for  the  Easter  holidays, 
the  member  for  Dundalk,  the  ardent  defender  of  the  temporal 
power  of  the  Pope,  rose  to  call  attention  to  the  state  of  affairs  in 
Italy.  Sir  George  Bowyer  had  already  expressed  himself  on  this 
subject  quite  fully  enough,  as  the  House  thought,  judging  from 
its  attitude  of  mingled  amusement  and  impatience  on  this  occa- 
sion. The  hon.  member  repeated  his  stock  arguments  against 
the  recognition  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  and  again  informed  the 
House  that  the  British  flag  was  regarded  as  the  harbinger  of 
revolution.  Sir  Gr.  Bowyer's  unrivalled  capacity  for  ignoring 
the  march  of  events  was  undeniable,  and  was  generally  conceded 
by  the  House  and  the  country  ;  and  Mr.  Layard  had  the  former 
with  him  when  he  said  that  he  had  never  heard  any  speech  in 
that  House  which  had  met  with  so  little  sympathy.  Mr.  Layard 
further  put  the  question  into  a  nutshell,  when  he  observed  that 
in  three  short  years  a  people  previously  down-trodden  and 
humbled  had  raised  th'etnselves  up  almost  to  the  enjoyment  of  full 
and  entire  liberty,  and  were  using  that  liberty  with  Avonderful 
moderation.  This  was  a  change  as  great  as  though  the  sun 
should  beam  forth  at  midnight.  Mr.  Pope  Hennessy — who  on 
these  occasions  was  always  the  Pythias  to  Sir  Gr.  Bowyer's 
Damon — outdid  even  his  friend  in  his  prognostications.  He 
expressed  his  conviction  that  before  another  debate  took  place  on 
this  subject  in  the  House,  the  bubble  of  Italian  unity  would  have 
"burst. 

Eemembering  now  how  nobly  the  Italian  struggle  ended,  the 
most  unpleasant  and  inconvenient  reading  which  could  be 
recommended  to  these  political  Cassandras  is  their  unfulfilled 
prophecies  of  a  past  generation. 

Mr.  Gladstone  began  his  masterly  speech  by  observing  that 
there  was  a  great  deal  of  force  in  the  objection  to  a  discussion  in 
that  House  on  the  internal  affairs  of  Italy,  an  act  which  was 
scarcely  consistent  with  the  respect  due  to  a  friendly  power 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  29? 

provided  with  an  arena  of  its  own  for  such  a  discussion.    He  did 
not  wish  to  use  unparliamentary  language,  but  if  the  words  para- 
dox and  credulity  were  not  unparliamentary,  he  desired  to  appeal 
to  the  House  whether  an  extraordinary  power  of  paradox  and 
a  marvellous    capacity  of  credulity  had  not  distinguished  the 
whole  of  the  address  of  his  hon.  and  learned  friend,  Sir  George 
Bowyer.      This  was  shown  by  his  statement  as  to  the  wonders 
which   Piedmont  had    effected.      '  But  to   take   a    particular 
instance,'  continued  the  Chancellor  of  the    Exchequer,   '  there 
is  the  downfall  of  the  late  kingdom  of  the  two  Sicilies.    My  hon. 
and  learned  friend  was  so  kind  as  to  ascribe  to  me  some  infinite- 
simal share  in  removing  from  the  world  the  sorrow  and  iniquity 
which  once  oppressed  that  unhappy  country.     I  should  take  it 
as  a  favour  if  the  charge  were  made  truly,  but  I  claim  or  assume 
no  such  office.     Here  is  a  country  which  my  hon.  and  learned 
friend  says  is,  with  a  few  miserable  exceptions  amongst   the 
middle  classes,   fondly  attached  to  the  expelled   dynasty — and 
what  happened  there  ?     An  adventurer,  Garibaldi,  clothed  in  a 
red  shirt,  and  some  volunteers  also  clothed  in  red  shirts,  land 
at  a  point  in  the  peninsula,  march  through  Calabria,  face  a 
sovereign  with  a  well-disciplined   army  of  80,000  men,  and  a 
fleet  probably  the  best  in  Italy,  and  that  sovereign  disappears 
before  them  like  a  mockery  king  of  snow  !     And  yet  such  is  the 
power  of  paradox  that  my  hon.  and  learned  friend  still  argues  for 
the  affectionate  loyalty  of  the  Neapolitans,  as  if  such  results 
could  have  been  achieved  anywhere,  save  where  the  people  were 
alienated  from  the  throne.'    It  had  been  maintained  that  the  king- 
dom of  Italy  was  non-existent,  because  it  had  not  been  recog- 
nized by  any  European  power,  save  England  and  France.     Amidst 
the  cheers  and  laughter  of  the  House,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that 
he  would  not  inquire  into  the  literal  accuracy  of  that  statement, 
but  so  far  as  the  existence  of  a  kingdom  depended  upon  the  recog- 
nition of  European  Powers,  when  it  had  got  the  recognition  of 
England   and  France  it  had   already   made  very  considerable 
progress.       Although   only   two  years  had    elapsed   since   the 
revolution,  such  had  been  the  progress  of  events,  that  Sir  George 
Bowyer  had  practically   abandoned   his  case   as  regarded  two-- 
thirds of  the  Italian  kingdom,  whilst  as  to  the  other  third,  Mr. 
Layard  had  shown  that  things  were  improving.     He  (Mr.  Glad- 
stone) regretted  the  continuance  of  the  occupation  of  Rome  ;  :v.i  1 
he  most  earnestly  hoped,  for  the  sake  of  the  name  and  fume  of 
France,  for  the  sake  of  humanity  and  the  peace  of  Europe,  that 
that  occupation  might  soon  cease.     After  a  strong  condemnation 
of  the  impolicy  and  injustice  of  prolonging  the  temporal  power 
of  the  Pope,  and  a  statement  as  to  the  improved  prospects  of 


298  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Italy,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  thus  concluded,  by  remarking 
upon  the  responsibility  of  the  English  Government : — *  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  I  believe  a  special  part  of  the  duty,  I  may 
say  of  the  mission,  of  the  Administration  of  which  my  noble 
friend  (Lord  Palmerston)  is  at  the  head,  is  to  be  the  true 
expositor  of  the  sense  of  the  people  of  England  on  a  question  so 
vitally  important  as  the  Italian  question  is,  both  to  the  main- 
tenance of  every  high  and  sacred  principle,  and  likewise  to  the 
future  tranquillity  of  Europe.  I  believe,  too,  so  far  as  the 
judgment  of  England  is  concerned,  never  was  that  judgment 
pronounced  on  any  public  question  at  home  or  abroad  with  greater 
unanimity  or  clearness  ;  and  that  there  will  not  be  any  chapter 
of  the  life  of  my  noble  friend  on  which  Englishmen  will  pro- 
bably dwell  with  greater  satisfaction  than  that  in  which  it  shall 
be  recorded  that,  not  now  alone,  but  for  many  years  past,  before 
the  question  had  arisen  to  the  magnitude  of  its  present  position, 
through  evil  report  and  through  good  report,  he  sustained  and 
supported  the  cause  of  Italy.' 

The  debate  was  continued  by  Mr.  Stansfeld,  Mr.  Maguire,  and 
other  members,  and  concluded  by  Lord  Palmerston,  who  said 
that  posterity  would  judge  bet  ween  the  English  Government  and 
those  who  had  been  the  champions  and  advocates  of  everything 
that  was  corrupt,  tyrannical,  and  oppressive  in  the  former  institu- 
tions of  Italy.  To  that  tribunal  they  would  fearlessly  appeal  for 
a  decision  in  their  favour. 

Towards  the  close  of  1862  Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  a  speech 
at  Newcastle,  in  which  he  expressed  his  conviction  that  Mr. 
Jefferson  Davis  had  already  succeeded  in  making  the  Southern 
States  of  America,  which  were  in  revolt,  an  independent  nation. 
This  opinion,  coming  from  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 
caused  great  sensation,  and  pained  many  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
warmest  political  supporters,  who  were  staunch  defenders  of  the 
North  in  a  struggle  which  they  regarded  as  virtually  turning 
upon  the  Slavery  question.  Only  a  few  weeks  before  Mr.  Glad- 
stone thus  expressed  himself,  Earl  Kussell  had  written  as  follows 
to  Mr.  Mason,  in  reply  to  his  claim  to  have  the  Confederate 
States  recognised  as  a  separate  and  independent  Power : — '  In 
order  to  be  entitled  to  a  place  among  the  independent  nations  of 
the  earth,  a  State  ought  not  only  to  have  strength  and  resources 
for  a  time,  but  afford  promise  of  stability  and  permanence. 
Should  the  Confederate  States  of  America  win  that  place  among 
nations,  it  might  be  right  for  other  nations  justly  to  acknow- 
ledge an  independence  achieved  by  victory,  and  maintained  by  a 
successful  resistance  to  all  attempts  to  overthrow  it.  That  time, 
however,  has  not,  in  the  judgment  of  her  Majesty's  Government, 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  299 

arrived.  Her  Majesty's  Government,  therefore,  can  only  hope 
that  a  peaceful  termination  of  the  present  bloody  and  destructive 
contest  may  not  be  far  distant.'  Looking  at  the  question  apart 
from  all  feeling  for  or  against  the  North  or  the  South,  and 
remembering  Mr.  Gladstone's  position  in  the  Ministry  of  the 
day,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  the  policy  of  the  Government  was 
one  of  neutrality,  his  utterance  was  unquestionably  indiscreet. 
Having  been  interrogated  on  the  subject  on  behalf  of  the  cotton 
shippers,  the  right  lion,  gentleman  said  that  his  words  were  no 
more  than  the  expression,  in  rather  more  pointed  terms,  of  an 
opinion  which  he  had  long  ago  stated  in  public,  that  the  effort 
of  the  Northern  States  to  subjugate  the  Southern  ones  was 
hopeless  by  reason  of  the  resistance  of  the  latter. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  however,  not  only  discovered  that  his  remarks 
had  offended  a  large  body  of  the  people  of  this  country,  but  lived 
to  see  that  his  opinion  was  premature  and  misjudged.  This  he 
fully  and  frankly  acknowledged  in  August,  1867,  in  a  letter  to  a 
correspondent  in  New  York.  '  I  must  confess,'  he  wrote,  *  that  I 
was  wrong ;  that  I  took  too  much  upon  myself  in  expressing 
such  an  opinion.  Yet  the  motive  was  not  bad.  My  sympathies 
were  then — where  they  had  long  before  been,  where  they  are  now 
— with  the  whole  American  people.  I  probably,  like  many 
Europeans,  did  not  understand  the  nature  and  working  of  the 
American  Union.  I  had  imbibed  conscientiously,  if  erroneously, 
an  opinion  that  twenty  or  twenty-four  millions  of  the  North 
would  be  happier  and  would  be  stronger  (of  course  assuming 
that  they  would  hold  together)  without  the  South  than  with  it, 
and  also  that  the  negroes  would  be  much  nearer  to  emancipation 
under  a  Southern  Government  than  under  the  old  system  of  the 
Union,  which  had  not  at  that  date  (August,  1862J)  been  aban- 
doned, and  which  always  appeared  to  me  to  place  the  whole 
power  of  the  North  at  the  command  of  the  slave-holding  interests 
of  the  South.  As  far  as  regards  the  special  or  separate  interest 
of  England  in  the  matter,  I,  differing  from  many  others,  had 
always  contended  that  it  was  best  for  our  interest  that  the  Union 
should  be  kept  entire.'  Mr.  Gladstone  had  committed  an  error 
of  judgment,  and  was  by  no  means  measured  in  his  confession 
of  the  fact. 

An  interesting  extra-parliamentary  utterance  by  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  is  recorded  in  March,  1862,  when  he 
acted  as  spokesman  for  the  donors  of  a  magnificent  testimonial 
to  Mr.  Charles  Kean.  This  gift  to  the  popular  actor  and  his 
wife,  who  had  just  retired  from  the  stage,  was  subscribed  for  by 
Etonians,  who  *  desired  to  express  their  appreciation  of  their  emi- 
nent school-fellow ' — Mr.  Kean  having  been  educated  at  Eton. 


300  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

The  testimonial,  which  consisted  of  a  variety  of  articles  in  silver, 
was  presented  to  Mr.  Kean  in  the  great  room  of  St.  James's 
Hall.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle,  who  was  to  have  acted  as  chair- 
man, had  been  summoned  to  attend  her  Majesty  at  Windsor, 
and  his  Grace's  place  was  supplied  by  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  as  stated.  Mr.  Gladstone  regretted  that  he  had  rarely 
the  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  talent  of  Mr.  Kean  or  others, 
as  bis  own  pursuits,  they  were  aware,  were  not  of  so  agreeable  a 
character.  His  time  Avas  engaged  at  that  part  of  the  day  when 
such  talents  were  exhibited ;  in  fact,  he  had  to  '  appear '  in 
another  place  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Kean  was  to  be  seen  pur- 
suing his  own  professional  duties.  Referring  to  the  question  of 
the  drama  generally,  and  the  revival  of  Shakespeare,  the  right 
hon.  gentleman  said  they  must  look  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Kean 
was  one  who  had  laboured  in  the  noble  and  holy  cause  of 
endeavouring  to  dissociate  the  elements  of  the  drama  from  all 
moral  and  social  contamination.  That  was  the  work  to  which  Mr. 
Kean  had  given  many  anxious  years  and  all  the  best  energies  of 
his  mind ;  and  there  were  few  who  could  be  compared  with  him 
for  pursuing  the  profession  with  all  the  understanding  and  the 
heart.  He  hoped  that  others  Avould  follow  him  in  endeavouring 
to  improve  the  tone  and  elevate  the  character  of  the  English 
stage. 

The  session  of  1863  promising  to  be  barren  in  great  legislative 
enactments,  public  interest  naturally  centred  in  the  budget.  A 
considerable  surplus  of  income  over  expenditure  having  become  a 
certainty,  speculation  was  rife  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  would 
be  employed.  The  income-tax  and  the  tea  duties  were  the  chief 
topics  of  discussion,  and  the  enemies  of  both  looked  confidently 
for  relief.  The  public  mind  had  decreed,  without  Ministerial 
warrant,  that  the  income-tax  should  be  reduced  to  7d.,  and  that 
the  '  war  duties '  on  tea  and  sugar  should  be  abolished.  Outside 
opinion  did  not  prove  to  be  far  wrong,  and  on  the  16th  of  April 
Mr.  Gladstone  once  more  appeared  in  the  character  of  a  financial 
benefactor.  Prefacing  his  statement  by  the  observation  that  the 
causes  which  had  given  peculiar  interest  to  the  financial  state- 
ments of  the  last  few  years  were  not  such  as  it  was  desirable  should 
be  permanent,  he  reminded  the  House  that  a  resolution  had 
been  passed  to  the  effect,  that  while  it  was  necessary  to  provide 
for  the  defences  of  the  country,  the  burden  of  taxation  should 
be  dealt  with  by  the  Executive.  The  Government  would  now 
put  in  their  answer  to  that  resolution.  From  1858  to  1860-61 
there  had  been  an  increase  of  over  £8,000,000  in  the  expendi- 
ture. The  average  annual  expenditure  from  1859  to  1863,  includ- 
ing the  charge  for  fortifications,  was  £71,195,000.  Excluding 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  301 

certain  items  which  in  their  nature  did  not  increase,  viz.,  the 
interest  of  the  national  debt  and  the  charge  for  tie  collection  of 
the  revenue,  he  found  that  the  charge  for  the  year  1858-59  was 
£31,621,000  :  but  in  1860-61  it  had  risen  to  £42,125,000— or  an 
increase  of  ten  millions  and  a  half  in  two  years.  Since  1853, 
that  is,  previous  to  the  Russian  war,  the  charge  had  increased  by 
something  like  £18,000,000.  This  increase  was  called  for  by  the 
public  desire  to  strengthen  the  defences  of  the  country.  As 
regarded  the  Government,  all  he  had  to  say  for  it  was,  that,  in 
making  the  increase  in  the  expenditure,  it  certainly  did  not  outrun 
but  rather  fell  short  of  public  opinion.  It  was  true  that  the  state 
of  Jension  in  which  the  finances  of  the  country  had  been  kept  for 
the  last  four  years  was  occasioned  by  the  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment. The  estimates  he  had  to  make  for  the  present  year  were 
hopeful,  but  they  must  be  considered  with  regard  to  special  cir- 
cumstances, such  as  the  condition  of  Lancashire.  Here  Mr. 
Gladstone  interposed  this  just  and  warmly-applauded  tribute  to 
the  great  northern  county.  Towards  that  Lancashire,  to  which 
up  to  this  time  every  Englishman  has  referred,  if  not  with  pride, 
yet  with  satisfaction  and  thankfulness,  as  among  the  most 
remarkable  or  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  of  all  the  symbols  that 
could  be  presented  of  the  power,  the  progress,  and  the  prosperity 
of  England—  towards  that  Lancashire  we  feel  now  more  warmly 
and  more  thankfully  than  ever  in  regard  to  every  moral  aspect 
of  its  condition.  The  lessons  which  within  the  last  twelve 
months  have  been  conveyed,  if  in  one  aspect  they  have  been 
painful  and  even  bitter,  yet  in  other  aspects,  and  in  those,  too, 
which  more  intimately  and  permanently  relate  to  the  condition 
and  prospects  of  the  country,  have  been  lessons  such  as  I  will 
venture  to  say  none  of  us  could  have  hoped  to  learn.  For  how- 
ever sanguine  may  have  been  the  anticipations  entertained  as  to 
the  enduring  power  and  pluck  of  the  English  people,  I  do  not 
think  that  anyone  could  have  estimated  that  power  of  endur- 
ance, that  patience,  that  true  magnanimity  in  humble  life,  at  a 
point  as  high  as  we  now  see  that  it  has  actually  reached.'  But 
the  tale  he  had  to  tell  of  the  material  condition  of  Lancashire 
was  a  melancholy  one.  The  price  of  cotton,  which  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  previous  year  was  8d.  per  lb.,  had  now  reached  2s.  per 
lb.,  so  that  the  distress  in  Lancashire  had  reached  a  condition  of 
the  utmost  stringency.  It  was  with  reference  to  this  portion  of 
the  community  that  the  balance-sheet  of  the  year  had  been  pre- 
pared. But  there  was  also  another  cause  of  depression,  viz.,  the 
distress  in  Ireland,  of  which  the  people  of  England  had  formed 
no  adequate  idea.  Comparing  the  agricultural  produce  of  Ire- 
land of  the  various  years  from  1836  to  1862-63,  he  found  that  in 


302  WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

the  last-named  year  it  amounted  to  £27,327,000,  being  an  increase 
of  twelve  millions  on  the  figures  for  the  previous  period — 
equal  to  one-third  of  the  whole  agricultural  products  of  the 
country. 

These  circumstances  had  necessarily  diminished  the  general 
revenue.  Coming  next  to  the  estimates  for  the  ensuing  year,  Mr. 
Gladstone  sail  that  of  expenditure  amounted  in  the  whole  to 
£67,749,000.  This,  however,  did  not  include  fortifications,  for 
which  Parliament  had  made  other  provision.  The  estimate 
of  the  revenue  for  the  year  was  taken  at  £71,490,000.  There 
was  an  increase  in  the  excise.  There  was  a  difference  between 
revenue  and  expenditure,  in  favour  of  the  former,  of  £3,741,000. 
As  to  the  application  of  this  surplus,  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  said  it  woul.'  probably  be  thought  the  Government 
ought  to  proceed  to  the  reduction  of  taxation,  and  not  speak  of 
augmentation  ;  but  there  were  certain  anomalies  to  rectify.  It 
was  proposed  to  raise  the  duty  on  chicory,  so  as  to  equalise  it 
with  that  on  coffee.  He  further  announced,  amid  some 
murmurs,  that  clubs  should  henceforth  pay  the  same  duty  on 
liquors  as  the  keepers  of  hotels  and  coffee-houses.  A  person 
having  obtained  a  beer  licence  through  the  medium  of  having 
first  taken  a  spirit  licence,  should  now  pay  the  same  duty  as  one 
who  obtained  it  without  that  process.  Wholesale  beer  merchants 
might,  in  future,  under  a  £1  licence,  sell  quantities  under  two 
dozen  bottles.  Carriers  would  be  subjected  to  one-half  the  duty 
now  paid  by  stage-carriage  proprietors.  Eailway  companies 
now  paid  a  duty  of  5  per  cent,  on  ordinary  traffic,  but  nothing 
on  excursion  trains ;  there  would  be  a  general  charge  in  future 
upon  the  whole  of  3  J  per  cent.  The  duty  on  charitable  legacies 
in  Ireland  would  be  assimilated  to  that  in  England.  He  proposed 
to  do  away  with  the  exemption  from  income-tax  of  endowed 
charities,  though  it  would  be  continued  as  far  as  buildings  and 
sites  were  concerned.  This  change  would  produce  £75,000  on 
the  revenue  of  the  present  year,  which,  with  other  items,  would 
be  added  to  the  surplus. 

Arriving  at  the  question  of  the  disposition  of  the  surplus,  Mr. 
Gladstone  said  that  the  charge  of  one  penny  on  packages  oi 
goods  inwards  would  be  dispensed  with,  and  the  charge  of  Is.  6d. 
on  bills  of  lading  outwards  would  also  cease  at  the  same  time. 
With  regard  to  the  income-tax,  it  was  proposed  to  make  the  sum 
of  £100  the  point  at  which  a  man  was  taxable,  and  to  fix  that  of 
£200  as  the  point  at  which  he  should  come  under  the  full  force 
of  the  tax  ;  to  remove  the  rate  of  £150  altogether,  and  to  allow  the 
man  in  receipt  of  an  income  of  between  £100  and  £200  to  deduct 
£60  from  his  taxable  income,  which  would  largely  reduce  the 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  303 

amount  of  the  tax  on  a  pro  raid  scale.  After  considering  the 
various  arguments  in  favour  of  a  reduction,  both  of  the  tea  and 
sugar  duties,  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  to  choose  one  rather 
than  divide  the  reduction  between  them.  The  duty  on  tea  would 
accordingly  be  reduced  to  Is.  per  lb.,  making  a  diminution  of 
revenue  estimated  at  £1,300,000.  The  loss  consequent  on  the 
reduction  of  the  income-tax  from  9d.  and  7d.  in  the  pound  to 
7d.  and  6d.,  would  be  £2,350,000  per  annum,  while  a  loss  would 
be  sustained  by  the  relief  to  minor  incomes  of  £1,300,000  on  the 
present  year.  There  \vould  be  a  reduction  of  2d.  in  the  pound 
on  the  general  rate,  and  thus  the  whole  remission  of  taxation  on 
the  year  would  be  £3,340,000,  or,  reckoning  the  total  remission, 
present  and  prospective,  of  £4,601,000.  After  these  remissions, 
there  would  be  left  an  actual  surplus  of  some  £400,000,  but  with 
that  he  did  not  propose  to  meddle. 

Mr.  Gladstone  then  entered  into  an  elaborate  review  of  the 
income  and  expenditure  of  the  country  during  the  preceding  four 
years.  In  those  years  eight  millions  had  been  paid  for  war 
expenditure  in  China,  and  the  charge  for  the  reconstruction  of 
the  navy  had  been  met,  and  these  out  of  the  ordinary  resources 
of  the  country.  Adducing  statistics  in  reference  to  the  trade  of 
the  country,  he  showed  that  there  had  been  an  enormous  advance 
in  the  consumption  of  paper,  fed  by  larger  imports  and  a  greater 
manufacture  at  home.  Our  trade  with  America  exhibited  a 
decrease  of  £6,000,000,  but  in  the  case  of  France  there  had  been 
an  increase  of  over  £12,000,000.  In  nineteen  years,  during 
which  the  income-tax  was  imposed  for  the  purpose  of  assisting 
the  development  of  the  resources  of  the  country  by  means  of  the 
remission  of  taxes  on  its  industry,  there  had  been  an  extension 
of  the  wealth  of  the  country  amounting  to  £65,000,000  of 
annual  income.  Having  instituted  a  comparison  between  the 
progress  of  Great  Britain  and  the  condition  of  other  countries, 
Mr.  Gladstone  observed  finally,  '  In  framing  the  estimates  of 
public  charge  for  the  year,  it  has  of  course  been  the  duty  of  her 
Majesty's  Government,  first  and  most  of  all,  to  keep  in  view  the 
honour,  the  interests,  and  the  security  of  the  country ;  and  next 
to  that  honour,  those  interests,  and  that  security,  the  deliberate 
judgment  given  by  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  last  session  of 
Parliament.  But,  subject  to  these  considerations,  as  I  trust  I 
may  also  say,  both  on  my  own  behalf  and  on  that  of  my 
colleagues,  it  is  to  us  matter  of  additional  satisfaction,  after 
reading  the  eloquent  denunciation  of  the  Finance  Minister  of 
France,  if,  while  we  submit  a  plan  which  offers  no  inconsiderable 
diminution  of  the  burdens  of  the  people,  we  can  also  minister 
ever  so  remotely  to  the  adoption  of  like  measures  in  other 


804  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

lands ;  if  we  may  hope  that  a  diminished  expenditure  for  England 
will  be  construed  across  the  Channel  as  the  friendly  acceptance 
of  a  friendly  challenge,  and  that  what  we  propose,  and  what 
Parliament  may  be  pleased  to  accept,  may  act  as  an  indirect,  yet 
powerful,  provocative  to  similar  proceedings  abroad.  Gratifying 
it  must  ever  be  to  the  advisers  of  the  British  Crown  that  the 
British  people  should  enjoy  an  alleviation  of  their  burdens  ;  but, 
over  and  above  the  benefit  to  them,  and  the  satisfaction  to  us, 
there  will  be  a  further  benefit,  and  a  further  pleasure,  if  we  may 
hope  that  we  are  allying  ourselves  with,  and  confirming  such 
tendencies  as  may  exist  elsewhere  on  behaf  of  peace,  of  order, 
and  of  civilisation,  and  that  we  are  assisting,  in  however  humble 
a  degree,  to  allay  unhappy  jealousies,  to  strengthen  the  senti- 
ments of  goodwill,  and  to  bring  about  a  better  and  more  solid 
harmony  among  the  greatest  of  the  civilised  nations  of  the  world.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  for  three  hours,  and  for  the  first  time  one 
of  the  Queen's  sons — Prince  Alfred,  accompanied  by  Prince  Louis 
of  Hesse — attended  the  delivery  of  a  budget  speech.  Upon  its 
conclusion,  Mr.  Disraeli  had  nothing  to  urge  against  his  rival's 
scheme.  Indeed,  as  soon  as  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
arrived  at  his  survey  of  the  trade  and  resources  of  the  country, 
the  leader  of  the  Opposition  left  the  House. 

The  two  leading  features  of  the  budget — the  remissions  on  the 
tea  duty  and  the  income-tax — were,  very  popular  with  the  coun- 
try. Minor  details  were  of  course  objected  to  by  those  classes 
whom  the  changes  directly  affected,  the  proposed  extension  to 
clubs  of  the  licence  duties  paid  by  hotel  and  coffee-house  pro- 
prietors offending  an  influential  class,  whose  opposition  even- 
tually resulted  in  the  proposal  being  withdrawn.  But  the 
proposition  in  the  budget  which  excited  the  greatest  hostility 
was  that  removing  the  exemption  of  charities  from  the  income- 
tax.  On  the  4th  of  May,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  influ- 
ential deputations  which  have  ever  waited  upon  a  Minister  of 
State  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  to  urge  upon 
the  right  hon.  gentleman  the  injustice  and  the  impolicy  of 
extending  the  property-tax  to  the  funded  property  of  chari- 
table institutions.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge,  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  and  others,  having 
expressed  their  views  as  to  the  injurious  consequences  of  the 
proposed  measure,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  replied  that 
it  would  be  his  duty  to  state  to  "the  House  of  Commons  the 
reasons  upon  which  the  motion  of  her  Majesty's  Government 
was  founded.  They  would  leave  it  to  the  opinion  of  the  House 
whether  their  proposal  should  receive  its  free  sanction. 

The  same  evening,  from  his  place  in  the  House  of  Commons, 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  305 

Mr.  Gladstone  made  a  powerful  defence  of  his  proposition.  While 
he  did  not  affect  to  disguise  his  knowledge  of  the  opposition 
which  had  been  raided  against  his  scheme,  and  while  expressing 
his  opinion  that  the  course  he  had  taken  was  a  wise  and  prudent 
one,  he  admitted  that  it  ought  not  to  be  adopted  without  the 
full  concurrence  of  the  House.  The  question  was  not  under- 
stood, and  he  desired  to  call  attention  to  the  nature  of  the  exemp- 
tions it  was  proposed  to  remove.  As  to  the  character  of  the 
charities  sought  to  be  dealt  with,  nineteen-twentieths  of  them 
were  death-bed  bequests ;  a  species  of  bequest  which  the  law  did 
not  favour,  and  which  were  essentially  different  from  charities, 
properly  so-called,  which  were  subject  to  taxation.  He  objected 
to  immunities  which  encouraged  men  to  immortalise  themselves 
as  founders.  The  loss  to  the  State,  of  the  exemptions  in  question, 
was  £216,000  a-year ;  while  there  was  a  large  and  growing  charge 
upon  the  public  funds  connected  with  the  administration  of  chari- 
ties, amounting  to  about  £45,000  a-year  ;  and  with  other  items, 
the  whole  loss  to  the  State  was  nearly  half-a-million  per  annum. 
He  then  analysed  the  charities  in  three  groups — small,  middle, 
and  large — affirming  that  amongst  the  small  there  was  hardly 
one  which,  in  itself,  was  deserving  of  the  toleration  of  the  House, 
and  which  had  not  been  condemned  by  three  separate  commis- 
sions of  inquiry,  as  tending  to  pauperise  people  who  seek  them, 
and  to  compromise  their  independence  and  self-respect.  The 
middle  charities,  which  were  distributed  in  money  only,  were  in 
the  main  not  charities  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term ;  while  as 
regarded  the  larger  charities,  they  were  full  of  abuses,  and  often 
mere  vehicles  for  patronage,  and  were  not  fit  subjects  for  exemp- 
tions, which,  in  fact,  amounted  to  grants  of  public  money.  '  Wo 
propose  this  measure,'  said  Mr.  Gladstone, '  not  as  one  of  financial 
necessity,  but  as  a  just  measure.  I  shall  not  revert  to  the  hard 
words  which  have  been  applied,  but  of  this  I  am  sure,  that  no 
person  would  have  given  it  a  more  cordial  and  conscientious  sup- 
port than  the  colleague  whom  we  all  on  this  bench  so  deeply 
lament  ;*  and  of  whom  it  may  be  said,  as  it  was  said  of  one  of 
old— 

"  Justissimus  unus 
Qui  fuit  in  Teucris  et  servantissimus  sequi," 

We  propose  this  as  a  just,  as  a  politic  measure.  We  do  not 
presume  as  a  Government,  by  any  means  which  a  Government 
might  dream  of,  to  press  it  on  an  adverse  House.  The  House  is 
responsible;  we  do  not  wish  to  show  undue  obstinacy;  we  defer 
to  its  opinions  ;  but  we  reserve  to  ourselves  the  power  of  deciding 

*  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis,  who  (as  we  have  already  seen)  had  filled  the 
office  of  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 

X 


306  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

upon  the  way  in  which  this  question  is  at  a  future  time  to  be 
considered.  We  have  proposed  this  measure  to  the  House  as 
consistent  with  every  principle  which  has  governed  administra- 
tion for  the  last  twenty  years ;  as  being  just  to  the  taxed  com- 
munity, and  fair  to  the  labouring  poor ;  favourable  to  the  great 
object  of  elevating  their  character,  as  well  as  of  improving  their 
condition.  In  proposing  this  measure  we  feel  ourselves  impreg- 
nable and  invulnerable  to  all  rude  reproaches,  and  we  recommend 
it  to  the  courage,  the  wisdom,  and  the  justice  of  the  House  of 
Commons.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  had  financial  and  substantial  justice  on  his  side 
in  making  this  proposal,  and  Lord  Palmerston  stated  that  it 
received  the  support  of  all  his  colleagues ;  but  as  the  sense  of  the 
House  appeared  to  be  opposed  to  the  scheme,  it  was  withdrawn 
by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  His  arguments,  however, 
were  endorsed  by  a  very  large  and  intelligent  body  of  the  com- 
munity, who  were  strongly  opposed  to  the  indiscriminate  and 
mistaken  beneficence  which  was  so  prevalent. 

With  the  withdrawal  of  this  much-combated  proposition,  the 
success  of  the  budget,  as  a  whole,  was  virtually  secured.  At  a 
later  period,  nevertheless,  Mr.  Hubbard,  who  had  already 
provoked  several  contests  with  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
on  the  subject  of  the  income-tax,  moved  the  folio  wing  resolution : 
— '  That  the  incidence  of  an  income-tax  touching  the  products  of 
invested  property  should  fall  upon  net  income,  and  that  the  net 
amounts  of  industrial  earnings  should,  previous  to  assessment,  be 
subject  to  such  an  abatement  as  may  equitably  adjust  the 
burden  thrown  upon  intelligence  and  skill  as  compared  with 
property.'  This  was  not  the  first  occasion  upon  which  this 
particular  modification  had  been  raised,  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
again  remarked  that  the  plan  proposed  by  Mr.  Hubbard  would 
only  shift  the  tax  from  one  set  of  anomalies  to  another,  and  for 
one  class  of  evils  substitute  a  greater.  The  plan  had  not  only 
been  rejected  by  Mr.  Hubbard's  own  committee,  but  his  motion 
had  been  negatived  last  session  by  a  large  majority.  Those 
whom  he  desired  to  relieve  were  the  class  whose  fortunes  were  in 
the  most  rapid  state  of  progress  .and  increase.  Those  who  were 
needy  in  proportion  to  the  station  they  occupied  were  left 
untouched,  or  rather  they  were  subjected  to  additional  burdens 
in  order  to  give  a  great  relief  to  those  who  were  in  more 
fortunate  circumstances.  He  (Mr.  Gladstone)  did  not  deny  that 
there  was  a  natural  feeling  in  the  direction  of  the  motion  which 
had  been  made,  but  there  were  great  dangers  in  agitating 
subjects  like  this,  which  could  not  be  realised  except  on  the 
i\  'option  of  judicious  economy  and  the  consequent  application 


FINANCIAL    STATEMENTS    OF    1861-63.  307 

of  sound  principles  to  the  relief  of  the  public.  Mr.  Hubbard's 
resolution  was  negatived  by  118  to  70. 

During  this  session,  Sir  Morton  Peto  introduced  his  Dissenters' 
Burials  Bill,  the  object  of  which  was  to  enable  Nonconformists 
to  have  their  funerals  celebrated  with  their  own  religious  rites 
and  services,  and  by  their  own  ministers,  in  the  graveyards  of 
the  Established  Church.  The  bill  was  strongly  opposed  on  its 
second  reading  by  Lord  Robert  Cecil,  Mr.  Disraeli,  and  Mr. 
Gathorne  Hardy.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  he  could  not  refuse 
his  assent  to  the  second  reading  of  the  measure,  though  some 
portions  of  it  were  open  to  objection.  '  But,'  he  continued,  '  I 
do  not  see  that  there  is  sufficient  reason,  or  indeed  any  reason 
at  all,  why,  after  having  granted,  and  most  properly  granted, 
to  the  entire  community  the  power  of  professing  and  practising 
what  form  of  religion  they  please  during  life,  you  should  say  to 
themselves  or  their  relatives  when  dead,  "  We  will  at  the  last 
lay  our  hands  upon  you,  and  not  permit  you  to  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  being  buried  in  the  churchyard,  where,  perhaps,  the 
ashes  of  your  ancestors  repose,  or,  at  any  rate,  in  the  place  of 
which  you  are  parishioners,  unless  you  appear  there  as  members 
of  the  Church  of  England,  and,  as  members  of  that  Church,  have 
her  service  read  over  your  remains."  That  appears  to  me  an 
inconsistency  and  an  anomaly  in  the  present  state  of  the  law,  and 
is  in  the  nature  of  a  grievance.'  Mr.  Gladstone  at  a  later  period 
discovered  that  his  progress  in  ecclesiastical  and.  political  ques- 
tions was  creating  a  breach  between  himself  and  his  constituents. 
The  bill  which  he  now  supported  was  rejected  by  221  to  96. 

Amongst  a  variety  of  questions  on  which  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  addressed  the  House  in  the  course  of  this  session, 
one  calls  for  brief  notice.  Few  debates  in  Parliament  were 
more  animated  than  those  which  arose  in  connection  with 
the  International  Exhibition  Building  at  South  Kensington. 
On  the  15th  of  June,  the  House  of  Commons  voted,  by  a 
majority  of  267  to  135,  a  sum  of  £123,000  for  the  purchase  of 
the  seventeen  acres  of  land  which  formed  the  site  of  the  Exhibi- 
tion building.  It  was  not,  however,  until  a  fortnight  later  that 
the  actual  contest  for  the  purchase  and  retention  of  the  building 
came  on.  Lord  Palmerston  being  unable  to  propose  the  vote  by 
reason  of  indisposition,  Mr.  Gladstone  accepted  the  duty. 
Whether  it  was,  however,  that  this  duty  took  him  somewhat  by 
surprise,  does  not  appear  from  the  debate,  but  the  Government 
sustained  a  severe  defeat.  Mr.  Gladstone  proposed  a  vote  of 
£105,000  for  the  purchase  of  the  buildings  at  Kensington  Gore, 
and  for  repairing,  altering,  and  completing  them.  He  invited 
the  House  to  look  at  the  question  as  a  dry  matter  of  business. 

X2 


308  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

The  Government  and  the  House  would  be  in  an  awkward  situa- 
tion if,  after  the  important  step  already  taken  for  the  purchase 
of  the  land,  they  should  stop  short,  and  nothing  more  was  to  be 
done.  He  then  furnished  the  data  upon  which  the  Government 
had  made  the  offer  of  £80,000  to  the  contractors.  The  Govern- 
ment had  to  provide  for  three  urgent  public  wants — the  National 
Portrait  Gallery,  the  Patent  Museum,  and  the  Natural  History 
Collections  of  the  British  Museum — which  they  had  no  means 
of  meeting  except  by  appropriating  some  portion  of  the  site  at 
Kensington.  The  attitude  of  the  independent  members  of  the 
House  on  this  occasion  surprised  both  the  Government  and  the 
Opposition.  Although  Mr.  Disraeli  and  Mr.  Lowe  were  anxious 
to  express  their  approval  of  the  Ministerial  scheme,  they  could 
scarcely  obtain  a  hearing  in  consequence  of  the  great  excitement 
which  prevailed.  On  the  Government  motion  being  put,  it  was 
negatived  by  a  majority  of  166,  the  number  of  members  present 
being  only  a  little  over  400. 

This  was  the  last  question  of  domestic  importance  in  a  not 
undistinguished  session. 

We  have  now  reached  that  stage  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  career 
when  he  may  be  said  to  have  touched  his  zenith  as  a  financier, 
though  for  some  years  to  come  we  shall  still  witness  him  adminis- 
tering the  national  exchequer  with  that  consummate  ability 
which  made  him  the  first  of  living  financiers.  Yet  not  alone  in 
the  light  of  a  practical  statesman  have  we  regarded  him ;  we 
have  seen  him  engaged  in  polemics  ;  we  have  witnessed  his 
outbursts  of  indignation  over  the  wrongs  of  humanity  in  Southern 
Europe  ;  and  we  have  endeavoured  to  trace  the  results  of  his  long 
and  close  companionship  with  the  divine  Homer.  That  which 
remains  of  his  public  life  possesses  as  deep  and  wide  an  interest 
as  that  which  has  gone  before;  while  for  good  or  for  evil  its 
effects  are  irreversible,  claim  a  much  wider  scope,  and  must 
exercise  a  permanent  influence  upon  the  national  history  and 
welfare. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ADVANCING  OPINIONS  AND  FISCAL  REFORMS. 

Mr.  Gladstone  and  Pai  liamentary  Reform — Financial  Statement  of  1864 — Growth 
of  the  Revenue — Decrease  in  the  National  Debt — Imports  and  Exports — Further 
Relief  of  Taxation — Favourable  Reception  of  the  Budget — Government  Annui- 
ties and  Life  Insurances — Mr  Gladstone  on  the  Working  Classes  and  the 
Franchise — Important  Declaration — Hostility  to  the  Palmerston  Government 
— Mr.  Disraeli's  '  No  Confidence '  Motion — Speech  by  Mr.  Gladstone — Mr.  Bernal 
Osborne  on  the  Ministry — Mr.  Disraeli's  Motion  rejected — The  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  on  the  Irish  Church — Budget  for  1865 — Prosperous  Condition  of 
the  Country — A  large  Surplus — Great  Reduction  in  Taxation. 

THE  period  of  three  years  with  which  the  two  ensuing  chapters 
are  concerned,  viz.,  that  extending  from  1864  to  1866  inclusive, 
is  remarkable  as  showing  the  rapid  development  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's views  on  the  subject  of  Parliamentary  Reform.  In  the 
first-named  year  he  delivered  a  speech  upon  the  franchise  which 
filled  the  Conservative  party  with  alarm,  but  correspondingly 
elevated  the  hopes  of  the  Reform  party.  It  was  the  first  note 
sounded  in  a  conflict  which,  twelve  months  later,  was  to  lose  Mr. 
Gladstone  his  seat  for  Oxford  University,  and  finally  to  culminate 
in  the  disruption  of  the  Liberal  Government.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  this  speech  and  of  the  budget,  there  was  nothing  to 
distinguish  the  session  of  1864,  or  to  give  it  a  conspicuous  place 
in  the  annals  of  legislation.  The  year  was  comparatively 
uneventful,  and  the  country  was  at  peace.  Concurrently  with  a 
tranquil  condition  of  public  opinion  was  witnessed  a  striking 
advance  in  the  material  prosperity  and  general  welfare  of  the 
people.  The  trade  of  Great  Britain,  as  the  official  periodical 
reports  demonstrated,  continued  to  advance  by  those  extra- 
ordinary *  leaps  and  bounds '  which  had  marked  its  course  since 
the  first  onslaught  made  upon  the  commercial  restrictions  in 
force  twenty  years  before. 

The  financial  statement  for  the  year  was  brought  forward 
on  the  7th  of  April;  and  it  was  widely  anticipated  before  its 
delivery  that  Mr.  Gladstone  would  be  able  to  announce  further 
reductions  in  taxation.  It  was  not  until  a  later  stage  in  our 
history  that  the  results  of  Free  Trade  were  seriously  called  in 


310  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

question  by  its  strongest  opponents.  At  the  period  of  which 
we  write,  '  the  effect  of  twenty  years  of  Free  Trade  legislation, 
inaugurated  by  Sir  Kobert  Peel  in  1842,  and  carried  on  by  his 
successors  in  office,  had  been  such  that,  concurrently  with  the 
repeal  of  a  long  catalogue  of  duties  and  imposts  which  bad 
previously  fettered  manufacturers,  and  excluded  most  valuable 
foreign  products,  the  finances  of  the  country  presented  an  aspect 
of  abundance  and  stability  almost  without  precedent  in  our 
history,  and  to  which  no  foreign  country  could  offer  a  compari- 
son. In  point  of  wealth  and  national  credit,  indeed,  England 
stood  almost  alone  at  this  time  amongst  the  nations  of  the 
world.'  Under  the  old  system  of  Protection,  this  magnificent 
exhibition  of  strength,  stability,  and  progress  in  the  trade  ot 
the  United  Kingdom  would  have  been  an  absolute  impossibility. 
Great  solicitude  was  exhibited  as  to  the  distribution  of  the 
large  surplus  which  was  known  to  exist,  and  when  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  rose,  it  was  in  a  House  closely  packed  in  every 
part — peers,  foreign  Ministers,  and  other  distinguished  visitors 
crowding  the  places  assigned  to  them,  while  in  Westminster  Hall 
there  was  an  assembly  which  would  have  filled  the  Strangers' 
Gallery  three  times  over.  Often  as  Mr.  Gladstone  had  performed 
this  annual  financial  feat,  there  appeared  to  be  no  diminution  in 
the  interest  with  which  the  budget  oration  was  regarded  by  the 
public.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  began  by  referring  to 
the  condition  of  the  country  in  1862-3,  when  there  was  a  defi- 
cient harvest,  and  when  Ireland  and  Lancashire  were  suffering 
from  unusual  pressure  and  distress  ;  circumstances  had  improved 
somewhat  in  1863-4,  but  still  not  to  such  a  degree  as  to  make 
the  financial  year  completely  favourable.  The  actual  expendi- 
ture that  year  was  £67,056,000,  being  a  million  and  a  quarter 
less — spread  over  the  different  departments — than  had  been 
authorised  by  Parliament.  The  revenue  of  the-  year  was 
£70,003,561,  showing  a  surplus  of  nearly  £3,000,000  ;  but  from 
this  was  to  be  taken  the  expenditure  on  fortifications,  viz., 
£800,000.  Deducting  this  from  the  surplus,  it  still  stood  at  a 
large  figure.  The  real  diminution  of  taxes  in  the  three  last 
years  had  been  £6,638,000.  The  revenue  had  decreased  by  only 
£1,760,000,  so  that,  taking  reduction  of  taxation  into  considera- 
tion, it  had  actually  increased,  in  round  numbers,  by  £5,000,000. 
The  revenue  had  grown  since  the  year  1859  at  the  rate  of 
£1,200,000,  and  since  1853  still  over  the  rate  of  a  million  per 
annum.  With  regard  to  the  liquidation  of  debt  over  the  last 
year,  Mr.  Gladstone  stated  that  a  million  of  Exchequer  bonds 
had  been  paid  off,  and  other  liquidations  of  the  capital  of  the  debt 
had  been  effected,  which  amounted  to  upwards  of  three  millions. 


ADVANCING    OPINIONS    AND    FISCAL    REFORMS.  311 

The  sum  paid  for  terminable  annuities  in  liquidation  of  debt  was 
£1,400,000.  The  decrease  in  the  National  Debt  since  1855  was 
£69,000,000,  and  the  charge  for  interest  had  now  decreased  by 
about  six  millions  a-year.  Dealing  next  with  our  imports  and 
exports,  he  showed  how  within  three  years  they  had  enormously 
increased.  The  total  exports  last  year,  including  foreign  and 
colonial  exports,  were  £195,000,000,  while  the  exports  and 
imports  together  for  last  year  were  £444,905,000.  This 
enormous  movement  of  British  trade  represented  nearly  a 
million  and  a  half  of  money  for  every  working  day  of  the  year, 
and  the  great  increase  had  taken  place  since  that  period 
when  the  removal  of  trammels  on  trade  had  been  the 
policy  of  Parliament.  These  facts  not  only  demonstrated  the 
vigorous  prosperity  of  the  country,  but  were  a  pledge  that  Eng- 
land was  to  be  the  champion  of  peace  and  justice  against  all  the 
world.  There  had  undoubtedly  been  other  elements  working 
towards  the  attainment  of  this  great  end,  but  it  was  a  remark- 
able fact  that  at  those  times,  when  the  Legislature  acted  in  the 
direction  towards  the  liberation  of  commerce,  the  greatest  results 
had  followed.  In  1853  and  18fiO,  for  example,  when  this  policy 
was  pursued,  the  exports  had  risen  enormously  as  compared  with 
the  respective  years  preceding.  Mr.  Gladstone  admitted,  with 
respect  to  the  effect  of  the  paper  duty,  that  there  had  been  a 
great  increase  in  the  import  of  paper,  but  there  were  no  means 
of  ascertaining  that  there  had  been  a  proportionate  decrease  in 
the  product  of  the  British  manufacture.  Still,  there  had  been 
an  immense  increase  in  the  demand  for  the  materials  for  paper- 
making,  while  there  had  been  a  considerable  increase  in  the 
export  of  British-made  paper ;  the  price  had  been  reduced  beyond 
the  amount  indicated  by  the  duty  ;  the  diminution  in  the  num- 
ber of  paper-makers,  which  had  been  going  on  until  the  repeal 
of  the  duty,  had  absolutely  stopped ;  the  expense  of  manufacture 
had  greatly  decreased,  and  all  these  facts  must  be  taken  as  proofs 
that  the  trade  had  not  suffered  to  the  extent  predicted  and 
asserted.  An  arrangement  for  a  reduction  of  the  duty  on  rags 
was  in  progress  by  France.  Considering  next  the  spirit  duties, 
he  found  that  there  had  been  an  increase  in  the  receipts  of  above 
£800,000.  The  export  trade  in  spirits  had  increased.  There 
was  a  change  taking  place  in  the  national  taste  for  milder 
liquors.  As  compared  with  1859,  there  had  been  an  increase  of 
about  55  per  cent,  in  the  consumption  of  wine ;  the  same  thing 
occurred  with  regard  to  tobacco.  Our  total  imports  from  France 
had  more  than  doubled  since  1859,  while  the  exports  from  Eng- 
land thither  had  risen  from  about  £9,000,000  to  about 
£22,000,000.  Another  favourable  point  in  the  condition  of 


812  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  country  was  that,  excluding  Lancashire,  pauperism,  if  not 
decreasing,  was  at  least  stationary. 

Dealing  with  the  estimates  for  1864-65,  Mr.  Gladstone  stated 
that  the  total  calculated  revenue  was  £69,460,000,  and  the  total 
expenditure  £66,890,000— yielding  a  surplus  of  £2,570,000.  A 
sum  of  £10,000,  however,  would  be  required  for  various  minor 
changes  and  modifications  which  he  enumerated  ;  and  the  surplus 
left  to  dispose  of  would  be  £2,560,000.  There  were,  of  course, 
many  strong  claims  for  the  application  of  this  surplus.  First 
and  foremost,  the  largest  and  most  important  reduction  he  pro- 
posed was  in  the  article  of  sugar,  which  he  held  to  have  the 
greatest  claim  to  the  consideration  of  the  House.  At  present 
there  was  a  classified  scale  of  duty  on  sugar,  and  opinion  and 
authority  were  in  favour  of  such  a  duty  in  preference  to  a 
uniform  charge.  After  detailing  plans  of  classification  which 
had  been  mooted,  he  said  he  desired  that  that  form  of  duty 
should  be  adopted  which  should  least  interfere  with  the  natural 
course  of  trade.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  stated  the  various  reduc- 
tions that  would  be  made,  the  effect  of  which  would  be  to  place 
the  sugar  duty  at  Is.  per  cwt.  lower  than  it  had  ever  been.  This 
alteration  would  cause  a  diminution  of  revenue  at  once  of 
£1,701,900,  but  the  net  actual  loss  for  the  coming  year  would  be 
£1,330,000.  The  surplus  would  thus  be  reduced  to  £1,230,000. 
There  was  no  intention  of  proposing  a  reduction  in  the  malt 
duty.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  then  took  up  the 
subject  of  the  income-tax,  and  once  more  stated  his  belief  that 
the  existence  of  the  tax  as  a  permanent  duty  was  inconsistent 
with  the  achievement  of  a  judicious  public  economy — an  object 
towards  which,  despite  the  great  and  growing  prosperity  of  the 
country,  considering  the  co-existence  of  large  pauperism  with 
that  prosperity,  it  was  the  duty  of  Parliament  carefully  to  direct 
its  attention  and  its  efforts.  He  did  not  then  ask  the  House  to 
remodel  or  to  abolish  the  income-tax,  but  he  proposed  to  make 
a  reduction  of  one  penny  in  the  amount.  The  immediate  loss 
by  this  reduction  would  be  £800,000,  and  the  ultimate  loss 
£1,200,000.  This  would  leave  a  surplus  of  £430.000.  It  was 
proposed  to  reduce  the  duty  on  fire  insurances  from  3s.  to  Is.  6d., 
so  far  as  stock-in-trade  was  concerned  ;  and  with  a  view  to  test 
the  principle  of  recovery  of  the  revenue  after  reduction  of  duty, 
which  had  been  so  strenuously  asserted,  the  reduction  would  take 
place  from  1st  July.  The  financial  result  of  this  would  not  be  a 
very  heavy  loss.  The  surplus  ultimately  remaining  after  the 
various  reductions  he  had  specified  would  be  only  £238,000. 
Such  were  the  Government  proposals.  He  trusted  they  would 
meet  with  acceptance,  and  that  the  House  would  receive  them  as 


ADVANCING    OPINIONS    AND    FISCAL    REFORMS.  313 

pledges,  on  the  part  of  the  Ministry,  of  an  earnest  desire  to  co- 
operate with  the  Legislature  .in  carrying  yet  further  forward 
those  purposes,  the  steady  prosecution  of  which  had  already  done 
so  much  for  the  strength  and  security  of  England,  for  the 
comfort  and  happiness  of  the  people,  for  the  honour  of  the  age 
in  which  they  lived,  and  for  the  hopes  they  entertained  on  behalf 
of  the  times  that  were  to  come. 

The  budget — which  was  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  policy 
on  behalf  of  the  Government,  a  policy  in  which  peace,  progress, 
and  economy  were  the  watch-words — was  most  favourably 
received.  Notices  of  opposition  on  minor  points  were  given,  but 
Mr.  Gladstone's  resolutions  were  ultimately  adopted  without  a 
division.  Notwithstanding  the  continuous  assaults  which  had 
been  made  upon  the  fiscal  policy  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  its  success  could  not  be  denied,  and  the  author  of  it  was 
now  the  chief  mainstay  of  the  Government.  From  whatever 
quarter  of  the  House  criticism  arose,  Mr.  Gladstone  met  it 
readily  and  successfully,  showing  an  unprecedented  familiarity 
with  all  branches  of  the  public  industry  and  the  public  revenue. 

A  motion  still  further  to  reduce  the  fire  insurance  duty  was 
negatived.  On  the  order  of  the  day  for  going  into  consideration 
of  the  proposed  reduction  in  the  sugar  duties,  Colonel  Bartt'  lot 
moved  an  amendment,  '  That  the  consideration  of  these  duties 
be  postponed  until  the  House  has  had  an  opportunity  of  con- 
sidering the  expediency  of  the  reduction  of  the  duty  upon  malt.' 
During  the  discussion  on  this  amendment,  a  member  of  the 
Opposition  advocated  the  re-imposition  of  the  paper  duty,  upon 
which  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  rose  and  protested  against 
all  such  idea,  referring  in  most  laudatory  terms  to  the  establishment 
of  a  cheap  press,  and  hailing  the  benefits  it  had  conferred  on  the 
community.  The  surplus  was  totally  inadequate  to  a  substantial 
reduction  of  the  malt-tax,  and  if  that  subject  were  approached  at 
all  it  ought  not  to  be  in  a  petty  and  inadequate  manner,  or 
without  considering  the  relation  of  the  tax  to  the  whole  system 
of  taxation  on  the  other  beverages  of  the  country.  Colonel 
Barttelot's  motion  was  rejected  by  247  votes  to  99.  A  subse- 
quent motion  by  Mr.  Morritt,  '  That  in  case  of  any  modification 
of  the  indirect  taxation  of  the  country  the  excise  on  malt  requires 
consideration,'  was  lost  by  166  to  118.  Mr.  Gladstone,  how- 
ever brought  forward  a  proposal  by  way  of  concession  to  the 
agriculturists,  for  the  remission  of  so  much  of  the  duty  as 
had  been  hitherto  levied  upon  malt  used  for  the  consumption 
of  cattle.  The  bill  was  variously  viewed  by  Conservative  mem- 
bers, but  after  considerable  debate  it  ultimately  passed  both 
Houses.  Two  amendments  were  proposed  to  Mr.  Gladstone's 


314  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

proposed  re-arrangement   of  the  sugar  duties,  but  both   were 
defeated. 

Early  in  this  session  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  intro- 
duced a  bill  for  amending  the  law  relating  to  the  purchase  of 
Government  annuities  through  the  medium  of  savings  banks, 
and  to  enable  the  granting  of  life  insurances  by  the  Government. 
It  was  explained  that,  up  to  the  introduction  of  the  Bill,  sums 
could  be  received  for  deferred  annuities  only  in  large  amounts, 
and  the  objects  of  the  measure  were  to  enable  them  to  take 
smaller  amounts  through  the  medium  of  the  post-office  savings- 
banks.  No  hostility  was  at  first  shown  to  the  bill,  but  subse- 
quently it  was  violently  opposed.  On  moving  the  committal  of 
the  measure,  Mr.  Gladstone  demonstrated  the  groundlessness  of 
the  fears  which  had  arisen  respecting  it.  The  bill  prohibited 
nothing :  it  simply  offered  certain  facilities  for  self-help  to  the 
pooror  classes  of  the  community.  The  plan  was  both  safe  and 
just.  The  Friendly  Societies,  however,  raised  a  strong  opposition 
to  the  scheme,  and  their  supporters  in  the  House  inveighed 
Against  what  they  termed  a  '  paternal  Government.'  The  author 
of  the  proposal  had  the  effective  retort  that  during  his  long 
public  life  he  had  never  received  so  many  letters  as  he  had  upon 
this  measure,  from  various  classes  of  the  community,  all  expres- 
sing approval  of,  and  gratitude  for,  the  bill.  After  the  rejection 
of  an  amendment  directed  against  the  whole  scheme,  the  bill  was 
referred  to  a  select  committee,  which,  while  recommending 
slight  modifications,  reported  favourably  to  the  House.  The 
Opposition  collapsed,  and  the  bill  passed  the  Lower  House  amid 
warm  approval  on  both  sides.  In  the  House  of  Lords,  also,  it 
was  regarded  as  a  measure  *  conceived  in  the  true  interest  of 
the  working  classes.'  It  became  law,  and  it  has  since  been 
generally  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  products  of  a 
session  not  very  prolific  in  legislative  reforms.  Its  singularly 
successful  operation  may  readily  be  traced  from  year  to  year  by 
all  who  are  interested  in  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  working 
classes. 

It  was  during  the  debate  on  Mr.  Baiues's  bill  for  lowering  the 
borough  franchise  that  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  startled 
the  House  by  his  declaration  upon  the  question  of  Reform.  Mr. 
Baines's  resolution  was  defeated  by  272  against  216,  but  it  was 
generally  admitted  that  Mr.  Gladstone's  speech  had  given  a 
great  impetus  to  the  movement.  The  right  hon.  gentleman,  at 
the  outset,  signified  cordial  concurrence  in  the  proposition  that 
there  ought  to  be,  not  a  wholesale,  but  a  sensible  and  con- 
siderable addition  to  that  portion  of  the  working  classes — in 
present  almost  infinitesimal — which  was  in  possession  of  the 


ADVANCING    OPINIONS    AND    FISCAL    EEFOEMS.  315 

franchise.  '"We  are  told,'  he  continued,  'that  the  working 
classes  don't  agitate  ;  but  is  it  desirable  that  we  should  wait 
until  they  do  agitate?  In  rny  opinion,  agitation  by  the 
working  classes  upon  any  political  subject  whatever  is  a  thing 
not  to  be  waited  for,  not  to  be  made  a  condition  previous  to 
any  Parliamentary  movement,  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  to 
be  deprecated,  and,  if  possible,  prevented  by  wise  and  provi- 
dent measures.  An  agitation  by  the  working  classes  is  not 
like  an  agitation  by  the  classes  above  them  having  leisure.  The 
agitation  of  the  classes  having  leisure  is  easily  conducted. 
Every  hour  of  their  time  has  not  a  money  value ;  their  wives  and 
children  are  not  dependent  on  the  application  of  those  hours  of 
labour.  When  a  working  man  finds  himself  in  such  a  condition 
that  he  must  abandon  that  daily  labour  on  which  he  is  strictly 
dependent  for  his  daily  bread,  it  is  only  because  then,  in  railway 
language,  the  danger  signal  is  turned  on,  and  because  he  feels  a 
strong  necessity  for  action,  and  a  distrust  of  the  rulers  who  have 
driven  him  to  that  necessity.  The  present  state  of  things,  I 
rejoice  to  say,  does  not  indicate  that  distrust ;  but  if  we  admit 
that,  we  must  not  allege  the  absence  of  agitation  on  the  part  of 
the  working  classes  as  a  reason  why  the  Parliament  of  England 
and  the  public  mind  of  England  should  be  indisposed  to  enter- 
tain the  discussion  of  this  question.'  He  denied  that  there  was 
that  special  virtue  in  the  nature  of  the  middle  classes  which 
justified  them  in  drawing  a  marked  distinction  between  them 
and  a  select  portion  of  the  working  classes,  so  far  as  related 
to  the  exercise  of  the  franchise.  He  advocated  the  extension 
of  the  franchise,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  tend  to  advance 
that  unity  of  classes  which  was  now  in  happy  progress  throughout 
the  country. 

The  general  feeling  in  connection  with  this  speech  was  that  if 
the  Liberal  party  had  failed  in  its  duty  on  the  subject  of  Reform 
in  the  existing  Parliament,  after  the  utterances  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
that  state  of  things  must  undergo  a  change.  Mr.  Gladstone's 
declaration  had  naturally  a  great  effect  upon  the  country. 

On  the  4th  of  July  the  hostility  to  the  Palmerston  Govern- 
ment, chiefly  on  the  ground  of  its  foreign  policy,  reached  its  full 
height  in  a  formal  encounter  between  the  Ministry  and  the 
Opposition.  Mr.  Disraeli  brought  forward  on  the  day  named  his 
'no  confidence'  motion  as  follows: — '  To  thank  her  Majesty  for 
having  directed  the  correspondence  on  Denmark  and  Germany, 
and  the  protocol  of  the  Conference  recently  assembled  in  London, 
to  be  laid  before  Parliament ;  to  assure  her  Majesty  that  we  have 
heard  with  deep  concern  "hat  the  sittings  of  the  Conference  have 
been  brought  to  a  close  without  accomplishing  the  important 


316  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

purpose  for  which  it  was  convened  ;  and  to  express  to  her  Majesty 
our  great  regret  that,  Avhile  the  course  pursued  by  her  Majesty's 
Government  has  failed  to  maintain  their  avowed  policy  of 
upholding  the  integrity  and  independence  of  Denmark,  it  has 
lowered  the  just  influence  of  this  country  in  the  capitals  of 
Europe,  and  thereby  diminished  the  securities  for  peace.'  Mr. 
Kinglake  proposed  to  substitute  the  following  words  as  an 
amendment  to  the  last  sentence  of  the  resolution: — 'To  express 
the  satisfaction  with  which  we  have  learned  that  at  this  con- 
juncture her  Majesty  has  been  advised  to  abstain  from  armed 
interference  in  the  war  now  going  on  between  Denmark  and  the 
German  Powers.'  Mr.  Disraeli,  in  a  speech  which  was  loudly 
cheered  by  his  supporters,  maintained  that  the  time  had  come 
when  Ministers  should  no  longer  be  allowed  to  escape  their 
responsibility. 

Mr.  Gladstone  at  once  accepted  the  responsibility  cast  upon 
the  Government,  and  proceeded  to  rebut  the  accusations  made 
by  the  leader  of  the  Opposition.  It  was  the  very  first  occasion, 
he  said,  on  which  the  British  House  of  Commons  had  been  called 
upon  for  the  sake  of  displacing  a  Government  to  record  the 
degradation  of  the  country.  Why  could  not  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  speak  plainly  in  his  motion?  The  terms  of  the 
resolution  were  nothing  better  than  an  echo  of  the  almost  ribald 
language  of  a  few  obscure  journals  of  Germany.  It  was  from 
that  source  that  this  intended  Minister  derived  his  inspiration. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  thus  concluded  his  stirring 
reply :— 

'Why  does  not  the  right  hon.  gentleman  adopt  the  language  of  our  forefathers, 
who,  when  they  were  dissatisfied  with  a  Government,  addressed  the  Crown,  and 
prayed  that  the  Government  might  be  dismissed?  They  said  boldly  that  the  con- 
duct of  the  Government  was  open  to  such  and  such  charges,  and  they  prayed  that 
other  men  might  be  put  in  their  places.  But  the  right  hon.  gentleman  was  afraid 
to  raise  that  issue.  He  has,  indeed,  plucked  up  courage  to  propose  this  motion; 
but  why  has  he  not  done  it  in  the  proper  constitutional  form  in  which  votes  of 
want  of  confidence  have  hitherto  been  drawn  ?  Never  before,  as  far  as  I  know,  has 
party  spirit  led  gentlemen  in  this  country  to  frame  a  motion  which  places  on 
record  that  which  must  be  regarded  as  dishonourable  to  the  nation.  I  go  back  to 
the  time  of  Sir  R.  Walpole,  of  Lord  North,  and  Mr  Fox,  but  nowhere  do  we  find 
such  a  sterile  and  jejune  affair  as  this  resolution.  Those  charges  were  written  in 
legible  and  plain  terms ;  but  the  right  lion,  gentleman  substitutes  language  which 
might  indeed  be  sufficient  for  1  he  purpose  of  rendering  it  impossible  for  the  Govern- 
ment to  continue  in  office,  but  which  cannot  transfix  them  without  its  sting  first 
passing  through  the  honour  of  England.  For  the  reasons  I  have  stated  I  look 
forward  with  cheerfulness  to  the  issue  which  has  boon  raised  with  regard  to  our 
conduct.  Nay,  more,  I  feel  the  most  confident  anticipation  that  both  the  House  and 
the  country  will  approve  of  the  course  taken  in  this  difficult  negotiation  by  her 
Majesty's  Government,  and  that  they  will  reject  a  motion  which  both  prudence  and 
patriotism  must  alike  emphatically  condemn.' 

In  the  course  of  the  debate,  which  was  very  protracted,  Mr. 
Bernal  Osborne  grew  amusingly  sarcastic  at  the  expense  of  the 


ADVANCING    OPINIONS    AND    FISCAL    SEFORMS.  31? 

Government,  though  he  paid  at  the  same  time  a  great  compli- 
ment to  Mr.  Gladstone.  He  likened  the  Cabinet  to  a  museum 
of  curiosities,  in  which  there  were  some  birds  of  rare  and  noble 
plumage,  both  alive  and  stuffed.  There  had  been  a  difficulty, 
unfortunately,  in  keeping  up  the  breed,  and  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  cross  it  with  the  famous  Peelites.  '  I  will  do  them  the 
justice  to  say  that  they  have  a  very  great  and  able  Minister  among 
them  in  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  it  is  to  his 
measures  alone  that  they  owe  the  little  popularity  and  the  little 
support  they  get  from  this  Liberal  party.'  Describing  Mr. 
Milner  Gibson,  the  hon.  gentleman  said  he  was  like  some  '  fly 
in  amber,'  and  the  wonder  was  '  how  the  devil  he  got  there.'  Mr. 
Cobden  and  Mr.  Bright  must  have  been  disappointed  in  this 
'young  man  from  the  country.'  He  had  become  insolent  and 
almost  quarrelsome  under  the  guidance  of  the  noble  lord.  Should 
that  Parliament  decide  on  terminating  its  own  and  their  exis- 
tence, they  would  find  consolation  that  the  funeral  oration  would 
be  pronounced  by  Mr.  Newdegate,  and  that  some  friendly  hand 
would  inscribe  on  their  mausoleum,  '  Kest  and  be  thankful.' 
The  Government  having  accepted  Mr.  Kinglake's  amendment, 
a  division  was  taken  with  the  following  result: — For  Mr. 
Disraeli's  motion,  295;  for  the  amendment,  313 — majority  for 
Ministers,  18. 

In  the  House  of  Commons,  during  a  debate  which  occurred  at 
the  close  of  March,  1865,  Mr.  Gladstone  delivered  an  important 
speech    in    connection  with    the    Irish  Church.      Mr.  Dillwyn 
having  proposed  a  motion, '  That  the  present  position  of  the  Irish 
Church  Establishment  is  unsatisfactory,  and  calls  for  the  early 
attention  of  her  Majesty's  Government,'  Mr.  Gladstone  rose  and 
said  that,  although  the  Government  were  unable  to  agree  to  the 
resolution,  they  were  not  prepared  to  deny  the  abstract  truth  of 
the  former  part  of  it.     They  could  not  assert  that  the  present 
position  of  the  Establishment  was  satisfactory.     At  the  close  of 
a  lengthy  speech,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  said  that  he 
could  come  to  no  other  conclusion  than  that  the  Irish  Church,  as 
she  then  stood,  was  in  a  false  position.     It  was  much  more  diffi- 
cult, however,  to  decide  upon  the  practical  aspect  of  the  ques- 
tion, and  no  one  had  ventured  to  propose  the  remedy  required 
for  the  existing  state  of  things.     This  question  raised  a  whole 
nest  of  political  problems ;  for  while  the  vast  majority  of  the 
Irish  people  were  opposed  to  the  maintenance  of  large  and  liberal 
endowments  for  a  fragment  of  the  population,  they  repudiated 
any  desire  to  appropriate  these  endowments,  and  firmly  rejected 
all  idea  of  receiving  a  State  provision  for  themselves.      How 
could  the  Government,  in  view  of  these  facts,  substitute  a  satis- 


sis  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

factory  for  an  admittedly  unsatisfactory  state  of  things  ?  They 
were  unable  to  do  so.  Consequently,  '  we  feel  that  we  ought  to 
decline  to  follow  the  hon.  gentleman  into  the  lobby,  and  declare 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  give  their  early  atten- 
tion to  the  subject;  because  if  we  gave  a  vote  to  that  effect  we 
should  be  committing  one  of  the  gravest  offences  of  which  a 
Government  could  be  guilty — namely,  giving  a  deliberate  and 
solemn  promise  to  the  country,  which  promi?e  it  would  be  out  of 
our  power  to  fulfil.'  The  debate  was  adjourned,  but  was  not 
resumed  during  the  session.  Some  months  later,  in  a  letter  to 
Dr.  Hannah,  Warden  of  Trinity  College,  Glenalmond,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone gave  his  reasons  for  declining  at  that  time  to  entertain  the 
question  of  the  Disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church. 

'First,  because  the  question  is  remote,  and  apparently  out  of  all  benring  on  the 
practical  politics  of  the  day,  I  think  it  would  be  for  me  worse  than  superfluous  to 
determine  upon  any  scheme,  or  basis  of  a  scheme,  with  respect  to  it.  Secondly, 
because  it  is  difficult;  even  if  I  anticipated  any  likelihood  of  being  called  upon  to 
deal  with  it,  I  should  think  it  ri^ht  to  take  no  decision  beforehand  on  the  mode  of 
dealing  with  the  difficulties.  But  the  first  reason  is  that  which  chiefly  weighs. 
.  .  .  I  think  I  have  stated  strongly  my  sense  of  the  responsibility  attaching  to 
the  opening  of  such  a  question,  except  in  a  state  of  things  which  gave  promise  of 
satisfactorily  closing  it.  For  this  reason  it  is  that  I  have  been  so  silent  about-the 
matter,  and  may  probably  be  so  again ;  but  I  could  not,  as  a  Minister  and  as 
member  for  Oxford  University,  allow  it  to  be  debated  an  indefinite  number  of  times 
and  remain  silent.  One  thing,  however,  1  may  add,  because  I  think  it  a  clear  land- 
mark. In  any  measure  dealing  with  the  Irish  Church,  I  think  (though  I  scarcely 
expect  ever  to  be  called  on  to  share  in  such  a  measure)  the  act  of  Union  must  be 
recognised,  and  must  have  important  consequences,  especially  with  reference  to 
the  position  of  the  hierarchy.' 

This  question,  however,  was  already  rapidly  pressing  forward  for 
settlement — how  rapidly  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  seemed  not  to  be 
aware  of.  Yet  the  act  of  Disestablishment  was  to  proceed  from 
his  own  hand  within  a  very  brief  period. 

The  budget  this  year  was  brought  forward  on  the  27th  of 
April,  and  the  prosperous  condition  of  the  finances  of  the  country 
again  justified  the  hopes  of  a  reduction  of  taxation.  The  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  began  his  statement  by  remarking  upon 
the  contrast  between  the  opening  and  closing  circumstances  of 
the  existing  Parliament. 

1  When  the  Parliament  met,  we  had  been  involved — although  we  did  not  know  it 
at  the  time — in  a  costly  and  difficult  war  with  China.  The  harvest  of  the  year 
which  succeeded  was  the  worst  that  had  been  known  for  half  a  century.  The 
recent  experience  of  war  had  led  to  costly,  extensive,  and  somewhat  uncertain 
reconstructions ;  and  clouds  hung  over  the  Continent  of  Europe,  while  the  Italian 
war  had  terminated  in  such  a  manner  as  to  occasion  vague  but  serious  alarms  in 
the  public  mind.  Since  that  period  those  clouds  have  moved  Westward  across  the 
Atlantic,  and  have  burst  in  a  tempest,  perhaps  the  wildest  that  ever  devastated  a 
civilised  country — a  tempest  of  war,  distinguished,  indeed,  by  the  exhibition  of 
many  of  the  most  marvellous  and  extraordinary  qualities  of  valour,  heroism,  and 
perseverance;  and  on  the  whole,  perhaps,  no  scenes  have  been  so  entirely  painful 
as  that  of  which  the  intelligence  has  last  reached  us,  which  now  causes  one  thrill 


ADVANCING    OPINIONS    AND    FISCAL    REFORMS.  319 

of  horror  throughout  Europe.*  But,  so  far  as  this  country  is  concerned,  we  have 
been  mercifully  spared.  We  see  the  state  of  the  public  mind  tranquil  and  reassured, 
and  the  condition  of  the  country  generally  prosperous  and  satisfactory.  The  finan- 
cial history  of  the  Parliament  has  been  a  remarkable  one.  It  has  raised  a  larger 
revenue  than  I  believe,  at  any  period,  whether  of  peace  or  war,  was  ever  raised  by 
taxation.  After  taking  into  account  the  changes  in  the  value  of  money  within  an 
equal  time,  the  expenditure  of  the  Parliament  has  been  upon  a  scale  that  has  never 
before  been  reached  in  time  of  peace.  The  amount  and  varif  ty  of  the  changes 
introduced  into  our  financial  legislation  have  been  greater  than  within  a  like  number 
of  years  at  any  former  time.  And  I  may  say,  lastly,  that  it  has  enjoyed  the  distinc- 
tion that,  although  no  Parliament  ever  completes  the  full  term  of  its  legal  existence, 
yet  this  is  the  seventh  time  on  which  you  have  been  called  upon  to  make  provision 
for  the  financial  exigencies  of  the  country.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  then  proceeded  with  the  details  of  his  state- 
ment. The  actual  expenditure  for  1864-65  had  been  less  than 
the  estimate  by  about  £611,000.  The  estimate  of  the  revenue 
for  the  year  1864  was  £67,128,000,  while  the  amount  received 
was  £70,313,000,  showing  an  increase  of  £3,185,000.  The 
actual  expenditure  of  the  past  year  had  been  £66,461,000, 
and  the  revenue  being  £70,313,000,  there  was  thus  a  surplus  of 
£3,852,000,  or,  subjecting  it  to  all  deductions,  of  £3,200,000. 
The  debt  paid  off  in  the  year  had  amounted  to  £5,240,000, 
while,  deducting  the  charge  for  fortifications,  the  real  diminu- 
tion was  over  £4,000,000,  Since  1859  the  National  Debt 
had  diminished  by  three  millions  per  annum,  and  there  was  a 
total  reduction  of  nearly  eighteen  millions  during  the  present 
Parliament.  Dealing  with  the  trade  of  the  country,  he  observed 
that  the  paper  trade  was  in  a  satisfactory  condition,  and  that  our 
commerce  with  France  continued  to  increase,  both  in  exports  and 
imports.  Although  nominally  the  trade  of  France  had  increased 
in  greater  proportion  than  that  of  this  country,  yet  relatively, 
and  looking  to  the  steady  progress  of  the  latter,  that  had  not 
been  the  case  ;  while  in  comparison  with  Belgium  and  Holland 
it  had  considerably  increased.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
immense  advantage  had  resulted  to  our  trade  in  the  removal  of 
bars,  fetters,  and  impediments  from  the  path  of  human  industry 
in  this  empire,  as  well  as  in  the  union  of  class  with  class  and,  he 
hoped,  of  nation  with  nation.  Not  for  the  first  time,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  said  that  in  such  a  retrospect  he  could 
not  forbear  rendering  a  tribute  to  the  character  and  ability  of 
the  man  who  was  the  main  instrument  of  these  great  commercial 
changes — Mr.  Cobden.  With  regard  to  the  charges  for  1865-66, 
Mr.  Gladstone  stated  that  the  total  expenditure  was  estimated  at 
£66,139,000,  being  considerably  less  than  for  1864-65.  The  total 
estimated  revenue  was  £70,170,000,  and  there  was  thus  left  a  sur- 
plus of  £4,031,000.  Coming  to  the  question  of  the  disposal  of 
this  surplus,  after  enumerating  various  minor  reductions,  there 

*  The  assassination  of  President  Lincoln. 


320  WILLIAM    EWATtT    OLADSTONE. 

remained,  said  the  right  hon.  gentleman,  the  question  of  the 
malt- tax.  The  total  abolition  of  the  duty  would  be  the  death- 
warrant  of  our  whole  system  of  indirect  taxation,  and  the  prac- 
tical question  was,  what  reduction  could  be  made  ?  He  allowed 
that  the  tax  upon  beer  from  the  malt  duty  was  20  per  cent. 
How  much  of  the  malt  duty  must  be  taken  off  to  reduce  the 
price  of  beer  one  farthing  a  quart  ?  A  little  less  than  one-half. 
The  loss  to  the  Exchequer  by  such  a  reduction  would  be  in  the 
first  year  £2,489,000;  in  the  second  year,  £3,360,000.  Now, 
looking  at  the  relative  taxation  of  malt,  as  compared  with  other 
potable  articles,  he  found  that  while  beer  was  taxed  20  per  cent., 
the  common  wines  which  entered  into  competition  with  beer 
were  taxed  50  per  cent.  There  was  no  argument  in  favour 
of  the  repeal  to  be  derived  from  any  languor  in  the  con- 
sumption of  beer ;  on  the  contrary,  there  had  been  an 
increase  in  the  use  of  this  national  drink  as  compared  with 
spirits.  But  if  beer  ought  to  be  taxed  more  lightly  than 
wines  or  spirits,  he  confidently  asserted  that  tea  ought  to  be 
more  heavily  taxed  than  beer.  The  tax  on  a  barrel  of  beer 
was  20  per  cent.,  that  on  a  chest  of  tea  was  not  less  than  40  per 
cent.,  and  tea  was  entitled  to  a  preference  in  the  reduction  of 
duty.  He  would,  however,  give  the  maltster  the  option  of  having 
the  duty  charged  by  weight  instead  of  by  measure,  which 
would  operate  as  a  relief  to  the  growers  of  medium  and  lower 
qualities  of  barley.  He  did  not  say  that  he  looked  forward  to 
an  indefinite  imposition  of  the  malt-tax,  but  at  the  present  time 
a  large  portion  of  the  surplus  could  not  be  applied  to  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  malt-tax,  especially  as  the  incidence  of  the  income- 
tax  remained  to  be  finally  settled.  The  diminution  of  the  duty 
on  tea  by  6d.  a  pound  would  reduce  the  price  to  the  consumer 
by  20  per  cent. ;  the  loss  to  the  revenue  would  be  upwards  of 
£2,375,000,  but  looking  to  recuperation  by  consumption,  in  the 
present  year  it  would  only  be  £1,808,000.  Touching  upon  the 
income-tax,  he  observed  that  it  was  now  at  the  lowest  point 
which  it  had  ever  reached ;  but  it  was  proposed  to  reduce  the 
existing  charge  of  6d.  in  the  pound  by  one-third  of  that  amount. 
The  effect  would  be  to  reduce  the  tax  to  a  total  of  £5,200,000. 
Its  final  adjustment  might  be  dealt  with  by  the  new  Parliament, 
but  if  it  was  thought  desirable  to  retain  the  income-tax,  4d.  in 
the  pound  was  the  rate  at  which  it  might  well  be  kept  in  time 
of  peace.  The  reduction  of  £3,518,000  on  tea  and  income-tax 
left  a  margin  of  the  surplus,  enabling  it  to  be  applied  to  the 
duty  on  fire  insurance,  and  a  reduction  in  conformity  with  a 
resolution  already  passed  by  the  House  upon  the  subject,  would 
be  made  to  Is.  6d.  from  the  25th  of  June ;  while  a  reduction 


ADVANCING    OPINIONS    AND    FISCAL    REFORMS.  221 

would  be  made  in  the  shilling  duty  on  the  policy  to  a  penny 
stamp.  There  would  be  a  relief  on  fire  insurance  of  £520,000. 
The  total  reduction  of  taxation  amounted  to  £5,420,000.  The 
loss  in  the  year  1865-6  would  be  £3,778,000,  and  in  the  following 
year  £1,417,000,  making  a  total  for  the  two  years  of  £5,195,000. 
There  would  be  an  ultimate  surplus  this  year  of  £253,000,  and 
any  invasion  of  this  he  earnestly  deprecated.  -  There  were  several 
claims  for  a  reduction  of  duty,  but  he  trusted  that  the  House 
would  agree  that  that  of  tea  was  paramount,  and  he  hoped 
generally  that  the  measures  of  the  Government,  in  dealing  with 
the  financial  situation,  would  be  acceptable  to  the  House  and  the 
nation. 

The  budget  met  with  less  opposition  than  had  been  encoun 
tered  by  any  of  its  predecessors,  and  gained  the  warm  approval 
of  the  country,  notwithstanding  the  inevitable  demonstration 
made  in  connection  with  the  malt-tax.  The  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer's  fiscal  proposals  were  embodied  in  a  bill,  which 
passed  through  the  House  with  scarcely  any  delay.  The  de- 
creasing expenditure  on  the  army  and  navy  estimates  was  viewed 
with  general  and  very  lively  satisfaction.  Notwithstanding  that 
the  House  and  the  country  at  large  had  become  acciistomed  to 
Mr.  Gladstone's  masterly  manipulation  of  the  national  finances, 
the  magnitude  of  the  remissions  of  taxation  in  the  budget  of 
1865  excited  feelings  of  pleasant  and  universal  surprise.  These 
financial  proposals  demonstrated  not  only  the  soundness  of  the 
calculations  made  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  but  also 
the  continued  prosperity  of  the  country. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MR  GLADSTONE'S  REJECTION  AT  OXFOKD-  THE  EEFOKM  BILL 

OP  1866. 

Dissolution  of  Parliament — Oxford  University  Election — Defeat  of  Mr.  Gladstone- 
Character  of  the  Election — Public  Opinion  thereon — The  Election  in  South  Lan- 
cashire— The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  at  Manchester  and  Liverpool — Return 
of  Mr.  Gladstone — Death  of  Lord  Palmerston — Reconstruction  of  the  Ministry — 
The  New  Leader  in  the  Commons — The  Budget  of  1866— Scheme  for  the  Reduction 
of  the  National  Debt — Disaffection  in  Ireland — Suspension  of  the  Habeas  Corpus 
Act — Church  Rates — Debate  on  Continental  Affairs — Mr.  Gladstone  introduces 
the  Government  Reform  Bill — Digest  of  the  Measure — it  is  attacked  by  Mr.  Lowe 
and  others — Mr.  Bright's  Rebuke  of  Mr.  Horsman — The  Adullamites — The  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  at  Liverpool — The  Reform  Struggle  continued — Amend- 
ments to  the  Ministerial  Scheme — Eloquent  Speech  by  Mr.  Gladstone — His 
Relations  with  the  Liberal  Party — Government  Victory — Exciting  Scene  in  the 
House — Redistribution  of  Seats  Bill — Further  Reform  Debates — The  Government 
Defeated  on  Lord  Dunkellin's  Amendment — Resignation  of  the  Ministry — A  Derby 
Administration  formed. 

ON  the  6th  of  July,  1865,  Parliament — having,  in  a  constitutional 
sense,  reached  its  full  term — was  prorogued,  with  a  view  to  an 
immediate  dissolution.  The  Prime  Minister  had  announced 
some  time  previously  that  this  day  had  been  selected  for 
remitting  to  the  constituencies  their  legislative  trust ;  and  many 
members  had  issued  their  addresses  for  re-election  in  anticipation 
of  the  issue  of  the  new  writs.  Yet  there  was  no  '  burning ' 
question  upon  which  the  Pahnerston  Government  appealed  to 
the  country  for  a  continuance  of  its  confidence.  Parliament  had 
expired  in  a  natural  manner,  and  there  were  few  contests  looked 
forward  to  with  any  extraordinary  degree  of  interest.  With  the 
exception  of  the  elections  for  the  Metropolitan  constituencies, 
there  was,  indeed,  but  one  electoral  struggle  which  the  country 
watched  with  peculiar  solicitude,  viz.,  that  in  which  Mr. 
Gladstone's  seat  for  Oxford  University  was  threatened.  It  was 
not  a  little  singular  that,  while  the  great  body  of  the  people — 
Liberal  and  Conservative  alike — admitted  that  the  stability  of 
the  Ministry  was  in  great  part  due  to  the  sagacious  and 
statesmanlike  measures  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  his 
re-election  was  widely  felt  to  be  most  uncertain.  As  a  natural 
consequence,  the  eyes  of  the  whole  country  were  turned  in  the 
direction  of  Oxford.  By  the  irony  of  fate,  a  Liberal  measure 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    REJECTION    AT    OXFORD.  323 

was  destined  to  operate  most  injuriously  against  Mr.  Gladstone. 
Only  in  the  previous  Parliament  an  Act  was  passed  on  the 
instigation  of  a  well-known  member  of  the  Liberal  party,  by 
which  the  election  for  the  Universities  was  authorised  to  be  made 
by  means  of  voting  papers,  transmitted  through  the  post  or 
otherwise  to  the  Vice-Chancellors,  and  a  period  of  five  days  was 
allowed  for  keeping  .open  the  poll.  An  uncompromising 
Conservative  candidate  was  found  at  Oxford,  in  the  person  of 
Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy,  to  oppose  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  the 
friends  of  both  candidates  agreed  to  give  their  second  vote  to 
Sir  W.  Heathcote,  whose  return  was  not  opposed.  The  nomi- 
nation took  place  on  the  13th  of  July,  the  proceedings  being 
conducted  in  Latin.  Mr.  Gladstone  was  proposed  by  Dr.  Liddell, 
the  Dean  of  Christ  Church ;  the  Warden  of  All  Souls,  in  an 
oration  of  some  length,  proposed  Sir  William  Heathcote ;  and  the 
Public  Orator,  in  the  absence  of  the  President  of  St.  John's,  proposed 
Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy.  At  the  close  of  the  first  day's  poll  Mr.  Glad- 
stone was  in  a  minority  of  six  as  compared  with  his  opponent.  Mr. 
Hardy.  The  last  vote  registered  for  Gladstone  on  the  first  day 
caused  some  amount  of  commotion.  The  Standard  of  the  follow- 
ing morning  stated  that  the  Vice-Chancellor  was  in  '  the  act  of 
receiving  a  long  string  of  proxies  for  Gladstone  when  a  voter 
appeared  to  give  his  vote  in  person.  On  being  asked  his  name 
he  gave  that  of  "  Samuel  Wilberforce,"  on  which  one  of  the  gen- 
tlemen appointed  to  watch  the  proceedings  on  the  Conservative 
side,  inquired,  with  all  due  courtesy,  if  his  lordship  was  aware 
that  the  House  of  Commons  had  passed  a  resolution  to  the  effect 
that  peers  of  Parliament  could  not  vote  in  the  election  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Lower  House.  The  Bishop  replied  that  he  was  per- 
fectly aware  of  the  resolution  in  question,  and  again  tendered  his 
vote,  which  (the  objection  not  being  pressed)  was  received  and 
duly  registered.'  Several  other  peers  recorded  their  votes  at  an 
early  stage  for  Mr.  Gladstone,  including  the  Bishop  of  Durham 
and  Earl  Cowper.  On  the  third  day  Mr.  Gladstone's  minority 
had  increased  to  74,  and  on  the  fourth  to  230.  A  circular  was 
now  issued  by  Sir  J.  T.  Coleridge,  chairman  of  the  right  hon. 
gentleman's  committee,  intimating  to  the  electors  still  unpledged 
that  there  was  reason  to  fear  the  seat  was  in  danger,  and  pressing 
upon  them  the  duty  of  recording  their  votes  in  favour  of  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  c  The  Committee  do  not  scruple 
to  advocate  his  cause  on  grounds  above  the  common  level  of 
politics.  They  claim  for  him  the  gratitude  due  to  one  whose 
public  life  has  for  eighteen  years  reflected  a  lustre  on  the  Univer- 
sity herself.  They  confidently  invite  you  to  consider  whether 
his  pure  and  exalted  character,  his  splendid  abilities,  and  his 

Y2 


824  WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

eminent  services  to  Church  and  State,  do  not  constitute  the 
highest  of  all  qualifications  for  an  academical  seat,  and  entitle 
him  to  be  judged  by  his  constituents  as  he  will  assuredly  be 
judged  by  posterity.'  On  the  last  day  of  the  contest  the  excite- 
ment waned,  as  it  was  found  that  Mr.  Gladstone  had  little 
chance  of  success.  He  lessened  the  majority  against  him,  how- 
ever, and  the  numbers  were  finally  declared  as  follows  : — Heath- 
cote,  3,236  ;  Hardy,  1,904  ;  Gladstone,  1,724 — majority  of  Hardy 
over  Gladstone,  180.  The  total  number  of  votes  recorded  was 
3,850,  being  nearly  double  that  at  any  former  election.  While 
Mr.  Gladstone  received  415  plumpers,  only  43  were  registered 
for  Sir  W.  Heathcote,  and  but  16  for  Mr.  Hardy.* 

Mr.  Gladstone's  defeat  was  shown  to  be  due  to  the  non-residents. 
The  resident  body  consisted  of  some  250  persons,  .and  of  these 
155  voted  or  paired  for  the  right  hon.  gentleman,  while  only  89 
voted  or  paired  against  him.  Mr.  Hardy  had  a  majority  in 
three  colleges  only — St.  John's,  Magdalen,  and  Lincoln — all  the 
important  colleges  being  strongly  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  side.  The 
heads  of  houses  were  nearly  equally  divided,  12  voting  for  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  1 1  for  Mr.  Hardy ;  but  the  professors  were 
strongly  for  the  former,  24  giving  him  their  support,  while  only  10 
voted  for  his  opponent.  Three-fourths  of  the  tutors  and  lecturers 
were  also  on  the  side  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  so  that  • 
in  this  celebrated  contest  it  was  not  really  Academic  Oxford  which 
rejected  him.  He  lost  his  seat  through  that  great  body  of  voters 
who  had  little  sympathy  with  the  Oxford  of  1865,  as  a  writer  at 
the  time  pointed  out.  The  Eector  of  Lincoln  (the  Rev.  Mark 
Pattison)  stated  that  of  the  ten  Fellows  of  that  college  seven 
polled  for  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  two  only  for  Mr.  Hardy  Half 
the  total  number  of  members  of  Convocation  on  the  college 
books  voted  for  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 

While  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Gladstone  by  the  University  of 
Oxford  was  regarded  in  some  quarters  as  a  signal  triumph  of 
Conservative  reaction,  in  other  respects  it  was  felt  that  the 
opposition  offered  to  him  was  a  most  mistaken  stroke  of  Tory 
policy.  Though  he  always  courageously  acted  upon  his  convic- 
tions, so  long  as  he  retained  his  seat  for  Oxford  University  he 
must  have  remained  to  some  extent  fettered — he  could  not 

*  Amongst  the  distinguished  voters  who  supported  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  were  the  following : — the  Bishops  of  Durhnm,  Oxford,  nnd  Chester,  Earl 
Cowper,  the  Denn  of  Westminster,  the  Denn  of  Christchurch,  Professors  F;irrnr, 
Rolleston,  nnd  Mnx  Miiller,  the  Dean  of  LichfieW,  Sir  J.  T.  Coleridge,  Sir  Henry 
Thompson,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jelf,  the  Bodleian  Librarian,  Sir  F.  T.  Pnlgrnve,  the  Right 
Hon.  S.  Lushington,  the  Denn  of  St.  Paul's,  the  Rev.  John  Keble,  the  Principal  of 
Brasenose,  the  Dean  of  Peterborough,  Prof.  Conington,  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Mozley,  Mr. 
E.  A.  Freemnn,  Chief  Justice  Erie,  Dr.  Pusey,  Professor  Jowett,  Mr.  CardweU.  tho 
Marguis  of  Kildare,  and  the  Rector  of  Lincoln. 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    EEJECTION    AT    OXFORD.  325 

altogether  shake  off  the  silent  but  deep  and  unmistakable 
influence  which  such  a  connection  must  necessarily  exercise. 
Once  the  ties  had  been  broken  which  bound  him  to  his  Alma 
Mater,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  felt  like  a  man  who  breathes  the  fresh 
mountain  air  after  a  close  confinement  in  the  crowded  city. 
There  were  now  many  questions  whose  consideration  he  could 
approach  without  the  sense  of  an  invisible  but  restraining 
influence.  By  the  whole  Liberal  party  throughout  the  country 
his  rejection  was  immediately  regarded  with  feelings  of  exultation 
— much  as  (for  some  reasons)  they  had  desired  his  return  for 
that  distinguished  seat  of  learning  which  he  had  represented  so 
long  and  so  well.  By  a  large  class  of  non-resident  voters  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  viewed  as  too  clever  to  be  a  safe  man,  and  it  was 
not  anticipated  that  Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy  would  forfeit  the 
confidence  of  this  body  by  any  eccentricities  of  genius.  The 
result  of  this  election  had  another  important  effect.  'The 
enemies  of  the  University,'  observed  the  Times,  '  will  make  the 
most  of  her  disgrace.  It  has  hitherto  been  supposed  that  a 
learned  constituency  was  to  some  extent  exempt  from  the  vulgar 
motives  of  party  spirit,  and  capable  of  forming  a  higher  estimate 
of  statesmanship  than  common  tradesmen  or  tenant-farmers.  It 
will  now  stand  on  record  that  they  have  deliberately  sacrificed 
a  representative  who  combined  the  very  highest  qualifications,, 
moral  and  intellectual,  for  an  academical  seat,  to  party  spirit, 
and  party  spirit  alone.  Mr.  Gladstone's  brilliant  public  career, 
his  great  academical  distinctions  and  literary  attainments,  his 
very  subtlety  and  sympathy  with  ideas  for  their  own  sake,  mark 
him  out  beyond  all  living  men  for  such  a  position.  However 
progressive  in  purely  secular  politics,  he  has  ever  shown  himself 
a  staunch  and  devoted  Churchman  wherever  Church  doctrine  or 
ecclesiastical  rights  were  concerned.  .  .  .  Henceforth  Mr.  Glad- 
stone will  belong  to  the  country,  but  no  longer  to  the  University. 
Those  Oxford  influences  and  traditions  which  have  so  deeply 
coloured  his  views,  and  so  greatly  interfered  with  his  better  judg- 
ment, must  gradually  lose  their  hold  on  him.'  A  yet  more  pro- 
nounced expression  of  opinion  came  from  the  Daily  News,  the 
organ  of  advanced  Liberal  thought : — *  Mr.  Gladstone's  career  as 
a.  statesman  will  certainly  not  be  arrested,  nor  Mr.  Gathorne 
Hardy's  capacity  be  enlarged  by  the  number  of  votes  which  Tory 
squires  or  Tory  parsons  may  inflict  upon  Lord  Derby's  cheerful 
and  fluent  subaltern,  or  withhold  from  Lord  Palmerston's  bril- 
liant colleague.  The  late  Sir  Kobert  Peel  was  but  the  chief  of  a 
party  until,  admonished  by  one  ostracism,  he  became  finally 
emancipated  by  another.  Then,  as  now,  the  statesman  who  was 
destined  to  give  up  to  mankind  what  was  never  meant  for  the 


326  WILLIAM    EWAKT    GLADSTONE. 

barren  service  of  a  party,  could  say  to  the  honest  bigots  who 
rejected  him — 

"  I  banish  you : 
There  is  a  world  elsewhere." 

Mediocrity  will  not  be  turned  into  genius,  honest  and  good- 
natured  insignificance  into  force,  fluency  into  eloquence,  if  the 
resident  and  non-resident  Toryism  of  the  University  of  Oxford 
should  prefer  the  safe  and  sound  Mr.  Hardy  to  the  illustrious 
Minister  whom  all  Europe  envies  us,  whose  name  is  a  household 
word  in  every  political  assembly  in  the  world.' 

Such  was  the  view  taken  by  Liberals  generally  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's defeat.  •  How  it  was  regarded  by  one  important  body  in 
the  Church  may  be  gathered  from  a  letter  which  Dr.  Pusey 
addressed  to  the  Editor  of  the  Churchman,  a  journal  which 
looked  with  the  liveliest  satisfaction  upon  the  return  of  Mr. 
Hardy.  '  You  are  naturally  rejoicing,'  wrote  the  Regius  Pro- 
fessor of  Hebrew,  '  over  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  which  I 
mourn.  Some  of  those  who  concurred  in  that  election,  or  who 
stood  aloof,  will,  I  fear,  mourn  hereafter  with  a  double  sorrow 
because  they  were  the  cause  of  that  rejection.  I,  of  course,  speak 
only  for  myself,  with  whatever  degree  of  anticipation  ruay  be  the 
privilege  of  years.  Yet,  on  the  very  ground  that  I  may  very 
probably  not  live  to  see  the  issue  of  the  momentous  future  now 
hanging  over  the  Church,  let  me,  through  you,  express  to  those 
friends  through  whom  I  have  been  separated,  who  love  the  Church 
in  itself,  and  not  the  accident  of  Establishment,  my  conviction 
that  we  should  do  ill  to  identify  the  interests  of  the  Church  with 
any  political  party ;  that  we  have  questions  before  us.  compared 
with  which  that  of  the  Establishment  (important  as  it  is  in 
respect  to  the  possession  of  our  parish  churches)  is  as  nothing. 
The  grounds  alleged  against  Mr.  Gladstone  bore  at  the  utmost 
upon  the  Establishment.  The  Establishment  might  perish,  and 
the  Church  but  come  forth  the  purer.  If  the  Church  were  cor- 
rupted, the  Establishment  would  become  a  curse  in  proportion 
to  its  influence.  As  that  conflict  will  thicken,  Oxford,  I  think, 
will  learn  to  regret  her  rude  severance  from  one  so  loyal  to  the 
Church,  to  the  faith,  and  to  God.'  The  author  of  the  Christian 
Year  also  remained  firm  to  the  cause  of  Mr.  Gladstone  in  1865, 
as  he  had  done  in  1847. 

On  the  close  of  the  poll  at  Oxford  on  the  18th  of  July,  Mr. 
Gladstone  wrote  the  following  valedictory  address  to  the 
members  of  Convocation : — '  After  an  arduous  connection  of 
eighteen  years,  I  bid  you,  respectfully,  farewell.  My  earnest 
purpose  to  serve  you,  my  many  faults  and  shortcomings,  the 


MR.    GLADSTONE'S    REJECTION    AT    OXFORD.  327 

incidents  of  the  political  relation  between  the  University  arid 
myself,  established  in  1 847,  so  often  questioned  in  vain,  and  now, 
at  length,  finally  dissolved,  I  leave  to  the  judgment  of  the 
future.  It  is  one  imperative  duty,  and  one  alone,  which  induces 
me  to  trouble  you  with  these  few  parting  words — the  duty  of 
expressing  my  profound  and  lasting  gratitude  for  indulgence  as 
generous,  and  for  support  as  warm  and  enthusiastic  in  itself, 
and  as  honourable  from  the  character  and  distinctions  of  those 
who  have  given  it,  as  has,  in  my  belief,  ever  been  accorded  by 
any  constituency  to  any  representative.'  Like  his  illustrious 
leader,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  when  rejected  by  the  University  of  Oxford, 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  now  driven  to  appeal  to  a  different  kind  of 
constituency.  The  election  in  South  Lancashire  was  still  pending, 
and  at  the  nomination  on  the  preceding  day  the  name  of  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  had  been  proposed,  in  view  of 
eventualities  at  Oxford.  Arriving  in  Manchester  on  the  18th, 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  a  conference  with  the  Liberal  Election  Com- 
mittee, and  immediately  afterwards  issued  his  address  to  the 
electors  as  follows : — 'I  appear  before  you  as  a  candidate  for  the 
suffrages  of  your  division  of  my  native  county.  Time  forbids 
me  to  enlarge  on  the  numerous  topics  which  justly  engage  the 
public  interest.  I  will  bring  them  all  to  a  single  head.  You 
are  conversant — few  so  much  so — with  the  legislation  of  the  last 
thirty-five  years.  You  have  seen,  you  have  felt  its  results.  You 
cannot  fail  to  have  observed  the  verdict  which  the  country  gene- 
rally has,  within  the  last  eight  days,  pronounced  upon  the  relative 
claims  and  positions  of  the  two  great  political  Parties  with 
respect  to  that  legislation  in  the  past,  and  to  the  prospective 
administration  of  public  affairs.  I  humbly,  but  confidently,  with- 
out the  least  disparagement  to  many  excellent  persons,  from 
whom  I  have  the  misfortune  frequently  to  differ,  ask  you  to  give 
your  powerful  voice  in  confirmation  of  that  verdict,  and  to  pro- 
nounce with  significance  as  to  the  direction  in  which  you  desire 
the  wheels  of  the  State  to  move.  Before  these  words  can  be 
read,  I  hope  to  be  among  you  in  the  hives  of  your  teeming 
enterprise.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  first  appeared  on  the  Manchester  Exchange ; 
and  from  thence  he  proceeded  to  the  Free  Trade  Hall,  which, 
though  capable  of  holding  many  thousands  of  persons,  was 
densely  packed  within  a  few  minutes  of  the  doors  being  opened. 
'  At  last,  my  friends,'  he  began  his  address,  *  I  am  come  among 
you — and  I  am  come,  to  use  an  expression  which  has  become 
very  famous,  and  is  not  likely  to  be  forgotten,  I  am  come  among 
you,  "  unmuzzled." '  Here  the  cheering  was  so  enthusiastic  and 
prolonged  that  for  some  time  the  speaker  could  not  proceed. 


328  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Quiet  having  been   restored,   the   right   hon,    gentleman    con- 
tinued : — 

'  After  an  anxious  struggle  of  eighteen  years,  during  which  the  unbounded  devo- 
tion and  indulgence  of  my  friends  maintained  me  in  the  arduous  position  of  repre- 
sentative of  the  University  of  Oxford,  I  have  been  driven  from  my  seat.  . 
I  have  loved  the  University  with  a  deep  and  passionate  love,  and  as  long  as  I 
breathe,  that  attachment  will  continue  ;  if  my  affection  is  of  the  smallest  advantage 
to  that  great,  that  ancient,  that  noble  institution,  that  advantage,  such  as  it  is, 
and  it  is  most  insignificant,  Oxford  will  possess  as  long  as  I  live.  But  don't  mistake 
the  issue  which  has  been  raised.  The  University  has  at  length,  after  eighteen 
years  of  self-denial,  been  drawn  by  what  I  might,  perhaps,  call  an  over-weening 
exercise  of  power,  into  the  vortex  of  mere  politics.  Well,  you  will  readily  under- 
stand why,  as  long  as  I  had  a  hope  that  the  zeal  and  kindness  of  my  friends  might 
keep  me  in  my  place,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  abandon  them.  Could  they 
have  returned  me  by  a  majority  of  one,  painful  as  it  is  to  a  man  of  my  time  of 
life,  and  feeling  the  x  weight  of  public  cares,  to  be  incessantly  struggling  for  his 
seat,  nothing  could  have  induced  me  to  quit  that  University  to  which  1  had  so  long 
ago  devoted  my  best  caro  and  attachment.  But  by  no  act  of  mine  I  am  free  to 
come  among  you.  And  having  been  thus  set  free,  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  it  is 
with  joy,  with  thankfulness,  and  enthusiasm,  that  I  now,  at  this  eleventh  hour, 
a  candidate  without  an  address,  make  my  appeal  to  the  heart  and  the  mind 
of  South  Lnncashire,  and  ask  you  to  pronounce  upon  that  appeal.  As  I  have 
said.  I  am  aware  of  no  cause  for  the  votes  which  have  given  a  majority 
against  me  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  except  the  fact  that  the  strongest 
conviction  that  the  human  mind  can  receive,  that  an  overpowering  sense  of 
the  public  interests,  that  the  practical  teachings  of  experience,  to  which  from 
my  youth  Oxford  herself  taught  me  to  lay  open  my  mind — all  these  had  shown  me 
the  folly,  acd,  I  will  say,  the  madness  of  refusing  to  join  in  the  generous 
sympathies  of  my  countrymen,  by  adopting  what  I  must  call  an  obstructive 
policy/ 

The  same  evening  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  addressed 
an  immense  audience  in  the  Royal  Amphitheatre  of  Liverpool, 
where  he  met  with  a  similar  ovation.  In  the  opening  words  oi 
his  speech,  which  had  a  tone  of  pathos  running  through  them} 
Mr.  Gladstone  again  paid  a  tribute  to  his  University,  and  then 
went  on  to  deal  with  the  impending  election.  *  If  I  am  told 
that  it  is  only  by  embracing  the  narrow  interests  of  a  political 
party  that  Oxford  can  discharge  her  duties  to  the  country,  then, 
gentlemen,  I  at  once  say  I  am  not  the  man  for  Oxford.  We  see 
represented  in  that  ancient  institution — represented  more  nobly  > 
perhaps,  and  more  conspicuously  than  in  any  other  place,  at  any 
rate  with  more  remarkable  concentration — the  most  prominent 
features  that  relate  to  the  past  of  England.  I  come  into  South 
Lancashire,  and  I  find  here  around  me  an  assemblage  of  different 
phenomena.  I  find  development  of  industry  ;  I  find  growth  of 
enterprise  ;  I  find  progress  of  social  philanthropy  ;  I  find  preva- 
lence of  toleration  ;  and  I  find  an  ardent  desire  for  freedom.  .  .  . 
I  have  honestly,  I  have  earnestly,  although  I  may  have  feebly, 
striven  to  unite  in  my  insignificant  person  that  which  is  repre- 
sented by  Oxford  and  that  Tv^hich  is  represented  by  Lancashire. 
My  desire  is  that  they  should  know  and  love  one  another.  If  I 
have  clung  to  the  representation  of  the  University  with  desperate 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    REJECTION    AT    OXFOED.  329 

fondness,  it  was  because  I  would  not  desert  that  post  in  which  I 
seem  to  have  been  placed.  I  have  not  abandoned  it.  I  have 
been  dismissed  from  it,  not  by  academical,  but  by  political 
agencies.  I  don't  complain  of  those  political  influences  by  which 
I  have  been  displaced.  The  free  constitutional  spirit  of  the 
country  requires  that  the  voice  of  the  majority  should  prevail. 
I  hope  the  voice  of  the  majority  will  prevail  in  South  Lancashire. 
I  do  not  for  a  moment  complain  that  it  should  have  prevailed  in 
Oxford.  But,  gentlemen,  I  come  now  to  ask  you  a  question 
whether,  because  I  have  been  declared  unfit  longer  to  serve  the 
University  on  account  of  my  political  position,  there  is  anything 
in  that  position,  there  is  anything  in  what  I  have  said  and  done, 
in  the  arduous  office  which  I  hold,  which  is  to  unfit  me  for  the 
representation  of  my  native  county  ? '  Before  concluding  his 
speech,  Mr.  Gladstone  briefly  reviewed  the  course  of  Liberal 
legislation  during  the  last  Parliament. 

The  polling  for  South  Lancashire  took  place  on  the  20th, 
with  the  following  result: — Egerton,  9171  ;  Turner,  8806  ;  Glad- 
stone, 8786;  Legh,  8476;  Thompson,  7703;  Heywood,  7653. 
The  Hon.  A.  Egerton  and  Mr.  Turner,  Conservatives,  and  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  were  accordingly  declared  elected. 
Of  the  defeated  candidates,  Mr.  Legh  was  a  Conservative,  and 
Messrs.  Thompson  and  Heywood  were  Liberals.  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  at  the  head  of  the  poll  in  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  all  the 
large  towns. 

The  general  election  resulted  in  considerable  gains  to  the 
Liberal  party,  but  during  the  autumn  that  party  sustained  a 
severe  loss  by  the  death  of  Lord  Paimerston.  The  late  Premier 
had  not  only  been  successful  in  uniting  the  various  Liberal 
sections  in  the  House  of.  Commons,  but  had  commanded  the 
esteem  and  forbearance  of  his  Conservative  opponents.  The 
Government  was  now  reconstructed,  with  Earl  Russell  as  Prime 
Minister  and  Mr.  Gladstone  leader  in  the  Low_er  House.  The 
earnest  temperament  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  which 
led  him  to  regard  everything  in  the  most  severely  conscientious 
light,  with  little  desire  for  banter,  for  trimming,  or  for  com- 
promise, caused  some  speculation  and  not  a  little  anxiety  as  to 
his  management  of  the  House  of  Commons.  To  the  joviality — 
in  some  instances  amounting  almost  to  buffoonery — of  Lord 
Paimerston,  the  new  First  Minister  in  the  Commons  could  lay 
no  claim.  Politics,  with  him,  ever  formed  a  science  of  the 
gravest  and  deepest  moment.  The  prognostications  and  com- 
plaints of  those  who  declared  that  he  had  not  the  peculiar 
qualities  demanded  in  a  leader  must,  on  the  whole,  be  considered  to 
have  failed  during  the  first  year  of  his  Parliamentary  leadership  ; 


330  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

and  in  our  generation  there  has  been  no  more  arduous  or  critical 
session  witnessed  than  that  of  1866. 

Before  discussing  the  great  reform  measures  of  the  year — 
which  were  fraught  with  the  most  important  consequences — the 
budget  and  several  questions  of  moment,  in  whose  discussion  Mr. 
Gladstone  took  a  prominent  part,  demand  attention.  Dealing 
first  with  the  financial  statement,  it  may  be  remarked  (as,  indeed, 
it  has  been  our  lot  to  observe  on  previous  occasions),  that  the 
condition  of  the  public  revenue  was  still  so  nourishing  as  to 
afford  hopes  of  a  yet  further  reduction  of  taxation.  On  the  3rd 
of  May,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer — causing  for  the 
moment  a  suspension  of  hostilities  between  the  rival  political 
parties  on  the  Franchise  question — laid  his  annual  account  before 
the  committee.  He  expressed  his  own  sense  of  relief  in  entering 
upon  a  question  which  would  involve  no  party  struggle.  He  had 
not  to  announce  a  surplus  of  revenue  on  the  scale  of  the  last 
three  years,  which  had  reached  an  average  of  three  millions  and 
a  half;  but  he  should  still  be  able  to  make  reductions  not 
without  interest.  The  estimated  expenditure  for  the  past  year 
had  been  upwards  of  £66,000,000,  but  the  actual  expenditure 
was  only  £65,914,000.  The  revenue  was  £67,812,000,  leaving  a 
surplus  of  £1,898,000.  The  revenue  had  been  £1,424,000  more 
than  was  calculated.  The  average  increase  in  revenues  since 
1864  was  about  a  million  and  a  quarter  per  year.  The  loss 
caused  by  the  reductions  of  last  year  had  slightly  exceeded 
the  estimate.  The  Exchequer  balances  had  been  reduced  by 
unusual  liquidations  of  debt.  On  the  31st  of  March,  1865,  they 
were  £7,691,000;  and  on  the  same  date  in  1866,  they  had 
fallen  to  £5,851,000.  The  total  estimated  expenditure  of  the 
coming  year  was  £66,225,000,  which,  as  compared  with  the 
expenditure  of  last  year,  showed  an  increase  of  £78,000.  The 
total  estimate  of  the  revenue  for  the  year  would  be  £67,575,000, 
thus  leaving  a  surplus  of  £1,350,000,  which,  but  for  the  charges 
of  last  year,  would  have  been  quite  £2,700,000. 

Mr.  Gladstone  next  referred  to  the  commercial  treaties  into 
which  this  country  had  entered  in  the  most  disinterested  spirit, 
with  a  view  of  inducing  other  nations  to  follow  our  example. 
The  effect  of  the  treaty  with  France  on  the  export  trade  of  that 
country  had  been  such  that  the  total  increase  on  all  kinds  of 
goods  had  been  from  58  millions  and  a  half  of  francs  to  141 
millions.  Treaties  liad  been  concluded  with  Belgium,  Italy,  the 
Zollverein,  and  finally  with  Austria,  on  the  same  standard  as  that 
with  France — no  duty  to  exceed  25  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on 
all  British  goods.  This  involved  two  changes  in  our  own  tariff, 
viz.,  the  repeal  of  the  duty  on  timber  and  the  equalisation  of  the 


THE    SESSION    Of    1866.  331 

duty  on  wine  in  bottle  and  in  wood.  The  consumption  of  timber 
had  greatly  increased  in  proportion  to  the  reduction  of  the 
impost.  The  revenue  for  the  year  from  this  source  was  £307,000, 
and  this  would  be  reckoned  as  an  entire  loss  for  the  year — the 
repeal  to  be  immediate.  The  loss  from  the  equalisation  of  the 
wine  duty  would  be  £7 1,000.  It  was  further  proposed  to  abolish 
the  duty  on  pepper,  which  would  involve  the  loss  of  £1 12,000  for 
the  year.  Turning  to  the  duties  on .  locomotion,  he  did  not 
propose  to  interfere  with  the  duty  on  carriages,  horses,  railways, 
&c.,  but  as  to  the  duty  en  post-horses,  which  was  £266,000, 
and  on  public  conveyances,  especially  omnibuses,  which  was 
142,000,  he  did  not  propose  to  deal  with  them,  the  question 
being-  one  of  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  working  classes, 
as  well  as  of  the  middle  class.  The  licences  would  be  left  as  at 
present,  but  the  mileage  duty  would  be  reduced  from  a  penny  to 
a  farthing  a  mile,  at  a  loss  for  the  future  of  £90,000  a-year. 
The  scale  of  the  licence  duty  on  post-horses  would  be  so  reduced 
as  to  place  the  small  proprietor  on  a  fair  footing  with  the  large, 
and  this  would  involve  a  loss  of  £20,000  a-year.  These  items  dis- 
posed of  £560,000  out  of  a  surplus  of  £1,350,000.  He  should  move 
resolutions  renewing  the  tea  duties  and  the  income-tax  at  4d,  in 
the  pound.  With  regard  to  the  National  Debt,  a  considerable 
amount  of  Exchequer  bills  had  been  paid  off,  and  the  sum  paid  in 
reduction  of  the  debt  last  year  was  £5,179,000.  The  amount  of 
the  unfunded  debt  was  now  £8,267,000,  as  compared  with  over 
£18,000,000  in  1858. 

He  was  convinced  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  Parliament 
should  face  the  subject  of  the  National  Debt.  In  the  ensuing 
year  there  would  be  a  large  cessation  of  terminable  annuities, 
not  less  than  £600,000  a-year,  which  in  a  degree  made  the  present 
moment  favourable  for  moving  in  that  direction.  Mr.  Gladstone 
then  adduced  a  variety  of  statistics  upon  the  amount  and  the 
fluctuations  in  the  National  Debt,  which,  he  said,  was  exercising 
an  injurious  social  influence.  America  was  applying  her  revenue, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  the  reduction  of  her  debt ;  and  this  was  an 
example  to  Europe,  where  borrowing  was  the  growing  vice  of  all 
European  states.  With  regard  to  our  own  debt,  we  were  living 
in  a  commercial  era  of  extraordinary  magnitude  and  increas<  > ; 
and  our  commercial  undertakings  were  now  as  great,  with  our 
thirty  millions  of  population,  as  those  of  France  and  America 
with  their  seventy  millions  of  people  put  together.  The  cause 
of  our  pre-eminence  was  to  be  found  in  the  possession  and  the 
facile  use  o£  minerals,  especially  coal.  It  was  a  question 
whether  this  store  of  coal  was  practically  inexhaustible  ;  even  if 
a  substitute  could  be  found,  it  could  not  be  peculiar  to  England 


S32  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

— therefore,  if  our  coal  should  become  exhausted,  the  iclative 
pre-eminent  commercial  position  of  this  country  to  other  nations 
would  be  lost.  It  was  calculated  that  at  the  end  of  one  hundred 
years  coal  would  have  become  exhausted  at  four  thousand  feet 
below  the  surface.  The  matter  was  one  worthy  of  deep  considera- 
tion. It  was  idle  to  think  of  stopping  the  supply  of  coal,  to 
tax  it,  or  to  stop  its  export ;  and  therefore  it  was  obvious  that 
as  we  could  not  supply  coal  at  low  prices  beyond  a  given  time, 
it  was  desirable  to  do  something  to  meet  an  exigency  which 
must  arrive  ;  and  this  might  be  done  in  a  manner  by  relieving 
the  country,  as  far  as  possible,  of  its  great  mortgage.  A  good 
plan  of  operating  on  the  debt  was  by  the  conversion  of  perpetual 
into  terminable  annuities.  There  was  then  a  sum  of  twenty-four 
millions  standing  on  a  deposit  account  of  the  trustees  of  savings- 
banks,  the  whole  of  which  the  State  was  now  bound  to  pay  ;  and 
it  was  proposed  to  take  that  sum,  which  now  cost  £"720,000  a 
year,  and  convert  it  into  annuities  terminating  in  1885,  which 
would  raise  the  annual  charge  to  one  million.  If  this  was  done 
in  1866-7  there  would  be  a  charge  something  above  £1,200,000. 
The  following  year  there  would  be  a  further  charge  on  this  con- 
version of  £502,000;  but  of  this  £293,000  would  be  relieved  by 
the  falling  in  of  other  annuities.  The  total  additional  charges, 
making  all  allowances,  would  be  about  £409,000  per  annum.  It 
was  further  proposed  that  so  much  of  the  dividends  of  the  fund 
which  it  was  intended  to  create,  as  were  found  to  be  to  spare, 
should  be  re-invested ;  and  the  result  would  be  that  in  1885 
the  charge  would  be  £1,440,000,  while  there  would  have 
been  cancelled  no  less  than  fifty  millions  of  stock — and  from 
year  to  year  the  State  would  be  buyers  of  stock.  The  surplus 
dealt  with  in  making  the  reductions  which  he  had  stated  woulo\ 
be  £1,064,000,  leaving  an  unappropriated  balance  of  £286,000. 
In  concluding  his  statement,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  said  the 
Government  had  thought  it  well  to  cast  a  glance  into  the  future, 
and  to  endeavour  in  some  degree  to  meet  its  demands,  so  that 
those  who  came  after  them  might  have  reason  to  say  that,  while 
making  provision  for  their  own  immediate  wants,  they  had  also 
taken  some  concern  for  those  which  were  to  succeed. 

These  proposals  excited  little  opposition.  The  plan  for  the 
conversion  of  a  portion  of  the  National  Debt  into  terminable 
annuities,  with  a  view  to  its  gradual  liquidation,  was  made  the 
subject  of  a  separate  bill,  which  passed  its  second  reading.  Here 
its  progress  was  arrested.  A  change  of  Ministry  caused  it  to  be 
postponed ;  but  later  in  the  session  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  he 
should  revive  his  scheme  whenever  a  favourable  opportunity 
offered. 


THE    SESSION    OF    1866.  33a 

To  commemorate  the  signal  services  rendered  by  Lord 
Palmer.'iton  to  his  country,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
moved  in  the  House  of  Commons  an  address  to  the  Queen,  pray- 
ing her  Majesty  to  order  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the 
deceased  statesman  in  Westminster  Abbey.  In  the  previous 
November,  when  Mr.  Gladstone  visited  Glasgow  and  was  pre- 
st;nted  with  the  freedom  of  the  city,  he  made  a  touching  allu- 
sion, in  his  reply,  to  the  heavy  losses  which  the  country  had 
recently  sustained  in  the  ranks  of  official  life. 

This  is  no  place  in  which  to  attempt  an  estimate  of  the 
character  of  Lord  Palmerston.  He  enjoyed  an  unusual  degree 
of  popularity  both  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  the  country, 
though  the  full  grounds  for  this  popularity  it  would  be  some- 
what difficult  to  define.  To  a  buoyant  disposition,  however,  he 
united  the  especially  English  virtues  of  manliness,  straight 
forwardness,  and  courage.  His  very  frankness  in  diplomacy — a 
quality  supposed  to  be  fatal  to  diplomacy — ensured  him  success 
at  many  critical  moments ;  but  he  had  few  claims  to  the  highest 
rank  of  statesmanship.  The  two  leaders  of  the  House  of  Commons 
admirably  summed  up  his  most  prominent  characteristics  on  the 
occasion  above  alluded  to.  'All  who  knew  Lord  Palmerston,' 
observed  Mr.  Gladstone,  '  knew  his  genial  temper  and  the  courage 
with  which  he  entered  into  the  debates  in  this  House ;  his 
incomparable  tact  and  ingenuity — his  command  of  fence — his 
delight,  his  old  English  delight  in  a  fair  stand-up  fight.  Yet. 
notwithstanding  the  possession  of  these  powers,  I  must  say  I 
think  there  was  no  man  whose  inclination  and  whose  habit  were 
more  fixed,  so  far  as  our  discussions  were  concerned,  in  avoiding 
whatever  tended  to  exasperate,  and  in  having  recourse  to  those 
means  by  which  animosity  might  be  calmed  down.  He  had  the 
power  to  stir  up  angry  passions,  but  he  chose,  like  the  sea-god  in 
the  jfa'neid,  rather  to  pacify. 

"  Quos  ego — sed  motos  prsestat  componere  fluctus." 

That  which,  in  my  opinion,  distinguished  Lord  Palmerston's 
speaking  from  the  oratory  of  other  men,  that  which  was  its  most 
remarkable  characteristic,  was  the  degree  in  which  he  said 
precisely  that  which  he  meant  to  express.'  Mr.  Gladstone  added 
that  the  late  Premier  had  a  nature  incapable  of  enduring  anger 
or  the  sentiment  of  wrath.  This  was  a  noble  gift  of  the  original 
nature,  and  it  was  delightful  to  remember  it  in  connection  with 
him.  Mr.  Disraeli  supplemented  these  observations  by  the 
remark  that  that  statesman  was  peculiarly  to  be  envied  who, 
when  he  left  his  contemporaries,  left  them  not  merely  the  memory 
of  great  achievements,  but  also  the  wider  tradition  of  personal 
affection  and  social  charm. 


334  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Irish  questions  occupied  much  of  the  attention  of  the  House  of 
Commons  this  session.  The  O'Donoghue  moved  an  amendment 
to  the  Address,  expressing  deep  regret  at  the  wide-spread  disaffec- 
tion existing  in  Ireland,  and  representing  to  her  Majesty  that  it 
was  the  result  of  grave  causes  which  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
Government  to  examine  into  and  remove.  Mr.  Gladstone  opposed 
the  resolution,  and  said  that  the  objects  of  the  paragraph  in  the 
Address  for  which  it  was  proposed  to  substitute  it,  were  threefold 
— to  pronounce  a  solemn  denunciation  of  Fenianism,  to  recog- 
nise the  existence  of  the  public  opinion  which  had  enabled  the 
Government  to  deal  firmly  and  boldly  with  the  conspiracy,  and 
to  place  on  record  the  impartiality  with  which  the  law  had  been 
administered.  The  evils  from  which  Ireland  suffered  could  not 
be  eradicated  immediately;  the  existing  dissatisfaction  must  first 
be  uprooted  by  the  vindication  of  the  law,  and  that  being  done, 
inquiry  into  the  existence  of  evils  became  an  obligation  which 
no  Government  could  resist.  The  amendment  was  rejected  by 
an  overwhelming  majority. 

The  condition  of  Ireland  became  so  grave  that  the  Govern- 
ment were  driven  to  propose  a  bill  suspending  the  Habeas  Corp  as 
Act  in  that  country.  Mr.  Bright  called  upon  the  '  two  great 
and  trusted  leaders,'  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Mr.  Disraeli,  to  suspend 
for  a  moment  their  contest  for  office,  and  to  combine  in  an  effort 
to  ascertain  the  causes  of  Irish  discontent,  and  to  apply  a 
remedy.  He  believed  there  was  a  mode  of  making  Ireland 
loyal,  and  he  threw  the  responsibility  of  discovering  it  on  the 
Government  and  on  the  Imperial  Parliament.  The  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  in  defending  the  Ministerial  measure,  expressed 
the  regret  and  pain  with  which  he  had  listened  to  Mr.  Bright's 
speech,  much  of  which  was  open  to  question,  and  was  ill  timed. 
He  declined  to  recognise  the  voice  of  Ireland  except  as  conveyed 
through  the  jnouths  of  her  legally  elected  representatives,  and 
congratulated  the  House  on  the  general  unanimity  with  which 
the  Irish  members  had  acquiesced  in  the  bill.  The  Government 
were  ready  at  a  fitting  time  to  consider  any  measures  which  might 
be  proposed  for  the  benefit  of  Ireland,  but  it  was  the  single  duty 
of  the  House  that  day  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  Executive 
in  the  preservation  of  law  and  order.  The  bill  subsequently  passed 
through  all  its  stages.  After  the  Earl  of  Derby's  Administration 
came  into  power,  Lord  Naas  brought  in  a  renewal  bill  for  the 
suspension  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  in  lieu  of  that  which  was 
about  to  expire.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  while  the  Government 
were  adding  to  their  responsibilities  in  connection  with  Ireland  by 
asking  for  this  renewal,  yet  without  considering  whether  their 
general  policy  was  such  as  he  could  approve,  he  could  not  refuse 


THE    SESSION    OF    1866.  535 

to  strengthen  their  hands  in  such  a  way  as  they  deemed  necessary. 
If  the  late  Ministry  had  still  been  in  office,  it  would  have  been 
their  duty  to  make  a  similar  application. 

This  second  bill  passed  through  both  Houses,  and  the  events 
of  the  following  autumn — which  were  the  result  of  an  anticipated 
great  Fenian  rising  under  '  Head  Centre  '  Stephens — fully  justi- 
fied the  course  adopted  by  the  Government. 

In  the  course  of  this  session,  during  the  debate  on  Mr. 
Hardcastle's  bill  for  the  abolition  of  Church  rates,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone admitted  that  the  law  of  Church  rates  was  prima  facie 
open  to  grave  objection ;  he  could  not  vote  for  total  abolition, 
however,  but  he  invited  Mr.  Hardcastle  to  consider  whether,  by 
an  equitable  compromise,  Dissenters  might  be  exempted  from 
paying  Church  rates,  and  at  the  same  time  be  disqualified  from 
interfering  with  funds  to  which  they  had  not  contributed.  This 
suggested  compromise  met  with  considerable  favour,  and 
although  the  second  reading  of  Mr.  Hardcastle's  bill  was  carried, 
before  any  further  proceeding  could  be  taken  upon  it,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  introduced  his  measure  for  the  abolition 
of  compulsory  Church  rates.  When  the  second  reading  of  this 
bill  came  on,  Mr.  Gladstone  was  no  longer  in  office;  but  he 
pressed  forward  his  measure,  which  passed  its  second  stage,  the 
bills  introduced  by  Mr.  Hardcastle  and  Mr.  Newdegate  being 
withdrawn.  The  session  terminated,  nevertheless,  as  had  many 
sessions  before  it,  without  a  final  decision  being  arrived  at  upon 
this  question. 

In  a  debate  on  Continental  affairs,  concerned  chiefly  with  the 
threatened  hostilities  between  the  two  great  rival  states  of  Ger- 
many, Mr.  Gladstone  expressed  his  approval  of  the  policy  of  call- 
ing a  Conference  to  settle  disputes  between  the  European  Powers, 
and  he  regretted  that  it  had  failed  in  this  case  Shortly  after- 
wards Austria  and  Prussia  were  at  war.  In  a  later  debate  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the  struggles  of 
Austria  and  Prussia  for  predominance  had  been  an  immense 
injury  to  Europe  and  to  Germany,  and  the  elevation  of  one  power 
to  position  to  wield  enormous  influence  would  be  an  unmixed 
advantage  even  to  the  loser.  The  old  position  of  Austria  in  Ger- 
many and  Italy  had  not  been  beneficial  to  her,  and  though  he 
lamented  the  attempt  to  introduce  a  third  party  into  the  strife, 
by  the  cession  of  Venetia  to  France,  the  loss  of  Venetia  would  be 
a  gain  to  Austria.  '  Even  if  she  were  excluded  from  Germany, 
she  had  still  a  glorious  task  before  her  in  the  cultivation  of  that 
vast  and  fertile  territory,  and  the  civilisation  of  those  millions 
of  subjects  which  would  still  be  left  to  her.'  The  right  hon. 
gentleman  exhorted  Lord  Stanley  not  to  forget  that  the  cause  of 


336  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Italy  was  dear  to  the  people  of  England,  and  warned  him  that 
they  would  never  forgive  a  policy  which  attacked  her  unity  and 
independence. 

We  now  come  to  the  great  Reform  debates  of  the  year  1866. 
In  redeeming  the  promise  made  in  the  Queen's  Speech,  on  the 
12th  of  March,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  before  a  crowded 
and  deeply  interested  audience,  introduced  the  Government 
Eeform  Bill.  In  the  outset  he  reviewed  the  recent  history  of 
the  question,  and  announced  that  in  consequence  of  the  limited 
time  at  the  disposal  of  Parliament,  Government  were  compelled 
to  restrict  their  labours  to  a  Franchise  Bill  alone.  With  regard 
to  the  details  of  this  measure,  it  was  first  proposed  to  create  an 
occupation  franchise  in  counties,  including  houses  at  £14  rental, 
and  reaching  up  to  £50,  the  present  occupation  franchise.  It 
was  calculated  that  this  would  add  171,000  persons  to  the 
electoral  list.  Next  it  was  proposed  to  introduce  into  counties 
the  provision  which  copyholders  and  leaseholders  within  Parlia- 
mentary boroughs  now  possessed  for  the  purpose  of  county  votes. 
The  third  proposition  was  a  savings-bank  franchise,  which  would 
operate  in  counties  and  towns,  but  which  would  have  a  more 
important  operation  in  the  former.  All  adult  males  who  had 
deposited  £50  in  a  savings-bank  for  two  years  would  be  entitled 
to  be  registered  for  the  place  in  which  they  resided.  This  privi- 
lege would  add  from  10,000  to  15,000  electors  to  the  constitu- 
encies of  England  and  Wales.  In  towns  it  was  proposed  to  place 
compound  householders  on  the  same  footing  as  ratepayers.  It 
was  intended  to  abolish  the  ratepaying  clauses  of  the  Reform 
Act,  which  would  admit  about  25,000  voters  above  the  line  of 
£10.  It  was  also  proposed  to  introduce  a  lodger  franchise,  both 
for  those  persons  holding  part  of  a  house  with  separate  and 
independent  access,  and  for  those  who  held  part  of  a  house  as 
inmates  of  the  family  of  another  person.  Then  there  was  the 
£10  clear  annual  value  of  apartments,  without  reference  to 
furniture.  It  was  further  proposed  to  abolish  the  necessity  in 
the  case  of  registered  voters  for  residence  at  the  time  of  voting. 
Lastly,  following  the  precedent  of  the  Government  of  Lord  Derby, 
they  would  introduce  a  clause  disabling  from  voting  persons  who 
were  employed  in  the  Government  yards.  The  total  number  of 
new  voters,  of  all  classes,  would  be  400,000.  With  this  appeal 
Mr.  Gladstone  closed  an  address  which  had  been  looked  forward 
to  with  great  expectation  by  the  country  : — 

'If  issue  is  taken  adversely  upon  this  bill,  I  hope  it  will  be,  above  all,  a  plain  and 
direct  issue.  I  trust  it  will  be  taken  upon  the  question,  whether  there  is  or  is  not 
to  be  an  enfranchisement  downwards,  if  it  is  to  be  taken  at  all.  We  have  felt  that 
to  carry  enfranchisement  above  the  present  line  was  essential;  essential  to  character, 
essential  to  credit,  essential  to  usefulness ;  essential  to  the  character  and  credit  not 


THE    REFORM    BILL    OF    1866.  337 

merely  of  the  Government,  not  merely  of  the  political  party  by  which  it  has  the 
honour  to  be  represented,  but  of  this  House,  and  of  the  successive  Parliaments  and 
Governments,  v.ho  all  stand  pledged  with  respect  to  this  question  of  the  represen- 
tation. We  cannot  consent  to  look  upon  this  large  addition,  considerable  although 
it  may  be,  to  the  political  power  of  the  working  classes  of  this  country,  as  if  it  were 
an  addition  fraught  with  mischief  and  with  danger.  We  cannot  look,  and  we  hope 
no  man  will  look,  upon  it  as  some  Trojan  horse  approaching  the  walls  of  the  sacred 
city,  and  filled  with  armed  men,  bent  upon  ruin,  plunder,  and  conflagration.  We 
cannot  join  in  comparing  it  with  that  monstrum  infelix — we  cannot  say — 

" Scandit  fatalis  machina  muros, 

Fceta  armis .  mediacque  minans  illabitur  urbi." 

I  believe  that  those  persons  whom  we  ask  you  to  enfranchise  ought  rather  to  be 
welcomed  as  you  would  welcome  recruits  to  your  army,  or  children  to  your  family. 
We  ask  you  to  give  within  what  you  consider  to  be  the  just  limits  of  prudence  and 
circumspection ;  but,  having  once  determined  those  limits,  to  give  with  an  ungrudg- 
ing hand.  Consider  what  you  can  safely  and  justly  afford  to  do  in  admitting  new 
subjects  and  citizens  within  the  pale  of  the  Parliamentary  constitution ;  and,  having 
so  considered  it,  do  not,  I  beseech  you,  perform  the  act  as  if  you  were  compounding 
with  danger  and  misfortune.  Do  it  as  if  you  were  conferring  a  boon  that  will  be 
felt  and  reciprocated  in  grateful  attachment.  Give  to  these  persons  new  interests 
in  the  Constitution,  new  interests  which,  by  the  beneficent  processes  of  the  law  of 
nature  and  of  Providence,  shall  beget  in  them  new  attachment ;  for  the  attach- 
ment of  the  people  to  the  Throne,  the  institutions,  and  the  laws  under  which  they 
live  is,  after  all,  more  than  gold  and  silver,  or  more  than  fleets  and  armies,  at  once 
the  strength,  the  glory,  and  the  safety  of  the  land.' 

The  bill  satisfied  the  majority  of  the  Liberal  party,  and  met 
with  considerable  favour  in  the  country ;  but  by  the  Conserva- 
tives it  was  regarded  as  a  dangerous  step  in  the  direction  of 
democracy.  In  the  House  of  Commons  its  most  brilliant  and 
effective  opponent  was  Mr.  Lowe.  During  these  debates,  while 
content  to  act  the  part  of  a  prophet  of  evil,  Mr.  Lowe  developed 
qualities  which  raised  him  into  the  first  rank  of  Parliamentary 
debaters.  On  the  evening  following  Mr.  Gladstone's  speech,  he 
attacked  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer — and  not  unhappily — 
upon  his  own  classic  ground,  concluding  as  follows  : — '  The  inten- 
tions and  actions  of  the  new  Parliament  are  as  yet  hidden  by 
the  veil  of  the  future.  It  may  be  that  we  are  destined  to  avoid 
this  enormous  danger  with  which  we  are  confronted,  and  not,  to 
use  the  language  of  my  right  hon.  friend,  to  compound  with 
danger  and  misfortune.  But,  sir,  it  may  be  otherwise ;  and  all  I 
can  say  is,  that  if  my  right  hon.  friend  does  succeed  in  carry- 
ing this  measure  through  Parliament,  when  the  passions  and 
interests  of  the  day  are  gone  by  I  do  not  envy  him  his  retro- 
spect. I  covet  not  a  single  leaf  of  the  laurels  that  may  encircle 
his  brow.  I  do  not  envy  him  his  triumph.  His  be  the  glory  of 
carrying  it ;  mine  of  having  to  the  utmost  of  my  poor  ability 
resisted  it.' 

Amongst  other  Liberals  who  deserted  the  Government  on  the 
Reform  question  were  Mr.  Laing  and  Mr.  Horsman.  The  latter 
described  Mr.  Gladstone's  address  as  *  another  bid  for  power, 
another  promise  made  to  be  broken,  another  political  fraud  and 

Z 


338  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Parliamentary  juggle.'  This  severe  diatribe  drew  a  crushing  and 
memorable  retort  from  Mr.  Bright.  Mr.  Horsman,  he  said,  had 
'  retired  into  what  may  be  called  his  political  Cave  of  Adullam, 
to  which  he  invited  every  one  who  was  in  distress,  and  every  one 
who  was  discontented.  He  has  long  been  anxious  to  found  a 
party  in  this  House ;  and  there  is  scarcely  a  member  at  this  end 
of  the  House  who  is  able  to  address  us  with  effect  or  to  take 
much  part,  whom  he  has  not  tried  to  bring  over  to  his  party  and 
his  cabal.  At  last  he  has  succeeded  in  hooking  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  the  member  for  Calne,  Mr.  Lowe.  I  know  it  was 
the  opinion  many  years  ago  of  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  that 
two  men  could  make  a  party.  When  a  party  is  formed  of  two 
men  so  amiable  and  so  disinterested  as  the  two  right  hon. 
gentlemen,  we  may  hope  to  see  for  the  first  time  in  Parliament  a 
party  perfectly  harmonious  and  distinguished  by  mutual  and 
unbroken  trust.  But  there  is  one  difficulty  which  it  is  impos- 
sible to  remove.  This  party  of  two  is  like  the  Scotch  terrier  that 
was  so  covered  with  hair  that  you  could  not  tell  which  was  the 
head  and  which  was  the  tail.'  This  sally,  which  excited  im- 
moderate laughter,  remains  one  of  the  happiest  examples  of  Parlia- 
mentary retort  and  badinage.  Mr.  Bright  concluded  by  giving 
his  support  to  the  Government  measure,  because  so  far  as  it  went 
it  was  simple  and  honest,  and  because  he  believed  if  it  became 
law  it  would  give  more  solidity  and  duration  to  everything  that 
was  good  in  the  Constitution,  and  to  everything  that  was  noble 
in  the  character  of  these  realms. 

Leave  was  given  to  bring  in  the  bill,  but  hostile  notices  of 
amendment  quickly  poured  in,  the  most  important  being  one 
tabled  by  Earl  Grosvenor,  an  '  Adullamite,'  a  name  which,  after 
Mr.  Bright's  speech,  was  generally  given  to  those  Liberal  mem- 
bers who  withheld  their  support  from  the  Government.  Earl 
Grosvenor's  amendment  was  to  the  effect  that  it  was  inexpedient 
to  consider  the  bill  for  the  reduction  of  the  franchise  until  the 
House  had  before  it  the  whole  scheme  of  the  Government  for  the 
amendment  of  the  representation  of  the  people.  This  amend- 
ment, which  was  hailed  with  delight  by  the  Opposition,  Mr. 
Gladstone  said  he  should  meet  with  a  direct  negative.  Replying, 
the  same  evening,  to  Lord  Robert  Montagu,  who  had  referred  to 
Mr.  Villiers  as  the  '  pretended  friend '  of  the  working  classes,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  retorted  the  phrase  upon  the  noble 
lord  himself,  and  declared  that  if  the  working  men  whom  he  and 
others  seemed  to  dread  as  an  invading  and  destroying  army, 
instead  of  their  own  flesh  and  blood,  were  introduced  into  the 
House,  they  would  set  him  an  example  both  of  courtesy  and 
good  breeding. 


THE    REFORM   BILL    OF    1866.  339 

The  second  reading  of  the  Franchise  Bill  was  fixed  for  an 
early  day  after  the  Easter  recess.  .  During  this  recess  the  Con- 
servative party  met  at  the  residence  of  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury, 
and  decided  upon  strongly  opposing  the  Government  measure. 
In  the  country,  however,  the  bill  excited  different  feelings,  and 
in  many  of  the  large  towns  enthusiastic  demonstrations  were 
held  in  its  favour.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  his  constituents,  Mr. 
Bright  said  that  the  bill  would  pass  if  Birmingham  and  other 
towns  did  their  duty.  He  referred  to  the  Opposition  as  '  a  dirty 
conspiracy,'  and  added,  'The  men  who,  in  every  speech  they 
utter,  insult  the  working  men,  describing  them  as  a  multitude 
given  up  to  ignorance  and  vice,  will  be  the  first  to  yield  when 
the  popular  will  is  loudly  and  resolutely  expressed.'  The  greatest 
interest  was  evoked  by  a  demonstration  at  Liverpool,  at  which 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  Mr. 
Goschen,  and  other  distinguished  persons  were  present.  Mr. 
Gladstone  spoke  with  great  power  and  eloquence.  Having 
expressed  bis  regret  that  immediate  danger  to  the  measure  which 
the  Government  had  introduced  should  proceed  from  a  name 
honoured  in  the  ranks  of  the  aristocracy,  he  made  the  following 
declaration,  which  was  received  by  the  vast  audience  rising  in  a 
body  and  cheering  for  several  minutes : — '  Having  produced  this 
measure,  founded  in  a  spirit  of  moderation,  we  hope  to  support 
it  with  decision.  It  is  not  in  our  power  to  secure  the  passing  of 
the  measure :  that  rests  more  with  you,  and  more  with  those 
whom  you  represent,  and  of  whom  you  are  a  sample,  than  it 
does  with  us.  Still,  we  have  a  great  responsibility,  and  are 
conscious  of  it ;  and  we  do  not  intend  to  flinch  from  it.  We 
stake  ourselves — we  stake  our  existence  as  a  Government — and 
we  also  stake  our  political  character  on  the  adoption  of  the  bill 
in  its  main  provisions.  You  have  a  right  to  expect  from  us 
that  we  should  tell  you  what  we  mean,  and  that  the  trumpet 
which  it  is  our  business  to  blow  should  give  forth  no  uncertain 
sound.  Its  sound  has  not  been,  and,  I  trust,  will  not  be,  uncer- 
tain. We  have  passed  the  Rubicon — we  have  broken  the  bridge, 
and  burned  the  boats  behind  us.  We  have  advisedly  cut  off  the 
means  of  retreat,  and  having  done  this,  we  hope  that,  as  far  as 
time  is  yet  permitted,  we  have  done  our  duty  to  the  Crown  and 
to  the  nation.' 

This  was  a  note  of  preparation  for  the  Liberal  party  in  view 
of  the  coming  struggle.  The  debate  on  the  second  reading  of 
the  bill  commenced  on  the  12th  of  April.  On  no  occasion  since, 
and  seldom  before,  has  such  a  flow  of  eloquence  been  heard 
within  the  walls  of  the  House  of  Commons.  The  debate  was 
continued  for  eight  nights.  It  was  opened  by  the  Chancellor 

z2 


840  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

of  the  Exchequer,  who,  in  moving  the  second  reading  of  the 
Ministerial  measure,  adverted  upon  the  necessity  for  legislating 
on  the  subject,  and  showed  the  propriety  of  proceeding  by 
well-defined  stages.  He  also  warmly  defended  the  working 
classes  from  the  charges  which  had  been  brought  against  them 
of  ignorance,  drunkenness,  venality,  and  violence.  He  com- 
bated the  delusion  of  the  Conservative  party  that  the  bill  was 
adverse  to  their  interests,  regretting  that  they  should  have 
fallen  into  it,  and  created  much  amusement  by  reading  a  passage 
from  the  current  Quarterly  Review,  purporting  to  give  an 
account  of  the  secret  motives  of  the  introduction  of  this  bill, 
which,  by  an  apt  Shakespearian  quotation,  he  characterised  as 
a  '  gross  and  palpable  ficti<  n.'  Mr.  Grindstone  then  replied  in 
detail  to  the  arguments  urge  I  against  the  bill,  and  said  he 
calculated  that  the  working  classes  would  only  have  the  command 
of  120  seats  against  538  elected  by  the  other  classes  in  the  com- 
munity. A  further  reduction  of  the  franchise  would  not  be 
dangerous.  Having  announced  that  the  Government  would  not 
proceed  with  any  other  part  of  their  reform  scheme  until  the 
fate  of  the  present  bill  had  been  determined,  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  replied  to  the  charges  of  Mr.  Lowe,  and  said  there  was 
no  hope  for  England  if  the  picture  which  he  strove  to  draw 
with  his  matchless  power  were  indeed  true.  '  I  thank  the 
House,'  said  the  speaker,  in  conclusion, '  for  the  great  patience 
and  kindness  with  which  it  has  heard  me  on  such  a  subject  as 
this ;  and,  after  what  has  occurred,  it  can  hardly  be  but  that 
men  should  become  warm.  But  let  us  endeavour  to  keep  our 
balance  ;  let  us  recollect  to  look  before  and  after.  In  this  spirit 
I  do  earnestly  entreat  and  conjure  the  House,  on  whichever  side, 
to  remember  that  it  is  not  enough  for  us  now  to  say,  as  we  shall 
soon  be  asked  to  say,  "  We  are  now  ready  to  entertain  the 
question  of  reform  with  a  view  to  its  settlement."  Enough,  and 
more  than  enough,  there  have  been  already  of  barren,  idle, 
mocking  words.  Deeds  are  what  are  wanted.  I  beseech  you  to 
be  wise,  and,  above  all,  to  be  wise  in  time.' 

Earl  Grosvenor  then  moved  his  amendment,  which  was  seconded 
by  Lord  Stanley.  On  the  second  night  of  the  debate  Sir  E. 
Bulwer  Lytton  delivered  a  powerful  speech,  and  one  that  threw 
the  Opposition  into  a  frenzy  of  delight.  He  turned  upon  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  his  phrase  that  the  working  classes 
were  our  own  flesh  and  blood,  and  expressed  his  amazement  that 
he  could  descend  to  a  species  of  argument  so  hollow  in  itself  and 
so  perilous  in  its  logical  deductions.  '  What  has  the  right  hon. 
gentleman,'  demanded  the  hon.  baronet,  '  to  say  to  the  millions 
who  will  ask  him  one  day,  "  Are  we  an  invading  army  ?  Are 


EEFOEM    BUL    OF    186(3.  341 

we  not  fellow-Christians  ?  Are  we  not  your  own  flesh  and 
blood  ?  "  Does  he  think  it  will  be  answer  enough  to  give  that 
kind  of  modified  opinion  which  he  put  forth  last  night,  and  to 
say,  "  Well,  that  is  very  true.  For  my  own  part,  in  my  individual 
capacity,  I  cannot  see  that  there  is  any  danger  of  admitting  you ; 
but  still,  you  know,  it  is  wise  to  proceed  gradually.  A  £7  voter 
is  real  flesh  and  blood.  But  you  are  only  gradual  flesh  and 
blood.  Read  Darwin  on  the  origin  of  species,  and  learn  that 
you  are  fellow-Christians  in  an  imperfect  state  of  development." ' 
He  exhorted  Liberal  members,  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  words,  to  '  be 
wise  in  time,'  and  to  vote  for  the  rejection  of  the  bill. 

Mr.  J.  Stuart  Mill  welcomed  the  bill  as  a  valuable  gain,  and 
professed  himself  entirely  uninfluenced  by  any  terror  of  the 
admission  of  the  working  classes.  Sir  Hugh  Cairns  contended 
that  the  admission  of  the  great  body  of  the  working  classes 
would  disturb  the  balance  of  the  Constitution.  Mr.  Horsman, 
taking  up  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's  phrase  that  the 
Government  had  broken  down  their  bridges  and  burnt  their  boats, 
said  these  were  the  acts  of  desperate  men,  and  were  not  calcu- 
lated to  inspire  confidence.  Mr.  Bright  spoke  at  considerable 
length  in  favour  of  the  measure.  He  demonstrated  that  it  would 
only  admit  116,000  real  working  men,  and  would  give  but  one- 
fourth  of  the  electoral  power  in  the  boroughs  to  the  class  which 
formed  three-quarters  of  the  people,  leaving  four  millions  of  adult 
males  entirely  destitute  of  political  power.  The  Opposition,  in 
rejecting  this  moderate  scheme,  were  either  misled  by  their 
leaders,  or  else  had  driven  their  leaders  into  a  pernicious  course. 
Mr.  Lowe  made  another  brilliant  attack  upon  the  bill.  He  ridi- 
culed the  '  flesh  and  blood  '  argument,  pointed  out  the  danger 
arising  from  the  power  of  the  working  classes  to  combine  for  the 
accomplishment  of  their  objects,  and -prophesied  that,  if  the 
bill  were  adopted,  there  was  no  saying  where  they  would  stop  in 
the  downward  direction  of  democracy.  Democratise  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  the  institutions  which  now  stood  between  it 
and  the  Throne  would  be  swept  away.  In  a  final  appeal  to  the 
House,  Mr.  Lowe  said,  '  Surely  the  heroic  work  of  so  many 
centuries,  the  matchless  achievements  of  so  many  wise  heads  and 
strong  hands,  deserve  a  nobler  consummation  than  to  be  sacri- 
ficed at  the  shrine  of  revolutionary  passion  or  the  maudlin  enthu- 
siasm of  humanity  !  But,  if  we  do  fall,  we  shall  fall  deservedly. 
Uncoerced  by  any  external  force,  not  borne  down  by  any  internal 
calamity,  but  in  the  full  plethora  of  our  wealth  and  the  surfeit  of 
our  too  exuberant  prosperity,  with  our  own  rash  and  inconsiderate 
hands  we  are  about  to  pluck  down  on  our  heads  the  vene- 
rable temple  of  our  liberty  and  our  glory.  History  may  tell  of 


342  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

other  acts  as  signally  disastrous,  but  of  none  more  wanton,  none 
more  disgraceful.'  Lord  Cranborne  said  that  he  would  not  specu- 
late in  the  dark  ;  and  Mr.  Disraeli,  in  a  speech  of  nearly  three 
hours'  duration,  maintained  that  it  was  impossible  to  fathom  the 
effects  of  this  Franchise  Bill  till  the  complete  scheme  was  before 
them.  He  defended  his  party  from  the  charges  brought  against 
it  of  dealing  unfairly  with  this  and  other  questions,  and  con- 
cluded with  an  attack  upon  Mr.  Gladstone,  who,  he  said,  was 
Americanising  our  institutions.  The  House  ought  to  proceed, 
not  upon  the  principle  that  it  was  the  House  of  the  people,  but 
that  it  represented  a  great  political  order  in  the  State,  and  not  an 
indiscriminate  multitude. 

The  most  striking  of  all  the  incidents  of  this  celebrated  debate 
arose  in  connection  with  the  closing  speech  of  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer,  in  which  he  made  some  unpremeditated  and 
pathetic  allusions  to  his  relations  with  the  Liberal  party.  The 
attack  of  the  leader  of  the  Opposition  in  great  measure  led  to 
this  remarkable  passage  in  his  reply.  Rising  at  one  o'clock  in 
the  morning  to  conclude  a  legislative  battle  which  had  begun  a 
fortnight  before,  Mr.  Gladstone — in  his  best  vein,  and  in  a  strain 
of-  eloquence  which  even  his  enemies  allowed  they  had  never 
known  surpassed — proceeded  to  rebut  the  charges  which  had  been 
made  against  the- bill.  'At  last,'  he  said,  alluding  to  a  statement 
by  Mr.  Disraeli,  'we  have,  obtained  a  declaration  from  an  authori- 
tative source  that  a  bill  which,  in  a  country  with  five  millions  of 
adult  males,  proposes  to  add  to  a  limited  constituency  200,000 
of  the  middle-class  and  200,000  of  the  working-class,  is,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  leader  of  the  Tory  party,  a  bill  to  reconstruct  the 
Constitution  upon  American  principles.'  Denying  Mr.  Lowe's 
inference  that  in  certain  observations  of  his  at  a  public  meeting 
he  had  meant  to  disparage  the  members  of  that  House,  Mr. 
Gladstone  said  these  words  referred,  'not  to  the  House  of 
Commons,  but  to  certain  depraved  and  crooked  little  men.'  He 
frankly  owned  that  he  was  speaking  first  and  foremost  of  Mr. 
Lowe,  who  was  opposed  to  Reform  in  any  shape.  Mr.  Gladstone 
then  replied  to  the  various  animadversions  of  Mr.  Disraeli  to 
which  we  have  already  alluded : — 

'  The  right  hon.  gentleman,  secure  in  the  recollection  of  his  own  consistency, 
has  taunted  me  with  the  errors  of  my  boyhood.  When  he  addressed  the  hon. 
member  for  Westminster,  he  showed  his  magnanimity  by  declaring  that  he  would 
not  take  the  philosopher  to  task  for  what  he  wrote  twenty-five  years  ago ;  but 
when  he  caught  one  who,  thirty-six  years  ago,  just  emerged  from  boyhood,  and 
still  an  undergraduate  at  Oxford,  had  expressed  an  opinion  adverse  to  the  Reform 
Bill  of  1832,  of  which  he  had  so  long  and  bitterly  repented,  then  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  could  not  resist  the  temptation.  He,  a  Parliamentary  leader  of  twenty 
years'  standing,  is  so  ignorant  of  the  House  of  Commons,  that  he  positively  thought 
he  got  a  Parliamentary  advantage  by  exhibiting  me  as  an  opponent  of  the  Reform 
Bill  of  1832.  As  the  right  hon.  gentleman  has  exhibited  me,  let  me  exhibit  myself.  It 


THE   REFORM  BILL   01*   1866.  343 

is  true,  I  deeply  regret  it,  but  I  was  bred  under  the  shadow  of  the  great  name  of  Can- 
ning, every  influence  connected  with  that  name  governed  the  politics  of  my  childhood 
and  of  my  youth  ;  with  Canning  I  rejoiced  in  the  removal  of  religious  disabilities, 
and  in  the  character  which  he  gave  to  our  policy  abroad  ;  with  Canning  I  rejoiced 
in  the  opening  which  he  made  towards  the  establishment  of  free  commercial 
interchanges  between  nations ;  with  Canning,  and  under  the  shadow  of  that  great 
name,  and  under  the  shadow  of  that  yet  more  venerable  name  of  Burke,  I  grant, 
my  youthful  mind  and  imagination  were  impressed  just  the  same  as  the  mature 
mind  of  the  right  hon.  gentleman  is  now  impressed.  I  had  conceived  that  fear 
and  alarm  of  the  first  Reform  Bill  in  the  days  of  my  undergraduate  career  at 
Oxford  which  the  right  hon.  gentleman  now  feels ;  and  the  only  difference  between 
us  is  this — I  thank  him  for  bringing  it  out — that,  having  those  views,  I  moved 
the  Oxford  Union  Debating  Society  to  express  them  clearly,  plainly,  forcibly,  in 
downright  English,  and  that  the  right  hon.  gentleman  is  still  obliged  to  skulk 
under  the  cover  of  the  amendment  of  the  noble  lord.  I  envy  him  not  one  particle 
of  the  polemical  advantage  which-  he  has  gained  by  his  discreet  reference  to  the 
proceedings  of  the  Oxford  Union  Debating  Society  in  the  year  of  grace  1831.  My 
position,  sir,  in  regard  to  the  Liberal  party  is  in  all  points  the  opposite  of  Earl 
Russell's.  ...  I  have  none  of  the  claims  he  possesses.  I  came  among  you  an 
outcast  from  those  witli  whom  I  associated,  driven  from  them,  I  admit,  by  no 
arbitrary  act,  but  by  the  slow  and  resistless  forces  of  conviction.  I  came  among  you 
to  make  use  of  the  legal  phraseology,  in  forma  pauperis.  I  had  nothing  to  offer  you 
but  faithful  and  honourable  service.  You  received  me,  as  Dido  received  the  ship- 
wrecked ./Eneas — 

"  Ejectum  littore,  egentem 

Acoepi," 

and  I  only  trust  you  may  not  hereafter  at  any  time  have  to  complete  the  sentence 
in  regard  to  me — 

"  Bt  regnl.  demens,  In  parte  locavi." 

You  received  me  with  kindness,  indulgence,  generosity,  and  I  may  even  say 
with  some  measure  of  confidence.  And  the  relation  between  us  has  assumed  such 
a  form  that  you  can  never  be  my  debtors,  but  that  J  must  for  ever  be  in  your 
debt.  It  is  not  from  me,  under  such  circumstances,  that  an)'  word  will  proceed 
that  can  savour  of  the  character  which  the  right  hon.  gentleman  imputes  to  the 
conduct  of  the  Government  with  respect  to  the  present  bill.' 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  thus  concluded  his  irnpas- 
sioned  speech : — 

'  Sir,  we  are  assailed ;  this  bill  is  in  a  state  of  crisis  and  of  peril,  and  the  Govern- 
ment along  with  it.  We  stand  or  fall  with  it,  as  has  been  declared  by  my  noble  friend 
Lord  Russell.  We  stand  with  it  now  ;  we  may  fall  with  it  a  short  time  hence.  If 
we  do  so  fall,  we,  or  others  in  our  places,  shall  rise  with  it  hereafter.  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  measure  with  precision  the  forces  that  are  to  be  arrayed  against  us  in 
the  coming  issue.  Perhaps  the  great  division  of  to-night  is  not  the  last  that 
must  take  place  in  the  struggle.  At  some  point  of  the  contest  you  may  possibly 
succeed.  You  may  drive  us  from  our  seats.  You  may  bury  the  bill  that  we  have 
introduced,  but  we  will  write  upon  its  gravestone  for  an  epitaph  this  line,  with 
certain  confidence  in  its  f  ulfilment — 

"  Exoriare  aliquis  nostris  ex  oaslbus  ultor.  " 

You  cannot  fight  against  the  future.  Time  is  on  our  side.  The  great  social  forces 
which  move  onwards  in  their  might  and  majesty,  and  which  the  tumult  of  our 
debates  does  not  for  a  moment  impede  or  disturb — those  great  social  forces  are 
against  you:  they  are  marshalled  on  our  side;  and  the  banner  which  we  now 
carry  in'this  fight,  though  perhaps  at  some  moment  it  may  droop  over  our  sinking 
heads,  yet  it  soon  again  will  float  in  the  eye  of  Heaven,  and  it  will  be  borne  by 
the  firm  hands  of  the  united  people  of  the  three  kingdoms,  perhaps  not  to  an  easy, 
but  to  a  certain  and  to  a  not  far  distant  victory.' 

The  division  took  place  under  circumstances  of  the  greatest 


344  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

excitement.  The  Speaker  having  put  the  question,  members 
withdrew.  After  voting,  the  '  Ayes  '  and  the  '  Noes  '  gradually 
found  their  way  to  the  seats  on  the  floor  and  in  the  galleries.  A 
spectator,  describing  the  memorable  scene,  says  that  in  about 
twenty  minutes  a  strange  electric-like  agitation  began  to  mani- 
fest itself.  Mr.  Walpole  whispered  to  Mr.  Disraeli  the  word 
t  Six.'  Shortly  afterwards  Mr.  Brand  appeared,  and  it  was 
known  that  the  strength  of  the  Opposition  was  larger  than  the 
Liberals  had  feared  or  the  Tories  had  hoped.  Mr.  Childers 
rushed  up  the  floor  to  the  Treasury  bench,  and,  in  a  tone  of  dis- 
appointment, uttered  the  word  '  Five '  to  Mr.  Gladstone.  Mr. 
Adam,  the  Government  teller,  now  emerged  upon  the  scene. 
The  House  was  charged  with  electricity  like  a  vast  thundercloud  ; 
and  now  the  spark  was  about  to  be  applied.  Strangers  rose  in 
their  seats,  the  crowd  at  the  bar  pushed  half-way  up  the  House, 
the  Koyal  Princes  leaned  forward  in  their  standing  places,  and  all 
was  confusion.  The  tellers  walked  up  the  floor  and  made  due 
obeisance  to  the  chair.  Then,  loudly  and  distinctly,  Mr.  Brand 
read  out  the  numbers  as  follows : — Ayes  to  the  right,  318  ;  Noes 
to  the  left,  313.  The  majority  for  the  Government  was  accord- 
ingly five.  What  followed  is  best  described  in  the  language  of 
the  spectator  just  mentioned :  — 

'  Hardly  had  the  words  left  the  teller's  lips  than  there  arose  a  wild,  raging,  mad- 
brained  shout  from  floor  and  gallery  such  as  has  never  been  heard  in  the  present 
House  of  Commons.  Dozens  of  half-frantic  Tories  stood  up  in  their  seats,  madly 
waved  their  hats,  and  hurrahed  at  the  top  of  their  voices.  Strangers  in  both  gal- 
leries clapped  their  hands.  The  Adullamites  on  the  Ministerial  benches,  carried  away 
by  the  delirium  of  the  moment,  waved  their  hats  in  sympathy  with  the  Opposition, 
and  cheered  as  loudly  as  any.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  in  his  speech,  had 
politely  performed  the  operation  of  holding  a  candle  to — Lucifer  (Mr.  Lowe);  and 
he,  the  prince  of  the  revolt,  the  leader,  instigator,  and  prime  mover  of  the  conspiracy, 
stood  up  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment — flushed,  triumphant,  and  avenged. 
His  hair,  brighter  than  silver,  shone  and  glistened  in  the  brilliant  light.  His  com- 
plexion had  deepened  into  something  like  bishop's  purple.  His  small,  regular,  and 
almost  woman-like  features,  always  instinct  with  intelligence,  now  mantled  with 
the  liveliest  pleasure.  He  took  off  his  hat,  waved  it  in  wide  and  triumphant  circles 
over  the  heads  of  the  very  men  who  had  just  gone  into  the  lobby  against  him. 
"  Who  would  have  thought  there  was  so  much  in  Bob  Lowe  ?  '•'  said  one  member  to 
another ;  "  why,  he  was  one  of  the  cleverest  men  in  Lord  Palmerston's  Government ! " 
"  All  this  comes  of  Lord  Russell's  sending  for  Goschen,"  was  the  reply.  "Disraeli 
did  not  half  so  signally  avenge  himself  against  Peel,"  interposed  another ;  "  Lowe  has 
very  nearly  broken  up  the  Liberal  party."  These  may  seem  to  be  exaggerated 
estimates  of  the  situation  ;  but  in  that  moment  of  agitation  and  excitement  I  dare 
Bay  a  hundred  sillier  tilings  were  said  and  agreed  to.  Anyhow,  there  he  stood,  that 
usually  cold,  undemonstrative,  intellectual,  white-headed,  red-faced,  venerable-look- 
ing arch-conspirator !  shouting  himself  hoarse,  like  the  ringleader  of  schoolboys  at 
a  successful  barring-out,  and  amply  repaid  at  that  moment  for  all  Skye-terrier  witti- 
cismsand  any  amount  of  popular  obloquy  !  But  see,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
lifts  up  his  hand  to  bespeak  silence,  as  if  he  had  something  to  say  in  regard  to  the 
result  of  the  division.  But  the  more  the  great  orator  lifts  his  hand  beseechingly, 
the  more  the  cheers  are  renewed  and  the  hats  waved.  At  length  the  noise  comes 
to  an  end  by  the  process  of  exhaustion,  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  rises. 
Then  there  is  a  universal  hush,  and  you  might  hear  a  pin  drop.  He  simply  says, 
"  Sir,  I  propose  to  fix  the  committee  for  Monday,  and  1  will  then  state  the  order  of 


THE    REFORM    BILL    OF    1866.  345 

business."  Itwa?  twilight,  brightening  in!o  day,  when  we  got  out  into  the -welcome 
fresh  air  of  New  Palace  Yard.  Early  as  was  the  hour,  about  three  hundred  persons 
were  assembled  to  see  the  members  come  out,  and  to  cheer  the  friends  of  the  bill. 
It  was  a  night  to  be  long  remembered.  The  House  of  Commons  had  listened  to  the 
grandest  oration  ever  yet  delivered  by  the  greatest  orator  of  his  age ;  and  had  then 
to  ask  itself  how  it  happened  that  the  Liberal  party  had  been  disunited,  and  a 
Liberal  majority  of  sixty  "  muddled  away." ' 

Few  could  anticipate  at  this  time  that  there  would  be  a  swift 
and  irresistible  appeal  from  '  Philip  drunk  to  Philip  sober,'  and 
that  in  the  course  of  one  short  year  a  Conservative  Government 
would  find  itself  compelled  to  take  up  that  very  question  of 
Reform  whose  virtual  defeat  its  opponents  now  hailed  with  such 
intoxicated  expressions  of  delight.  That  the  Liberal  majority 
on  this  question  had  been  i  muddled  away,  was  certainly  not  Mr. 
Gladstone's  fault,  for  if  matchless  eloquence  could  have  retained 
it,  his  address  was  well  calculated  to  achieve  this  end.  He  was 
more  than  equal  to  a  task  that  might  well  have  discouraged  any 
Parliamentary  leader  '  Those  who  read  his  speech,'  wrote  one 
who  listened  to  it,  '  must  be  struck  with  its  marvellous  power, 
breadth,  and  comprehensiveness ;  its  dignity,  its  spirit,  its  pathos, 
its  tact,  as  displayed  in  his  deference  to  the  Opposition  as  a 
great  party ;  his  touching  appeal  to  the  Liberal  party  to  forget 
the  smallness  of  his  claims  to  be  their  leader ,  his  confidence  that 
time  was  with  him  as  the  conductor  of  this  great  question, 
conveyed  in  an  ordinary  metaphor,  made  brilliant  by  the 
language  in  which  it  was  expressed,  and  which  formed  the  last 
sentence  of  his  speech.  But  really  to  appreciate  the  effect  you 
must,  as  ^Eschines  said  of  Demosthenes,  have  heard  him.  The 
sustainment  of  voice  and  power  were  equalled  only  by  the  infinite 
variety  of  the  manner,  the  fine  spirit,  and  the  moral  earnestness 
which  pervaded  it.  It  may  not  be  the  highest  praise,  but  it 
must  be  said  that  it  was  a  speech  which  was  not  Gladstonian 
proper — that  is,  it  was  one  that  came  from  Mr.  Gladstone 
purified  from  his  little  defects,  and  elevated  by  the  force  of  the 
situation  to  the  very  perfection  of  oratory,  and,  better  still,  of 
Parliamentary  management.  If  ever  a  speech  influenced,  in  the 
sense  of  overwhelming  an  organised  Opposition,  this  one  did  just 
that.  The  division  list  revealed  how,  and  why,  the  Liberal 
majority  had  dwindled  away  With  the  Government  there  voted 
only  two  Conservatives,  but  against  them  there  were  arrayed 
thirty-one  Liberals  and  282  Conservatives.  The  cause  of  Reform 
had  been  deserted  by  its  professed  friends.  This  division  was 
reported  as  the  largest  which  ever  took  place  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  Six  hundred  and  thirty-one  members  .ictually  voted, 
and  two  paired.  This  only  left  twenty-five  members,  out  of  the 
entire  number  of  which  the  House  was  composed,  to  be  accounted 


§46  WILLIAM    EWARt    GLADSTONE. 

for.  Eleven  seats  were  vacant,  and  there  were  absent — mostly 
from  serious  illness — thirteen  members,  chiefly  Liberals.  These 
various  classes,  with  the  Speaker,  constituted  the  full  House. 

When  the  House  met  on  the  30th  of  April,  the  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  stated  that  the  Government  saw  nothing  in  the 
recent  division  to  prevent  them  from  going  on  with  their  bill. 
Both  sides  had  agreed  to  the  principle  of  a  reduction  of  the 
franchise.  A  few  days  later,  Mr.  Gladstone  introduced  the 
Government  measure  for  the  redistribution  of  seats.  It  proposed, 
by  grouping  together  a  number  of  small  boroughs,  giving  one  or 
two  representatives  only  to  each  group,  to  gain  forty-one  seats, 
and  eight  others  were  to  be  reduced  to  one  representative  each, 
making  a  total  of  forty -nine.  Where  the  population  of  a  group 
was  less  than  15,000,  there  would  be  one  member;  and  where  it 
was  above  15,000,  there  would  be  two  members  for  the  group. 
The  seats  thus  gained  it  was  proposed  to  distribute  among 
populous  counties  to  the  number  of  twenty-six ;  to  give  an  extra 
representative  to  Liverpool,  Manchester,  Birmingham,  Leeds, 
and  Salford ;  to  divide  the  Tower  Hamlets  into  two  divisions, 
with  two  members  each ;  to  create  seven  new  electoral  boroughs 
with  one  member  each ;  and  one  new  borough,  Kensington  and 
Chelsea,  with  two ;  and  to  give,  moreover,  seven  seats  to  Scotland. 
Leave  was  also  given  to  bring  in  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Keform 
Bills. 

Mr.  Gladstone  intimated  that  the  Government  would  not 
advise  a  prorogation  of  .Parliament  until  both  questions,  viz., 
that  of  the  Franchise  and  that  of  Eedistribution,  had  been  dis- 
posed of.  The  second  reading  of  the  Kedistribution  Bill  was 
carried  on  the  14th  of  May  without  a  division,  but  Mr.  Disraeli 
took  the  opportunity  of  severely  criticising  the  course  of  the 
Government.  The  House  and  the  country,  he  said,  were  in 
ignorance  how  to  proceed,  and  ignorance  could  never  settle  any- 
thing. The  House  must  come  forward  and  help  the  Government, 
and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  must  recross  the  Eubicon, 
build  up  his  bridges,  and  reconstruct  his  boats.  After  the  Whitsun 
holidays  the  debates  were  renewed  with  vigour.  Sir  K.  Knightley 
moved,  'That  it  be  an  instruction  to  the  Committee  on  the 
Franchise  Bill  to  make  provision  for  the  prevention  of  corruption 
and  bribery  at  elections.'  The  motion  was  carried  by  a  majority 
of  ten  against  the  Government,  whereupon  Mr.  Gladstone  some- 
what unnerved  Sir  K.  Knightley  by  saying  they  would  wait  for 
the  production  of  his  scheme.  Those  who  had  anticipated  that 
the  result  of  this  division  would  wreck  the  Ministerial  scheme 
were  disappointed.  A  more  formidable  issue  was  raised  by  Captain 
Hayter's  resolution,  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  House  the  system 


THE    EEFORM    BILL    OF    1866.  347 

of  grouping  proposed  by  the  Government  was  neither  convenient 
nor  equitable,  nor  sufficiently  matured  to  form  the  basis  of  a 
satisfactory  measure.  A  long  debate  ensued,  in  the  course  of 
which  Mr.  John  Stuart  Mill  said,  with  reference  to  an  allegation 
that  he  had  called  the  Conservatives  the  stupidest  of  parties,  '  I 
never  meant  to  say  that  the  Conservatives  are  generally  stupid. 
I  meant  to  say  that  stupid  persons  are  generally  Conservative.' 
This  amended  phrase,  conveying  no  more  grateful  compliment 
than  its  predecessor,  was,  of  course,  strongly  resented  by  the 
Opposition. 

Mr.  Lowe  made  another  vigorous  and  clever  onslaught  upon 
the  bill.  After  criticising  its  provisions  and  also  the  system 
of  '  grouping '  in  the  Redistribution  Bill,  he  came  to  more  per- 
sonal matters.  Mr.  Bright  standing  upon  the  Constitution,  he 
remarked,  put  him  in  mind  of  an  American  squib : 

'  Here  we  stand  upon  the  Constitution,  by  thunder, 
It's  a  fact  of  which  there  are  bushels  of  proofs ; 

For  how  could  we  trample  upon  it,  I  wonder, 
If  it  wasn't  continually  under  our  hoofs  ? ' 

After  1860,  the  honour  of  the  Government  on  the  question  of 
Reform  went  to  sleep  for  five  years.  '  Session  after  session  it 
never  so  much  as  winked.  As  long  as  Lord  Palmerston  lived 
honour  slept  soundly ;  but  when  Lord  Palmerston  died,  and  Lord 
Russell  succeeded  by  seniority  to  his  place,  the  "  sleeping  beauty  " 
woke  up.'  It  became  necessary  to  have  a  Reform  Bill.  Mr.  Lowe 
closed  with  another  prediction  of  ruin  to  the  Constitution.  '  To 
precipitate  a  decision  in  the  case  of  a  single  human  life  would 
be  cruel.  It  is  more  than  cruel,  it  is  parricide  in  the  case  of  the 
Constitution,  which  is  the  life  and  soul  of  this  great  nation.  If 
it  is  to  perish,  as  all  human  things  must  perish,  give  it  at  any 
rate  time  to  gather  its  robe  about  it,  and  to  fall  with  decency 
and  deliberation — 

" To-morrow  !    0  that's  sudden !  spare  it!  spare  it! 
It  ought  not  so  to  die ! "" 

Earl  Grosvenor  made  an  appeal  to  Captain  Hayter  to  withdraw 
his  motion,  on  the  ground  that  its  success  might  lead  to  the 
breaking-up  of  the  Government,  which  in  the  present  state  of 
European  politics  would  be  a  great  misfortune  to  the  country, 
as  it  would  involve  the  loss  of  Lord  Clarendon's  services.  This 
drew  from  Mr.  Disraeli  a  severe  attack  upon  the  policy  of  Lord 
Clarendon.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  not  a  single  objection  had 
been  made  which  went  to  the  root  of  the  bill,  or  which  could  not 
be  dealt  with  in  committee.  The  bill  was  only  the  application 
of  the  principles  of  1832,  and  he  warned  the  Opposition  that  any 


348  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

triumph  wi^n  they  might  gain  now  would  recoil  with  tenfold 
force  on  themselves.  Much  to  the  annoyance  of  the  Opposition, 
but  greatly  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  supporters  of  the  Govern- 
ment, Captain  Hayter  withdrew  his  resolution.  A  strange  scene 
thereupon  occurred.  The  bulk  of  the  Opposition  hurried  out  of 
the  House  to  avoid  a  division,  when  the  Speaker  put  the  usual 
question.  The  amendment  was  then  negatived  without  a 
dissentient  voice. 

But  more  serious  peril  still  awaited  the  measure.  After  several 
abortive  resolutions  an  amendment  was  proposed  by  Lord  Dun- 
kellin,  which  proved  fatal  to  the  existence  of  the  bill,  and  led  to 
the  resignation  of  the  Government.  His  lordship  proposed  that 
the  borough  franchise  should  be  based  on  rating  instead  of  rental, 
as  being  a  more  convenient  and  constitutional  principle.  The 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  strongly  opposed  the  motion  on  the 
grounds,  first,  that  it  involved  a  limitation  of  the  franchise, 
and,  secondly,  that  there  were  grave  practical  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  the  operation  of  the  principle. 

The  discussion  upon  this  amendment  had  an  unlooked-for 
result.  The  Government  were  placed  in  a  minority  of  11,  the 
numbers  being — For  the  amendment,  315 ;  against,  304.  The 
Opposition  were  in  a  paroxysm  of  delight,  and  the  scene  almost 
equalled  in  excitement  that  which  occurred  after  the  division 
upon  the  second  reading  of  the  bill.  The  Adullamites  and  a 
large  number  of  the  Conservatives  were  irrepressible  in  their  enthu- 
siasm. The  clerk  having  handed  the  paper  to  Lord  Dunkellin, 
it  was  obvious  which  way  the  division  had  gone  ;  but  a  storm  of 
cheers  from  the  Conservative  benches  prevented  the  numbers  from 
being  read  out  for  a  minute  or  two.  When  the  majority  of  eleven 
against  the  Government  became  known,  there  was  witnessed  an 
unparliamentary  scene,  viz.,  waving  of  hats,  clapping  of  hands, 
and  other  demonstrations  both  by  the  Opposition  and  strangers 
who  sympathised  with  them. 

The  Opposition  had  at  length  succeeded  in  their  hostility  to 
Keform  and  to  the  Ministry.  On  the  following  day,  the  19th  of 
June,  Earl  Eussell  in  the  Lords  and  Mr.  Gladstone  in  the  Com- 
mons announced  that,  in  consequence  of  their  late  defeat,  the 
Government  had  felt  it  to  be  their  duty  to  make  a  communi- 
cation to  her  Majesty.  On  the  26th  fuller  explanations  were 
furnished  in  both  Houses.  In  the  Lords,  Earl  Kussell  stated 
that  Ministers  had  tendered  their  resignations,  to  which  they  had 
adhered  notwithstanding  an  appeal  from  the  Queen  to  reconsider 
their  determination.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Gladstone 
defended  the  Government  for  their  resolve  to  stand  or  fall  by  the 
bill,  and  exj  .ained  at  length  the  circumstances  which  led  to 


THE    EEFOEM    BILL    OF    1866.  349 

that  declaration.  Such  a  pledge,  he  admitted,  was  one  which  a 
Government  should  rarely  give.  *  It  was  the  last  weapon  in  the 
armoury  of  the  Government :  it  should  not  be  lightly  taken  down 
from  the  walls  ;  and  if  it  is  taken  down,  it  should  not  be  lightly 
replaced,  nor  till  it  has  served  the  purposes  it  was  meant  to  fulfil. 
The  pledge  had  been  given,  however,  under  the  deepest  convic- 
tion of  public  duty,  and  had  the  effect  of  making  them  use  every 
effort  in  their  power  to  avoid  offence,  to  conciliate,  support,  and 
unite,  instead  of  distracting.' 

Earl  Russell  thus  ceased  to  be  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  and 
the  Earl  of  Derby  reigned  in  his  stead.  The  Conservative  leader 
endeavoured  unsuccessfully  to  obtain  the  active  support  of  the 
Adullamites,  and  a  purely  Conservative  Government  consequently 
came  into  office,  under  difficulties  which  would  have  daunted 
almost  any  political  chief  save  *  the  Eupert  of  debate.' 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


The  Reform  Agitation — Statement  by  the  Premier — Demonstration  in  Hyde  Park 
— Meetings  in  the  Provinces — Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Liberal  Party — The 
Ministerial  Reform  Scheme — Debate  on  the  Second  Reading — Mr.  Gladstone's 
Is'ine  Points — The  Bill  transformed — Protest  by  Lord  Cranborne — His  attack  on 
Mr.  Disraeli — Speech  of  Mr.  Lowe — Mr  Disraeli  'educates'  his  Party — Becomes 
Prime  Minister — The  Abyssinian  Expedition — Scotch  and  Irish  Reform  Bills — 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Compulsory  Church  Rates  Abolition  Bill — Liberal  and  Conser- 
vative Finance — The  Irish  Church  Question — Important  Declaration  by  Mr. 
Gladstone  —  His  Disestablishment  Resolutions  —  Address  of  the  Mover  —  Mr. 
Disraeli's  Reply  —  His  Retorts  upon  Lord  Cranborne  and  Mr.  Lowe  —  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Motion  carried  by  a  large  Majority — Conduct  of  the  Government — 
Ministerial  Explanations — The  Suspension  Bill  passes  the  Commons — General 
Election — Mr.  Gladstone  is  defeated  in  South-west  Lancashire — Is  elected  for 
Greenwich — Great  Liberal  Triumph  throughout  the  Country — Resignation  of  Mr. 
Disraeli — Mr.  Gladstone  becomes  Premier. 

THE  fall  of  Lord  Russell's  Ministry,  with  the  necessary  post- 
ponement of  the  Reform  question,  led  to  a  series  of  demonstra- 
tions in  London  and  the  provinces.  At  a  meeting  held  in 
Trafalgar  Square — which  was  attended  by  about  10,000  persons — 
the  ex-Premier  was  censured  for  not  having  dissolved  Parliament. 
A  few  days  later,  Lord  Derby,  in  explaining  the  policy  of  the  new 
Ministry  in  the  House  of  Lords,  said  that  nothing  would  give 
him  greater  pleasure  than  to  see  a  very  considerable  portion  of 
the  class  now  excluded  admitted  to  the  franchise ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  was  afraid  that  the  portion  of  the  community 
who  were  most  clamorous  for  the  passing  of  a  Reform  Bill, 
were  not  that  portion  who  would  be  satisfied  with  any  measure 
such  as  could  be  approved  of  by  the  two  great  political  parties  in 
the  country.  The  Government  reserved  to  themselves  the  most 
entire  liberty  upon  this  subject.  Meanwhile  the  authorities 
prohibited  the  holding  of  public  meetings  in  Hyde  Park,  though 
the  Home  Secretary,  Mr.  Walpole,  stated  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons that  there  was  nothing  in  the  notice  signed  by  Sir  Richard 
Mayne  to  imply  that  processions,  orderly  conducted,  were  illegal. 
The  council  of  the  Reform  League  received  great  encouragement 
to  persevere  in  their  intentions  from  Mr-  Bright,  who  wrote,  *  If 
a  public  meeting  in  a  public  park  is  denied  you,  and  if  millions 
of  intelligent  and  honest  men  are  denied  the  franchise,  on  what 


THE    EEFOEM    AND    IEISH    CHURCH    QUESTIONS.  351 

foundation  do  our  liberties  rest,  or  is  there  in  this  country  any 
liberty  but  the  toleration  of  the  ruling  class  ?  '  On  the  23rd  of 
July  a  riot  occurred  in  Hyde  Park  in  consequence  of  the  order  of 
the  Government  being  carried  out  against  the  proposed  demon- 
stration of  the  League.  The  Keformers  marched  in  procession 
to  the  Marble  Arch,  but  were  repulsed  by  the  police  in  their 
efforts  to  enter  the  park.  The  leaders  then  returned  to  Trafalgar 
Square,  where  resolutions  were  passed  thanking  Mr.  Gladstone, 
Mr.  Bright,  and  others,  for  remaining  faithful  to  the  cause  of 
Keform.  At  this  time,  however,  a  scene  of  great  violence  was 
proceeding  in  Hyde  Park.  The  mob  tore  down  the  railings  and 
entered  the  enclosure,  with  loud  cheering  and  waving  of  hats 
and  handkerchiefs.  Attacks  upon  the  police  by  the  mob,  and 
vice  versa,  ensued ;  a  number  of  persons  were  seriously  injured, 
and  disastrous  consequences  were  apprehended,  when  fortunately 
order  was  restored  by  the  intervention  of  a  body  of  Life  Guards. 
On  the  25th  the  Home  Secretary  received  a  deputation  from  the 
Keform  League,  when  he  gave  an  undertaking  that  if  the 
Eeformers  would  only  use  the  park  in  a  legal  and  peaceable  way 
there  should  be  no  display  of  military  or  police.  Mr.  Walpole 
became  deeply  affected  during  this  interview.  The  spectacle  of  a 
Home  Secretary  in  tears  so  greatly  disturbed  the  gravity  of  the 
press  that  many  of  the  journals  demanded  a  sterner  guardian  oi 
the  public  order. 

Parliament  was  prorogued  on  the  10th  of  August,  but  the 
Reform  demonstrations  continued  through  the  whole  of  the  recess. 
A  meeting  was  held  at  Brookfields,  near  Birmingham,  the 'num- 
ber attending  being  estimated  at  250,000.  At  a  second  meeting 
in  the  Town  Hall  the  same  evening,  Mr.  Bright  urged  his  hearers 
to  press  on  in  their  agitation  for  restoring  the  British  Constitu- 
tion with  all  its  freedom  to  the  British  people.  The  language 
held  by  some  of  the  prominent  friends  of  Reform  was  not  always 
discreet,  and  Lord  Derby  and  Mr.  Lowe  were  especially  subjected 
to  violent  attacks  out  of  doors.  Mr.  Gladstone  alone,  at  this 
juncture,  amongst  the  popular  leaders  on  the  Reform  question, 
appears  to  have  preserved  a  calm  and  dignified  attitude.  While 
defending  the  proceedings  of  the  late  Government,  in  a  speech 
delivered  at  Salisbury,  he  promised  that  a  fair  consideration 
should  be  given  to  any  well-digested  scheme  brought  forward  by 
their  successors,  provided  it  was  introduced  promptly  and  showed 
a  spirit  of  moderation  and  justice.  Complaints  were  at  this  time 
made  against  Mr,  Gladstone's  leadership  of  the  Liberal  party: 
but  Mr.  Grant  Duff  interpreted  the  feeling  of  the  bulk  of  his 
supporters  when  he  remarked  of  the  right  hon.  gentleman,  'He 
has  a  horrible  foreboding,  that — to  use  his  own  words — time  is 


352  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

on  the  side  of  those  very  politicians  who,  when  he  started  in 
public  life,  were  at  the  opposite  pole  of  the  political  sphere, 
against  whom  all  the  strength  of  his  youth  and  of  his  manhood 
was  directed.  Read  his  early  speeches,  study  his  early  books ;  he 
has  travelled  far  since  then,  and  may  well  murmur  from  time  to 
time  at  that  destiny  which  may  lead  him,  before  he  dies,  like 
the  Sicambrian  *  of  old,  to  burn  what  he  adored,  and  to  adore 
that  which  he  burnt.' 

The  .Reform  demonstrations  proceeded,  as  we  have  already 
observed,  with  little  intermission,  until  the  opening  of  Parliament, 
on  the  5th  of  February  in  the  following  year  (1867).  The  strong 
feeling  pervading  all  classes  in  favour  of  a  settlement  of  the  Fran- 
chise question  had  its  due  weight  with  the  Government,  and, 
notwithstanding  Lord  Derby's  previous  declaration,  the  Queen's 
Speech  once  more  promised  that  attention  should  be  called  to  the 
representation  of  the  people  in  Parliament.  In  the  debate  on  the 
Address,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the  interests  of  the  country 
demanded  a  speedy  settlement  of  the  question ;  and  it  was  the 
duty  of  Parliament  to  accept,  wherever  they  could  get  it,  a 
measure  which  would  be  adequate  to  the  just  expectations  of  the 
country.  On  the  llth  Mr.  Disraeli  announced  the  intentions  of 
the  Government.  He  stated  that  it  was  proposed  to  proceed  by 
way  of  resolutions,  which  he  now  tabled  ;  but  objections  were 
raised  to  this  novel  mode  of  dealing  with  the  subject,  and  com- 
plaints were  made  that  no  precise  details  were  furnished  in  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's  resolutions.  On  the  25th,  accord- 
ingly $  Mr.  Disraeli  disclosed  his  scheme  with  greater  fulness.  He 
proposed,  he  said,  to  reduce  the  occupation  franchise  in  boroughs 
to  a  £6  rating  ;  in  counties  to  £20 ;  the  franchise  was  also  to  be 
extended  to  any  person  having  £50  in  the  funds,  or  £30  in  a 
savings-bank  for  a  year.  Payment  of  £20  of  direct  taxes  would 
also  be  a  title  to  the  franchise,  as  would  a  university  degree. 
Votes  would  further  be  given  to  clergymen,  ministers  of  religion 
generally,  members  of  the  learned  professions,  and  certificated 
schoolmasters.  It  was  proposed  to  disfranchise  Yarmouth,  Lan- 
caster, Reigate,  and  Totnes,  and  to  take  one  member  each  from 
twenty-three  boroughs  with  less  than  7,000  inhabitants.  The 
House  would  have  thirty  seats  to  dispose  of,  and  it  was  proposed 
to  allot  fourteen  of  them  to  new  boroughs  in  the  northern  and 
midland  districts,  fifteen  to  counties,  and  one  to  the  London 
University.  The  second  division  of  the  Tower  Hamlets  would 
return  two  members,  and  several  new  county  divisions  named 

*  An  allusion  to  Clovis,  the  founder  of  the  French  Monarchy,  who  was  converted 
to  Christianity.  Being  baptised  by  St.  Remi,  the  latter  exclaimed,  as  he  poured 
upon  the  neck  of  Clovis  the  sacred  oil,  '  Humble  thyself,  fierce  Sicamber  ;  adore 
•what  thou  didst  burn,  and  burn  that  which  thou  hast  adored.' 


THE    EEFOEM    AND    IEISH    CHURCH    QUESTIONS.  353 

would  have  two  additional  members  each.  The  scheme  would 
add  212,000  voters  to  the  borough,  and  206,500  to  the  county 
constituencies. 

Mr.  Lowe  demanded  a  simple  bill  which  would  bring  the  ques- 
tion fairly  to  an  issue.  He  was  ashamed  to  hear  addressed  to 
him,  as  a  658th  part  of  the  House,  such  language  as  this : — ''If 
the  House  will  deign  to  take  us  into  its  counsel,  if  it  will  co- 
operate with  us  in  this  matter,  we  shall  receive  with  cordiality, 
with  deference — nay,  even  with  gratitude — any  suggestion  it 
Jikes  to  offer.  Say  what  you  like  to  us,  only  for  God's  sake  leave 
us  our  places  ! '  Mr.  Bright  and  Mr.  Gladstone  enforced  the  diffi- 
culty of  proceeding  by  vague  resolutions.  On  the  following  day 
a  meeting  of  the  Opposition  was  held,  attended  by  289  members, 
when  it  was  agreed  to  support  an  amendment  with  the  object  of 
setting  aside  the  resolutions,  and  urging  the  Government  to  pro- 
ceed at  once  by  bill.  Seeing  the  manifest  feeling  of  the  House, 
Mr.  Disraeli,  the  same  evening,  announced  that  the  Government 
would  abandon  the  method  of  proceeding  by  resolutions,  and  would 
introduce  a  bill  on  the  earliest  possible  day.  Three  Ministers — 
General  Peel,  the  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  and  Lord  Cranborne — 
resigned  office  in  consequence  of  the  decision  of  the  Government 
to  bring  in  what  they  deemed  to  be  an  advanced  Beform  Bill. 
On  the  18th  the  scheme  was  introduced.  Mr.  Disraeli  said  that 
its  principles  were  that  in  boroughs  the  electors  should  be  all  who 
paid  rates,  or  twenty  shillings  in  direct  taxes ;  the  franchise  would 
also  be  extended  to  certain  classes  qualified  by  education,  or  by 
the  possession  of  a  stated  amount  in  the  Funds,  or  in  savings 
banks — rated  householders  to  have  a  second  vote.  The  re-distri- 
bution of  seats  would  be  on  the  lines  already  specified.  To  guard 
against  the  power  of  mere  numbers,  it  was  proposed  to  establish 
a  system  of  checks,  based  on  residence,  rating,  and  dual  voting. 
Mr.  Gladstone  strongly  condemned  these  securities  as  illusions 
or  frauds,  which  would  be  abandoned  whenever  it  suited  the 
Ministry ;  and  he  also  predicted  that  a  lodger  franchise  would 
have  to  be  added  to  the  bill.  Lord  Cranborne  maintained  that 
if  the  Conservative  party  accepted  the  bill  they  would  be 
committing  political  suicide. 

In  the  debate  on  the  second  reading,  Mr.  Gladstone  cited 
nine  defects  in  the  bill  which  called  for  amendment,  and  Mr. 
Bright  described  the  measure  as  bearing  upon  its  face  marks  of 
deception  and  disappointment.  The  leader  of  the  Conservative 
party  in  the  House  of  Commons  speedily  allowed  it  to  be  seen 
that  he  was — to  use  a  word  current  at  the  time — '  squeezable ' 
upon  the  measure.  The  second  reading  was  carried  without  a 
division.  We  do  not  propose  to  follow  the  course  of  the  long 

A  A 


354  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

and  acrimonious  debates  which  ensued  in  committee,  when  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  met  with  severe  taunts  from  many 
of  his  own  followers.  During  the  debate  on  clause  3,  Mr.  Beres- 
ford  Hope  made  an  allusion  to  the  Tadpoles  and  Tapers  of  certain 
amusing  story-books,  and  declared  that,  *  sink  or  swim,  dissolution 
or  no  dissolution,  whether  he  was  in  the  next  Parliament  or  out 
of  it,  he  for  one,  with  his  whole  heart  and  conscience,  would  vote 
against  the  Asian  mystery.'  Mr.  Disraeli  retorted  that  when  the 
hon.  member  talked  about  an  Asian  mystery,  there  were  Batavian 
graces  in  all  he  said,  which  he  noticed  with  satisfaction,  and  which 
charmed  him. 

A  division  arose  amongst  the  Liberal  members  at  this  time, 
which  resulted  in  the  temporary  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
from  the  leadership  of  the  party.  It  shortly  afterwards  appeared, 
however,  that  Mr.  Gladstone  did  not  intend  to  abandon  the  post 
of  leader  altogether,  but  that,  in  consequence  of  the  decision  of 
the  House  in  favour  of  a  direct  and  personal  payment  of  rates  by 
the  householder  as  essential  to  the  franchise,  he  would  personally 
desist  from  attempting  to  alter  the  basis  of  the  bill,  though  he 
would  still  vote  with  his  party  on  any  amendments  which  they 
might  bring  forward  for  securing  a  still  further  extension  of  the 
franchise. 

Mr.  Bright,  speaking  of  Mr.  Gladstone  at  a  Keform  demonstra- 
tion in  Birmingham,  said  that  since  1832  there  had  been  no 
man  of  his  rank  as  a  statesman  who  had  imported  into  the 
Keform  question  so  much  of  conviction,  of  earnestness,  and  of 
zeal.  *  Who  is  there  in  the  House  of  Commons,'  he  demanded, 
'  who  equals  him  in  knowledge  of  all  political  questions  ?  Who 
equals  him  in  earnestness  ?  Who  equals  him  in  eloquence  ?  Who 
equals  him  in  courage  and  fidelity  to  his  convictions  ?  If  these 
gentlemen  who  say  they  will  not  follow  him  have  any  one  who  is 
equal,  let  them  show  him.  If  they  can  point  out  any  statesman 
who  can  add  dignity  and  grandeur  to  the  stature  of  Mr.  Gladstone, 
let  them  produce  him.'  Shortly  afterwards  deputations  from 
various  parts  of  the  country,  accompanied  by  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, waited  upon  Mr.  Gladstone  to  present  addresses  expressive 
of  confidence  in  him  as  the  Liberal  leader. 

The  changes  effected  in  the  Reform  Bill  on  its  passage  through 
committee  were  so  great,  as  to  lead  almost  to  an  entire  trans- 
formation of  the  measure.  The  Government  were  defeated  on 
an  amendment  restricting  the  residence  in  boroughs  to  twelve 
months,  while  a  lodger  franchise  was  secured  on  the  motion  of 
Mr.  Torrens.  A  great  difficulty  arose  with  respect  to  the  com- 
pound householder,  whose  case  gave  rise  to  protracted  discus- 
sions; but  ultimately,  on  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Hodgkinson, 


THE    REFOEM    AND    IEISH    CHUECH    QtJESTIONS.  355 

it  was  decided  to  abolish  composition  altogether  in  Parliamen- 
tary.boroughs.  The  occupation  franchise  in  counties  was  lowered 
from  £15,  the  sum  proposed  by  the  bill,  to  £12.  The  'fancy* 
franchises — the  education  and  tax-paying  clauses  -were  struck 
out.  The  borougbs  of  Lancaster,  Eeigate,  and  Great  Yarmouth 
were  disfranchised  for  gross  bribery  ;  and  considerable  modifica- 
tions were  secured  in  the  clauses  relating  to  the  redistribution  of 
seats.  The  clause  providing  for  the  use  of  voting  papers  at  elec- 
tions was  struck  out ;  and  a  third  member  was  added  to  the 
representation  of  Liverpool,  Manchester,  Birmingham,  and 
Leeds.  Mr.  Lowe  was  defeated  on  his  proposal  for  cumulative 
voting,  and  Mr.  Stuart  Mill  in  his  effort  to  enfranchise  women. 

The  bill  wa$  read  a  third  time  on  the  15th  of  July,  after  a  final 
protest  by  its  enemies.  Lord  Cranborne  expressed  his  astonish- 
ment at  hearing  the  bill  described  as  a  Conservative  triumph. 
It  was  right  that  its  real  parentage  should  be  established.  The 
bill  had  been  modified  at  the  dictation  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  who 
demanded,  first,  the  lodger  franchise,  which  had  been  given  ; 
secondly,  the  abolition  of  distinctions  between  compounders  and 
non-compounders,  which  had  been  conceded,  as  had,  thirdly,  a 
provision  to  prevent  traffic  in  votes  ;  fourthly,  the  omission  of  the 
taxing  franchise ;  fifthly,  the  omission  of  the  dual  vote ;  sixthly, 
the  enlargement  of  the  distribution  of  seats,  which  had  been 
enlarged  by  fifty  per  cent. ;  seventhly,  the  reduction  of  the  county 
franchise  ;  eighthly,  the  omission  of  voting  papers ;  ninthly  and 
tenthly,  the  omission  of  the  educational  and  savings-banks  fran- 
chises. If  the  adoption  of  the  principles  of  Mr.  Bright  could  be 
described  as  a  triumph,  then  indeed  the  Conservative  party,  in 
the  whole  history  of  its  previous  annals,  had  won  no  triumph  so 
signal  as  this.  '  I  desire  to  protest,  in  the  most  earnest  language 
I  am  capable  of  using,  against  the  political  morality  on  which 
the  manoeuvres  of  this  year  have  been  based.  If  you  borrow  your 
political  ethics  from  the  ethics  of  the  political  adventurer,  you 
may  depend  upon  it  the  whole  of  your  representative  institutions 
will  crumble  beneath  your  feet.' 

Parliamentary  history  probably  furnishes  no  case  precisely 
parallel  to  this,  where  a  prominent  member  of  a  great  political 
party  who  held  such  denunciatory  language  towards  his  chief, 
should,  in  the  course  of  events,  accept  office  under  that  chief,  and 
become  his  ablest  and  most  trusted  lieutenant.  Lord  Cranborne 
concluded  the  remarkable  speech  from  which  we  have  just  quoted 
by  deeply  regretting  that  the  House  of  Commons  had  applauded 
a  policy  of  legerdemain ;  and  above  all  he  regretted  that  '  this 
great  gift  to  the  people — if  gift  you  think  it — should  have  Ixvu 
purchased  at  the  cost  of  a  political  betrayal  which  has  no  parallel 

AA2 


356  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

in  our  Parliamentary  annals,  which  strikes  at  the  root  of  all  that 
mutual  confidence  which  is  the  very  soul  of  our  party  govern- 
ment, and  on  which  only  the  strength  and  freedom  of  our  repre- 
sentative institutions  can  be  sustained.'  Mr.  Lowe  observed  that 
Mr.  Bright  had  been  agitating  for  household  suffrage ;  now  that 
he  had  got  it,  would  it  be  easy  to  stop  in  the  path  of  concession  ? 
It  would  now  be  necessary,  continued  Mr.  Lowe,  to  teach  their 
masters  their  letters,  and  he  concluded  with  this  philippic : — '  Sir, 
I  was  looking  to-day  at  the  head  of  the  lion  which  was  sculptured 
in  Greece  during  her  last  agony  after  the  battle  of  Chaeronea,  to 
commemorate  that  event,  and  I  admired  the  spirit  and  the  power 
which  pourtrayed  in  the  face  of  that  noble  beast  the  rage,  the 
disappointment,  and  the  scorn  of  a  perishing  natioti  and  a  down- 
trodden civilisation,  and  I  said  to  myself,  "  Oh  for  an  orator,  oh 
for  an  historian,  oh  for  a  poet,  who  would  do  the  same  thing  for 
us ! "  We  also  have  had  our  battle  of  Chseronea  ;  we  have  had 
our  dishonest  victory.  That  England  that  was  wont  to  conquer 
other  nations,  had  gained  a  shameful  victory  over  herself;  and 
oh  that  a  man  would  rise,  in  order  that  he  might  set  forth  in 
words  that  could  not  die,  the  shame,  the  rage,  the  scorn,  the 
indignation,  and  the  despair,  with  which  this  measure  is  viewed 
by  every  Englishman  who  is  not  a  slave  to  the  trammels  of  party, 
or  who  is  not  dazzled  by  the  glare  of  a  temporary  and  ignoble 
success ! ' 

The  Keform  Bill  went  up  to  the  Lords,  and,  with  certain 
amendments,  was  read  a  third  time  in  the  Upper  House  on  the 
6th  of  August.  Th§  Earl  of  Derby  described  the  measure  as  '  a 
leap  in  the  dark.'  Two  months  later,  at  a  Conservative  banquet 
held  in  Edinburgh,  Mr.  Disraeli  used  the  famous  phrase  respect- 
ing the  education  of  his  party.  '  I  had  to  prepare  the  mind  of 
the  country,'  he  remarked, '  and  to  educate — if  it  be  not  arrogant 
to  use  such  a  phrase — to  educate  our  party.'  This  observation 
gave  rise  to  so  much  comment,  that  Mr.  Disraeli  wrote  to  the 
journals  explaining  the  sense  in  which  his  language  was  to  be 
taken,  and  denying  that  he  had  said  he  had  been  educating  his 
party  with  the  view  of  bringing  about  a  much  greater  reduction 
of  the  franchise  than  his  opponents  had  proposed.  In  February, 
1868,  by  the  retirement  of  the  Earl  of  Derby,  Mr.  Disraeli 
became  Prime  Minister.* 

In  the  previous  November  Parliament  had  been  summoned  to 

*  There  was,  of  course,  but  one  possible  Conservative  Premier,  Mr.  Disraeli 
— he  who  had  served  the  Conservative  party  for  more  than  twenty  years, 
who  had  led  it  to  victory,  and  who  had  long  been  the  ruling  spirit  of 
the  Cabinet.  To  have  reconstructed  the  Ministry  without  'Vivian  Grey'  as  its 
chief,  would  have  been  to  enact  in  politics  a  well-known  play  under  proverbial 
disadvantages.  The  Press  generally  congratulated  Mr.  Disraeli  upon  his  elevation, 


THE    REFORM    AND    IRISH    CHURCH    QUESTIONS.  357 

meet  chiefly  in  connection  with  the  Abyssinian  Expedition. 
The  war  was  undertaken  for  the  deliverance  of  Mr.  Cameron,  her 
Majesty's  Consul  at  Massowah,  Mr.  Kassam,  and  others,  who  were 
held  captive  by  King  Theodore.  The  Queen's  Speech,  in  addition 
to  this  matter,  also  dealt  with  the  Fenian  conspiracy,  which  had 
assumed  the  form  of  organised  violence  and  assassination.  In  the 
debate  on  the  Address  Mr.  Gladstone  began  his  speech  by  expres- 
sing sympathy  with  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  the  pain- 
ful circumstances  under  which  he  was  then  placed — Mrs.  Disraeli, 
who  was  suffering  from  illness,  being  in  a  precarious  state.  He 
should  now  refrain  from  asking  an  explanation  of  statements 
made  by  Mr.  Disraeli  during  the  recess.  With  regard  to  the 
Abyssinian  campaign,  the  Executive  alone  were  responsible  for 
the  expedition  hitherto,  Parliament  being  entirely  uncommitted 
upon  the  subject.  There  was  a  clear  casus  belli  between  our 
Government  and  the  King  of  Abyssinia ;  but  Mr.  Gladstone  warned 
the  Ministry  that  the  House  would  require  to  be  convinced  that 
the  objects  of  the  Expedition  were  attainable,  that  a  war  could 
be  carried  on  with  an  enemy  who  might  choose  to  run  rather 
than  to  fight ;  also,  how  it  was  proposed  to  carry  on  the  Expedi- 
tion to  an  issue ;  and  what  were  to  be  its  limits.  The  House 
would,  moreover,  insist  upon  a  distinct  disclaimer,  not  only  of 
territorial  aggrandisement,  but  of  all  desire  to  contract  new  poli- 
tical responsibilities.  As  to  the  expenses  of  the  war,  he  urged 
the  Government  to  confide  in  the  courage  of  Parliament,  and 

though  the  comments  passed  upon  the  Prime  Minister  were  in  many  instances 
mingled  with  raillery  and  sarcasm.  From  a  clever  article  which  appeared  in  the 
Pall  Mall  Gazette,  placing  in  juxtaposition  the  rival  claims  of  Mr.  Gladstone  and 
Mr.  Disraeli — we  take  the  following  extracts : — '  One  of  the  most,  grievous  and 
constant  puzzles  of  King  David  was  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  and  the  scornful ; 
and  the  same  tremendous  moral  enigma  has  come  down  to  our  own  days.  In  this 
respect  the  earth  is  in  its  older  times  what  it  was  in  its  youth.  Even  so  recently 
as  last  week  the  riddle  once  more  presented  itself  in  its  most  impressive  shape. 
Like  the  Psalmist,  the  Liberal  leader  may  well  protest  that  verily  he  has  cleansed 
his  heart  in  vain  and  washed  his  hands  in  innocency ;  all  day  long  he  has  been 
plagued  by  Whig  lords,  and  chastened  every  morning  by  Radical  manufacturers ; 
as  blamelessly  as  any  curate  he  has  written  about  Ecce  Homo,  and  he  has  never 
made  a  speech,  even  in  the  smallest  country  town,  without  calling  out  with  David, 
How  foolish  am  I,  and  how  ignorant !  For  all  this,  what  does  he  see  ?  The  scorner 
who  shot  out  the  lip  and  shook  the  head  at  him  across  the  table  of  the  House  of 
Commons  last  session  has  now  more  than  heart  could  wish  ;  his  eyes,  speaking  in  an 
Oriental  manner,  stand  out  with  fatness,  he  speaketh  loftily,  and  pride  compasseth 
him  about  as  with  a  chain.  .  ,  .  That  the  writer  of  frivolous  stories  about 
Vivian  Grey  and  Coninasby  should  grasp  the  sceptre  before  the  writer  of  beautiful 
and  serious  things  about  Ecce  Homo — the  man  who  is  epigrammatic,  flashy,  arro- 
gant, before  the  man  who  never  perpetrated  an  epigram  in  his  life,  is  always  fervid, 
and  would  as  soon  die  as  admit  that  he  had  a  shade  more  brain  than  his  footman 
— the  Radical  corrupted  into  a  Tory  before  the  Tory  purified  and  elevated  into  a 
Radical — is  not  this  enough  to  inuke  an  honest  man  rend  his  mantle,  and  shave 
his  head,  and  sit  down  among  the  ashes  inconsolable  ?  Let  us  pl.iy  the  too-under- 
rated part  of  Bildad  the  Shuhito  for  a  space,  while  our  chiefs  thus  havo  unwelcome 
leisure  to  scrape  themselves  with  potsherds,  and  to  meditate  upon  the  evil  way  of 
tho  world.' 


358  WILLIAM   EWAET   GLADSTONE. 

not  to  make  them  an  addition  to  the  debt  of  the  country.  The 
right  hon.  gentleman  concurred  in  the  hopes  expressed  in  the 
Speech  of  the  speedy  termination  of  the  Italian  difficulty,  and  of 
the  suppression  of  the  Fenian  outrages ;  but  he  pressed  for  a 
settlement  of  the  Keform  question  and  of  the  Irish  Land  question, 
and  trusted  that  the  rumour  was  incorrect  which  assigned  to  the 
Irish  Church  Commission  the  function  of  drawing  up  plans  for 
its  re-organisation.  Mr.  Disraeli,  speaking  under  the  influence 
of  emotion,  said  he  was  much  touched  by  the  manner  in  which 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  referred  to  his  domestic  affliction,  and  by  the 
way  in  which  the  House  had  received  that  allusion.  He  admitted 
that  the  House  was  quite  unpledged  to  the  Abyssinian  expedi- 
tion ;  and,  with  regard  to  Irish  questions,  said  that  the  Govern- 
ment hoped  to  be  able  to  introduce  a  bill  dealing  with  the  sub- 
ject of  the  land.  They  were  also  giving  their  earnest  attention 
to  the  Church  question.  Some  days  later  a  vote  of  £2,000,000 
was  agreed  to  for  the  Abyssinian  expedition,  but  not  until  after 
much  discussion ;  and  on  the  28th  of  November  the  House  of 
Commons  voted  an  additional  penny  in  the  income-tax  to  defray 
the  further  expenses  of  the  expedition.  The  payment,  out  of 
Indian  revenues,  of  the  Indian  troops  engaged  in  the  war  was 
also  sanctioned.  The  main  purposes  for  which  Parliament  was 
called  together  having  been  thus  attained,  the  two  Houses 
adjourned  on  the  7th  of  December  until  the  13th  of  February 
following. 

The  work  of  Keform  was  completed  in  the  session  of  1868  by 
the  passing  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Keform  Bills,  a  Boundary 
Bill  for  England  and  Wales,  an  Election  Petitions  and  Corrupt 
Practices  Prevention  Bill,  and  the  Registration  of  Voters  Bill. 
The  object  of  the  last-named  measure  was  to  accelerate  the  elec- 
tions, and  to  enable  Parliament  to  meet  before  the  end  of  1868. 
The  Scotch  Keform  Bill  was  introduced  to  assimilate  the  franchise 
of  Scotland  with  that  of  England.  It  also  proposed  to  increase 
the  number  of  the  House  by  giving  seven  additional  representa- 
tives to  Scotland.  Two  of  these  members  were  to  be  given  to 
the  universities,  three  to  counties,  and  one  to  Glasgow.  The 
debates  record  several  important  Ministerial  defeats.  Mr.  Baxter 
carried  against  Government  a  proposition  to  disfranchise  seven 
English  boroughs  with  a  population  of  less  than  5,000  each.  Mr. 
M'Laren  and  Mr.  Bouverie  likewise  carried  amendments  against 
them,  which  led  to  considerable  modifications  in  the  bill.  The 
Irish  Keform  Bill  proposed  to  fix  the  borough  franchise  at  £4, 
occupiers  below  that  rental  not  paying  rates  in  Ireland.  There 
was  also  a  limited  scheme  for  redistribution  of  seats,  but  this  was 
afterwards  abandoned  by  the  Government. 


REFORM  AN!>  IRISH  CHURCH  QUESTIONS.        §59 

Early  in  the  session  the  adoption  by  the  House  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Compulsory  Church  Rates  Abolition  Bill  led  to  the  settle- 
ment of  a  long-agitated  question.  By  this  measure  all  legal 
proceedings  for  the  recovery  of  Church  rates  were  to  be  henceforth 
abolished,  except  in  cases  of  rates  already  made,  or  where  money 
had  been  borrowed  on  the  security  of  the  rates ;  but  it  permitted 
voluntary  assessments  to  be  made,  and  all  agreements  to  make 
such  payments,  on  the  faith  of  which  any  expenditure  had  been 
incurred,  would  be  enforcible  in  the  same  manner  as  contracts  of 
a  like  character  in  any  court  of  law  or  equity.  The  bill  was 
opposed  by  a  section  of  the  Conservative  party,  but  Lord  Cran- 
borne  demanded  what  that  party  would  gain  if  it  adhered  to 
the  principle  of  '  no  surrender.'  Though  it  was  with  the  deepest 
feeling  of  reluctance  that  he  gave  up  anything  which  the  Church 
possessed,  he  thought  it  wiser  to  accept  the  terms  that  were  then 
offered,  as  he  was  distinctly  of  opinion  that  they  might  go  further 
and  fare  worse.  The  bill,  with  certain  amendments,  eventually 
passed  through  both  Houses,  and  became  law. 

But  the  question  which  overshadowed  all  others  this  session 
was  that  involving  the  fate  of  the  Irish  Church  Establishment. 
Before  discussing  this  subject,  however,  with  its  momentous  legis- 
lative and  other  results,  some  reference  must  be  made  to  a  matter 
of  considerable  importance,  arising  out  of  and  connected  with  the 
financial  schemes  of  the  Government.  These  schemes  having 
been  subjected  to  severe  hostile  criticism,  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  elaborately  defended  them.  The  nature  of  the  charges 
will  be  gathered  from  Mr.  Gladstone's  reply  to  the  Ministerial 
apology.  '  We  left  the  income-tax,'  said  Mr.  Gladstone,  '  at  4d.  in 
the  pound.  The  exp«nditure  of  1859-60  was  arranged  by  the 
Tory  Government.  It  was  early  in  July  that,  on  coming  into 
office,  I  had  to  meet  a  deficit  of,  I  think,  four  and  a  half 
millions,  in  a  year  of  which  all  the  arrangements  had  been  made, 
and  of  which  between  three  and  four  months  had  actually  gone.' 
After  dealing  at  length  with  the  army,  navy,  and  civil  service 
charges,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  went  on  to  observe  that, 
according  to  his  calculation,  the  Liberal  party  had  saved  about 
£1,800,000  between  1862  and  1865,  while  the  Tory  Government 
exceeded  the  estimates  in  two  years  by  £1,145,000,  besides  the 
cost  of  the  Abyssinian  war.  Financial  legislation  in  the  years 
1862-65  gave  the  country  reduction  of  taxation  to  the  extent  of 
£2,276,000  annually.  'From  thence  it  follows  that  the  policy 
of  the  Liberal  party  has  been  to  reduce  the  public  charges,  and 
to  keep  the  expenditure  within  the  estimates,  and,  as  a  result, 
to  diminish  the  taxation  of  the  country  and  the  national  debt ; 
that  the  policy  of  the  Tory  Government,  since  they  took  office  in 


sec  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE). 

1866,  has  been  to  increase  the  public  charges,  and  to  allow  the 
departments  to  spend  more  than  their  estimates,  and,  as  a  result, 
to  create  deficits,  and  to  render  the  reduction  of  taxation  impos- 
sible. Which  policy  will  the  country  prefer  ?  '  The  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  Mr.  Ward  Hunt,  in  replying  to  these  financial 
charges,  was  unable  directly  to  impugn  their  accuracy,  but  pleaded 
that  the  extra  expenditure  was  accounted  for  by  increased  pay  to 
the  army,  by  the  furnishing  of  breechloaders,  and  by  the  arming 
of  fortifications. 

On  the  16th  of  March,  towards  the  close  of  the  debate  on  Mr. 
Maguire's  motion,  that  the  House  resolve  itself  into  a  committee 
to  take  the  condition  of  Ireland  into  immediate  consideration, 
Mr.  Gladstone  struck  the  first  blow  in  the  struggle  that  was  to 
end  in  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church.  He  complained 
that  the  Ministerial  programme  failed  to  realise  the  grave  fact 
that  we  had  reached  a  crisis  in  the  Irish  question.  Ireland  had 
an  account  with  this  country  which  had  endured  for  centuries, 
and  we  had  not  done  enough  to  place  ourselves  in  the  right.  He 
dealt  fully  with  the  Government  policy  as  affecting  six  questions 
deemed  paramount,  viz.,  Parliamentary  reform,  the  repeal  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  Titles  Act,  railways,  education,  the  land,  and  the 
Church.  Coming  to  religious  equality,  he  affirmed  that  it  must 
be  established,  difficult  as  the  operation  might  be  ;  but  he  con- 
demned the  principle  of  levelling  up.  As  to  the  appeals  which 
had  been  made  urging  the  Irish  people  to  loyalty  and  to  union, 
Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  was  his  object  too;  but  with  regard  to  the 
means  the  differences  were  still  profound,  and  it  was  idle,  it  was 
mocking,  to  use  words  unless  they  could  sustain  them  by  corres- 
ponding substances.  They  must  give  the  unreserved  devotion  of 
their  efforts  ;  and  after  warning  Mr.  Disraeli  that,  unless  he  had 
something  more  satisfactory  to  say  on  the  subject  of  justice  to 
Ireland  than  his  colleagues,  this  question  would  immediately  press 
for  settlement,  he  concluded  as  follows : — '  If  we  are  prudent  men, 
I  hope  we  shall  endeavour  as  far  as  in  us  lies  to  make  some  pro- 
vision for  a  contingent,  a  doubtful,  and  probably  a  dangerous 
future.  If  we  be  chivalrous  men,  I  trust  we  shall  endeavour  to 
wipe  away  all  those  stains  which  the  civilised  world  has  for  ages 
seen,  or  seemed  to  see,  on  the  shield  of  England  in  her  treatment 
of  Ireland.  If  we  be  compassionate  men,  I  hope  we  shall  now, 
once  for  all,  listen  to  the  tale  of  woe  which  comes  from  her,  and 
the  reality  of  which,  if  not  its  j  ustice,  is  testified  by  the  continu- 
ous migration  of  her  people, — that  we  shall  endeavour  to 

"  Raze  out  the  written  troubles  from  her  brain, 
Pluck  from  her  memory  the  rooted  sorrow." 

But,  above  all,  if  we  be  just  men,  we  shall  go  forward  in  the 


THE    REFORM    AND    IRISH    CHURCH    QUESTIONS.  361 

name  of  truth  and  right,  bearing  this  in  mind — that,  when  the 
case  is  proved,  and  the  hour  is  come,  justice  delayed  is  justice 
denied.' 

This  speech  excited  feelings  of  consternation  amongst  the 
Ministerialists.  Mr.  Disraeli  bewailed  his  own  unhappy  fate  at  the 
commencement  of  his  career  of  Prime  Minister,  at  finding  himself 
face  to  face  with  the  imperious  necessity  of  settling  out  of  hand 
an  account  seven  centuries  old.  He  complained  that  all  the 
elements  of  the  Irish  crisis  had  existed  while  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
in  office,  but  no  attempt  had  been  made  to  deal  with  them.  The 
spirit  of  the  age  was  not,  he  asserted,  opposed  to  endowments,  as 
had  been  laid  down  by  Mr.  Bright — who,  with  the  aid  of  the 
philosophers,  had  now  converted  Mr.  Giadstone  to  the  same 
opinion.  For  himself,  he  was  personally  in  favour  of  ecclesias- 
tical endowments,  and  strongly  objected  to  the  destruction  of  the 
Irish  Church.  Mr.  Maguire,  being  urged  thereto  by  Mr.  Glad 
stone,  withdrew  his  motion. 

But,  with  the  express  declarations  of  the  leader  of  the  Opposi- 
tion, the  Irish  Church  question  had  moved  forward  an  enormous 
stage.  To  go  back  now  was  impossible,  and  to  stand  still  was 
equally  impossible.  Mr.  Gladstone's  address  became  the  basis  of 
action  for  the  Liberal  party,  and  the  country  speedily  took  up 
the  cry  of  disestablishment.  The  right  hon.  gentleman  himself, 
not  shrinking  from  following  up  the  policy  he  had  indicated, 
with  all  convenient  speed,  laid  upon  the  table  of  the  House  of 
Commons  the  following  resolutions  upon  the  Irish  Church,  which 
he  intended  to  move  in  committee  of  the  whole  House: — *1.  That 
in  the  opinion  of  this  House  it  is  necessary  that  the  Established 
Church  of  Ireland  should  cease  to  exist  as  an  establishment,  due 
regard  being  had  to  all  personal  interests  and  to  all  individual 
rights  of  property.  2.  That,  subject  to  the  foregoing  consi- 
derations, it  is  expedient  to  prevent  the  creation  of  new 
personal  interests  by  the  exercise  of  any  public  patronage,  and 
to  confine  the  operations  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  of 
Ireland  to  objects  of  immediate  necessity,  or  involving  individual 
rights,  pending  the  final  decision  of  Parliament.  3.  That  an 
humble  address  be  presented  to  her  Majesty,  humbly  to  pray  that, 
with  a  view  to  the  purposes  aforesaid,  her  Majesty  will  be  gra- 
ciously pleased  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  Parliament  her  interest 
in  the  temporalities,  in  archbishoprics,  bishoprics,  and  other 
ecclesiastical  dignities  and  benefices  in  Ireland  and  in  the  custody 
thereof.'  A  few  days  later  Lord  Stanley  gave  notice  that  he 
should  propose  the  following  amendment  on  the  motion  for  going 
into  committee  on  the  Irish  Church  Establishment : — '  That  this 
House,  while  admitting  that  considerable  modifications  in  the 


362  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

temporalities  of  the  United  Church  in  Ireland  may,  after  pending 
inquiry,  appear  to  be  expedient,  is  of  opinion  that  any  proposition 
tending  to  the  disestablishment  or  disendowment  of  that  Church 
might  be  reserved  for  the  decision  of  a  new  Parliament.'  This 
amendment — which  was  warmly  approved  by  the  Ministerialists 
— Lord  Stanley  explained,  would  be  taken  at  the  first  stage  of  the 
discussion,  on  the  motion  that  the  Speaker  leave  the  chair. 

The  Government  thus  joined  battle  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  and 
on  the  30th  of  March  the  conflict  began.  The  titles  of  the  Acts 
relating  to  the  Church  Establishment,  the  5th  article  of  the  Act 
of  Union,  and  the  coronation  oath  of  the  Sovereign,  having  been 
read  from  the  table,  Mr.  Gladstone  commenced  his  address  in 
a  House  crowded  with  eager  listeners  to  his  indictment.  The 
extracts  from  the  existing  laws,  he  remarked,  would  serve  to 
remind  the  House  that  they  were  about  to  enter  upon  a  solemn 
duty.  Having  indicated  his  method  of  procedure,  he  proposed — 
if  the  House  should  declare  its  opinion  that  the  Irish  Establish- 
ment should  cease  to  exist — that  the  cessation  should  be  effected 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  nation,  affording  ample  consideration 
and  satisfaction  to  every  proprietary  and  vetted  right.  The 
residue,  after  satisfying  every  just  claim,  should  be  treated  as  an 
Irish  fund,  applicable  to  the  exclusive  benefit  of  Ireland.  Both 
the  Liberal  party  and  the  Conservative  party  were  justified  hitherto 
in  not  taking  up  the  subject,  for  previous  to  this  time  no  state 
of  public  feeling  or  opinion  would  have  enabled  this  great  question 
to  be  opened  on  the  wide  basis  which  it  required.  He  had  heard 
a  great  deal  not  only  of  apostasy,  but  of  sudden  apostasy ;  yet  a 
change  which  extended  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  could  hardly 
be  called  a  sudden  change. 

Mr.  Gladstone  then  briefly  recapitulated  his  personal  history 
on  this  question,  which  we  have  practically  dealt  with  in  a 
previous  chapter.  As  to  the  actualities  of  the  matter,  he  appre- 
hended there  would  be  no  desire  to  deprive  the  Protestant  com- 
munity of  the  fabrics,  provided  they  wished  to  apply  them  to 
religious  purposes ;  and  the  same  principle  would  be  applied  to 
the  residences  of  the  clergy.  The  proprietors  of  advowsons  would 
also  have  a  strict  claim  to  compensation.  Of  the  money  value 
of  the  endowments,  not  less  than  three-fifths,  possibly  two- thirds, 
would  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  Anglican  commuDion  in  Ire- 
land. He  denied  that  the  disendowment  of  the  Irish  Church 
would  be  dangerous  to  the  English  Establishment.  What  was 
dangerous  to  the  latter  was  to  hold  her  in  communion  with  a 
state  of  things  politically  dangerous  and  socially  unjust.  The 
existence  of  the  Irish  Church  was  not  necessary  for  the  main- 
tenance of  Protestantism  in  Ireland.  Though  the  census  of  1861 


THE    BEFORM   AND    IEISH    CHUECH    QUESTIONS.          363 

showed  a  small  proportionate  increase  of  Protestants,  the  rate  of 
conversion  was  so  small  that  it  would  take  1,500  or  2,000  years 
to  effect  an  entire  conversion,  if  it  went  on  at  the  same  rate. 
The  final  arrangements  in  this  matter  might  be  left  to  a  reformed 
Parliament,  but  he  proposed  that  they  should  prevent  by  legisla- 
tion this  session  the  growing  of  a  new  crop  of  vested  interests. 
There  had  been  a  connection  between  this  country  and  Ireland 
for  700  years,  but  it  had  been  marked  by  a  succession  of  storms 
and  temporary  calms.  He  called  upon  the  House  to  settle  its 
account  with  the  sister  island  by  removing  the  whole  cause  of 
dispute.  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  eloquently  concluded  his  address : — 

'  There  are  many  who  think  that  to  lay  hands  upon  the  national  Church  Estab- 
lishment of  a  country  is  a  profane  and  unhallowed  act.  I  respect  that  feeling. 
I  sympathise  with  it.  I  sympathise  with  it  while  I  think  it  my  duty  to  overcome 
and  repress  it.  But  if  it  be  an  error,  it  is  an  error  entitled  to  respect.  There  is  some- 
thing in  the  idea  of  a  national  establishment  of  religion,  of  a  solemn  appropria- 
tion of  a  part  of  the  Commonwealth  for  conferring  upon  all  who  are  ready  to 
receive  it  what  we  know  to  be  an  inestimable  benefit ;  of  saving  that  portion  of  the 
inheritance  from  private  selfishness,  in  order  to  extract  from  it,  if  we  can,  pure  and 
unmixed  advantages  of  the  highest  order  for  the  population  at  large.  There  is 
something  in  this  so  attractive  that  it  is  an  image  that  must  always  command  the 
homage  of  the  many.  It  is  somewhat  like  the  kingly  ghost  in  Hamlet,  of  which 
one  of  the  characters  of  Shakspeare  says : — 

"  We  do  it  wrongj  beiug  so  majesties], 
To  offer  it  the   show  of  violence  ; 
For  it  is,  as  the  air,  invulnerable, 
And  our  vain  blows  malicious  mockery." 

But,  sir,  this  is  to  view  a  religious  establishment  upon  one  side,  only  upon  what 
I  may  call  the  ethereal  side.  It  has  likewise  a  side  of  earth  ;  and  here  I  cannot  do 
better  than  quote  some  lines  written  by  the  present  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  at  a 
time  when  his  genius  was  devoted  to  the  muses.  He  said,  in  speaking  of  mankind : 

"  We  who  did  our  lineage  high 
Draw  from  beyond  the  starry  sky, 
Are  yet  upon  the  other  side, 
To  earth  and  to  its  dust  allied." 

And  so  the  Church  Establishment,  regarded  in  its  theory  and  in  its  aim,  is  beauti- 
ful and  attractive.  Yet  what  is  it  but  an  appropriation  of  public  property,  an 
appropriation  of  the  fruits  of  labour  and  of  skill  to  certain  purposes,  and  unless 
these  purposes  are  fulfilled,  that  appropriation  cannot  be  justified.  Therefore,  sir. 
I  cannot  but  feel  that  we  must  set  aside  fears  which  thrust  themselves  upon  the 
imagination,  and  act  upon  the  sober  dictates  of  our  judgment.  I  think  it  lias 
been  shown  that  the  cause  for  action  is  strong — not  for  precipitate  action,  not  for 
action  beyond  our  powers,  but  for  such  action  as  the  opportunities  of  the  times 
and  the  condition  of  Parliament,  if  there  be  but  a  ready  will,  will  amply  and  easily 
admit  of.  If  I  am  asked  as  to  my  expectations  of  the  issue  of  this  struggle,  I 
begin  by  frankly  avowing  that  I,  for  one,  would  not  have  entered  into  it  unless  I 
beheved  that  the  final  hour  was  about  to  sound — 

"  Venit  ittuima  dlrs  et  ineluc'a'nle  fatum." 

And  I  hope  that  the  noble  lord  will  forgive  me  if  I  say  that  before  Friday  last  1 
thought  that  the  thread  of  the  remaining  life  of  the  Irish  Established  Church  was 
short,  but  that  since  Friday  last,  when  at  Imlf-past  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
the  noble  lord  stood  at  that  table,  I  have  regarded  it  as  being  shorter  still.  The 
issue  is  not  in  our  hands.  What  we  had  and  have  to  do  is  to  consider  well  and 
deeply  before  we  take  the  first  step  in  an  engagement  such  as  this;  but  having 
entered  into  the  controversy,  there  and  then  to  acquit  ourselves  like  men,  and  to 


364  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

use  every  effort  to  remove  what  si  ill  remains  of  the  scandals  and  calamities  in  thd 
relations  which  exist  between  England  and  Ireland,  and  to  make  our  best  efforts 
at  least  to  fill  up  witli  the  cement  of  human  concord  the  noble  fabric  of  the 
British  Empire.' 

Lord  Stanley,  in  moving  his  amendment,  admitted  that  not 
one  educated  man  in  a  hundred  would  maintain  that  the  Irish 
Church  was  all  that  it  should  be,  or  that  there  were  no  scandals 
in  it ;  but  Mr.  Gladstone's  resolutions  merely  came  to  this — that 
something  must  be  done,  without  saying  what  it  was.  If  the 
resolutions  were  carried,  there  would  be  no  effective  legislation 
this  year.  He  strongly  condemned  a  sudden  change  of  view  like 
the  present,  and  declared  that  action  now  was  impossible.  Lord 
Cranborne  condemned  the  amendment  as  ambiguous  ;  it  indicated 
either  no  policy  at  all,  or  a  policy  which  the  Ministry  were  afraid 
to  avow.  He  did  not  pretend  to  predict  the  probable  course  of 
the  right  hon.  gentleman  at  the  head  of  the  Government.  He 
should  as  soon  undertake  to  tell  the  House  which  way  the  weather- 
cock would  point  to-morrow.  Such  a  system  of  management 
was  unworthy  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  degrading  to  the 
functions  of  the  Executive.  While  ready  to  meet  the  resolutions 
with  a  plain,  straightforward  negative,  he  refused  to  support  an 
amendment,  the  object  of  which  was  merely  to  gain  time  and  to 
enable  the  Government  to  keep  the  cards  in  their  hands  for 
another  year  to  shuffle  as  they  pleased.  Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy 
delivered  a  thoroughly  Conservative  and  *  no-surrender '  speech, 
and  Mr.  Bright  justified  disestablishment  on  the  ground  that  the 
Irish  Church  had  been,  both  as  a  missionary  church  and  a  poli- 
tical institution,  a  deplorable  failure.  The  present  condition  of 
Ireland  was  anarchy  subdued  by  force.  Disestablishment  was 
really  not  more  serious  than  Free  Trade,  Reform,  and  other 
changes  which  the  Conservative  party  had  once  resisted,  and  had 
since  found  to  be  mere  hobgoblins. 

Mr.  Lowe  spoke  with  his  accustomed  force  and  sarcasm.  He 
denounced  the  tortuous  course  of  the  Government,  which  had 
lowered  the  House  and  lowered  the  estimation  in  which  our 
public  men  should  be  held.  On  the  general  question,  he  re- 
minded members  who  attempted  to  link  together  the  Irish  and 
the  English  Church  of  the  tyrant  Mezentius,  who  bound  a  dead 
body  to  a  living  one.  The  Irish  Church  had  an  establishment 
altogether  superfluous  and  monstrous.  In  the  course  of  a  caustic 
attack  upon  Mr.  Disraeli  and  his  policy,  Mr.  Lowe  said,  '  We 
now  find  that  the  Government,  instead  of  initiating  measures, 
throw  out,  like  the  cuttle-fish  of  which  we  read  ia  Victor  Hugo's 
novel,  all  sorts  of  tentacula  for  the  purpose  of  catching  up  some- 
thing which  it  may  appropriate  and  make  its  own.'  In  conclu- 
sion, he  observed, '  The  Irish  Church  is  founded  on  injustice ;  it  is 


•THE  REFORM  AND  IRISH  CHURCH  QUESTIONS.        365 

founded  on  the  dominant  rights  of  the  few  over  the  many,  and 
shall  not  stand.  You  call  it  a  missionary  church.  If  so,  its 
mission  is  unfulfilled.  As  a  missionary  church  it  has  failed 
utterly  ;  like  some  exotic  brought  from  a  far  country,  with  infi- 
nite pains  and  useless  trouble,  it  is  kept  alive  with  difficulty  and 
expense  in  an  ungrateful  climate  and  an  ungenial  soil.  The 
curse  of  barrenness  is  upon  it ;  it  has  no  leaves ;  it  bears  no  blos- 
soms; it  yields  no  fruit.  Cut  it  down;  why  cumbereth  it  the 
ground  ?' 

Mr.  Disraeli's  reply  was  not  so  noticeable  from  an  argumenta- 
tive as  from  a  personal  point  of  view.  Alter  defending  "the 
Government  policy  with  regard  to  Lord  Stanley's  amendment,  he 
made  a  bitter  and  pungent  attack  upon  his  present  colleague, 
the  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  and  upon  Mr.  Lowe.  Of  the  former, 
he  said  that  the  noble  lord  was  at  no  time  wanting  in  imputing 
to  the  Government  unworthy  motives,  and  when  he  saw  the 
amendment  he  believed  immediately  that  they  were  about  to 
betray  their  trust.  '  I  do  not  quarrel  with  the  invective  of  the 
noble  lord.  The  noble  lord  is  a  man  of  great  talent,  and  he  has 
vigour  in  his  language.  There  is  great  vigour  in  his  language, 
and  no  want  of  vindictiveness.  I  admit  that  now,  speaking  as 
a  critic,  and  not  perhaps  as  an  impartial  one,  I  must  say  I  think 
it  wants  finish.  Considering  that  the  noble  lord  has  studied  the 
subject,  and  that  he  has  written  anonymous  articles  against  me 
before  and  since  I  was  his  colleague — I  do  not  know  whether  he 
wrote  them  when  I  was  his  colleague — I  think  it  might  have 
been  accomplished  more  ad  unguem.'  Has  the  Foreign  Secretary 
committed  these  encounters  with  the  Prime  Minister  to  the 
waters  of  Lethe  ?  Happy  waters  !  that  can  thus  drown  in  obli- 
vion the  strongest  political  antagonisms. 

Turning  upon  Mr.  Lowe,  Mr.  Disraeli  observed,  l  When  the 
bark  is  heard  from  this  side,  the  right  hon.  member  for  Calne 
emerges,  I  will  not  say  from  his  cave,  but,  perhaps,  from  a  more 
cynical  habitation.  He  joins  immediately  in  the  chorus  of 
reciprocal  malignity — 

"  And  hails  with  horrid  melody  the  moon." 

The  right  hon.  gentleman  is  a  very  remarkable  man.  He  is  a 
learned  man,  though  he  despises  history.  He  can  chop  logic  like 
Dean  Aldrich  ;  but  what  is  more  remarkable  than  his  learning 
and  his  logic,  is  that  power  of  spontaneous  aversion  which  par- 
ticularly characterises  him.  There  is  nothing  that  he.  likes  and 
almost  everything  that  he  hates.  He  hates  the  working  classes 
of  England.  He  hates  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland  ;  he  hates 


866  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  Protestants  of  Ireland.  He  hates  her  Majesty's  Ministers. 
And  until  the  right  hon.  gentleman  the  member  for  South  Lanca- 
shire placed  his  hand  upon  the  ark,  he  seemed  almost  to  hate 
the  right  hon.  gentleman  the  member  for  South  Lancashire.  But 
now  all  is  changed.  Now  we  have  the  hour  and  the  man.  But 
I  believe  the  clock  goes  wrong,  and  the  man  is  mistaken.'  Mr. 
Disraeli  then  proceeded  to  affirm  that  he  had  never  attacked  any 
one  in  his  life.  Here  the  loud  cries  of  '  Oh  I  oh  ! '  and  '  Peel ' 
were  so  overwhelming  that  the  orator  adroitly  added,  '  unless  I 
was  first  assailed.'  But  this  also  was  followed  by  cries  of  dissent. 
The  Prime  Minister  concluded  by  saying  that  under  the  guise  ot 
Liberalism,  and  under  the  pretence  of  legislating  in  the  spirit  of 
the  age,  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  friends  were,  as  he  believed,  about 
to  seize  upon  the  supreme  authority  of  the  realm.  As  long  as, 
by  the  favour  of  the  Queen,  he  stood  there,  he  would  oppose  to 
the  utmost  of  his  ability  the  attempt  they  were  making. 

Mr.  Gladstone  replied  that  there  were  portions  of  Mr.  Disraeli's 
speech  of  which,  with  every  effort  on  his  part,  he  failed  to  discern 
the  relevancy;  and  there  were  others  which  appeared  due  to  the 
influence  of  a  heated  imagination.  For  himself,  he  did  not  con- 
ceal his  intention  to  separate  Church  from  State  in  Ireland,  and 
he  asked  the  expiring  Parliament  to  pronounce  an  opinion  which 
would  clear  the  way  for  its  successor.  The  House  then  went  to 
a  division,  when  the  numbers  were — For  Lord  Stanley's  amend- 
ment, 270;  against,  331 — majority  against  the  Government,  61. 
On  the  second  division  for  going  into  committee,  there  appeared 
— For  the  motion,  328  ;  against,  272 — majority  for  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's motion,  56.  An  analysis  shows  that,  including  pairs,  the 
first  division  gave  in  favour  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  policy  a  total  of 
343  members  ;  for  the  Government,  282.  This  only  left  33  mem- 
bers to  be  accounted  for  out  of  the  whole  House,  and  they  were 
thus  distributed : — Tellers,  4 ;  Speaker,  1 ;  absent,  22  ;  seats 
vacant,  2  ;  boroughs  disfranchised,  4.  Of  the  22  members  absent, 
17  were  Liberals,  amongst  whom  was  Sir  Koundell  Palmer,  who 
was  opposed  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  Irish  Church  policy.  The  following 
Liberals  voted  against  Mr.  Gladstone,  viz.,  Mr.  E.  Antrobus,  Mr. 
J.  I.  Briscoe,  Lord  Cremorne,  Sir  J.  Matheson,  Mr.  Herries  Max- 
well, Mr.  E.  Saunderson,  and  Mr.  James  Wyld.  The  following 
Conservatives  voted  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  viz.,  Lord  Bingham, 
Mr.  H.  A.  Butler-Johnstone,  Mr.  R.  A.  Earle,  Sir  J.  M'Kenna, 
and  Mr.  G.  Morris.  In  the  second  division,  the  Conservative 
vote  was  increased  by  two,  owing  to  the  fact  that  two  Liberal 
members  strayed  into  the  wrong  lobby.  Not  only  was  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's majority  much  larger  than  had  been  anticipated  by  either 
political  party,  but  it  was  almost  twice  as  great  a  majority  as 


THE    REFORM    AND    IRISH    CHURCH    QUESTIONS.  367 

that  which  in  1835  voted  for  the  more  limited  policy  involved 
in  the  appropriation  clause. 

The  Liberal  party  was  at  length  united  in  such  a  degree  as  had 
never,  perhaps,  previously  been  known  ;  and  great  meetings  were 
shortly  held  in  London  and  the  provinces  to  express  sympathy 
with  the  agitation  thus  set  on  foot  for  the  disestablishment  of 
the  Irish  Church.  Two  important  demonstrations — one  in  favour 
of  and  the  other  against  the  Establishment — were  held  in  St. 
James's  Hall.  Meantime  the  Government  entered  into  negotia- 
tions with  the  Irish  Roman  Catholic  prelates,  but  these  negotia- 
tions were  afterwards  definitively  abandoned.  The  political  war- 
fare which  now  ensued  was  not  always  carried  on  with  legitimate 
weapons.  A  striking  example  of  this  was  found  in  certain  charges 
brought  against  Mr.  Gladstone — charges  which  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  himself  thus  stated  : — '  First,  that  when  at  Rome  I 
made  arrangements  with  the  Pope  to  destroy  the  Church  Estab- 
lishment in  Ireland,  with  some  other  like  matters,  being  myself 
a  Roman  Catholic  at  heart.  Second,  that  during  and  since  the 
Government  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  I  have  resisted,  and  till  now 
prevented,  the  preferment  of  Dr.  Wynter.  Third,  that  I  have 
publicly  condemned  all  support  to  the  clergy  in  the  three  kingdoms 
from  Church  or  public  funds.  Fourth,  that  when  at  Balmoral  I 
refused  to  attend  her  Majesty  at  Crathie  Church.  Fifth,  that  I 
received  the  thanks  of  the  Pope  for  my  proceedings  respecting  the 
Irish  Church.  Sixth,  that  I  am  a  member  of  a  High  Church 
Ritualistic  congregation.'  '  These  statements,  one  and  all,'  wrote 
Mr.  Gladstone,  '  are  untrue  in  letter  and  in  spirit,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end.' 

During  the  discussion  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  resolutions  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  the  Earl  of  Derby  drew  attention  in  the 
Upper  House  to  what  the  noble  earl  described  as  their  unconsti- 
tutional character,  in  so  far  as  they  asked  her  Majesty  to  place  at 
the  disposal  of  Parliament  certain  temporalities  which  had  only 
been  discussed  in  the  Lower  House.  The  leading  Opposition 
peers  severely  criticised  his  lordship's  course  of  proceeding,  and 
the  debate  terminated  without  any  definite  result.  In  the  Com- 
mons, after  a  long  discu.ssion,  Mr.  Gladstone's  first  resolution  was 
carried  on  the  30th  of  April.  The  right  hon.  gentleman,  in  sum- 
ming up  the  debate,  justified  his  mode  of  procedure,  and  declared 
with  reference  to  Lord  Derby's  speech  that  he  would  not  take  the 
word  of  command  from  the  House  of  Lords.  He  urged  the  House 
to  accept  the  resolution,  not  as  a  panacea,  but  as  part  of  a  policy 
which  would  add  strength  and  glory  to  the  empire.  Mr.  Disraeli 
reiterated  his  objections  to  disestablishment,  after  which  the 
House  divided,  when  the  numbers  were — For  the  resolution, 


368  WILLIAM    EWABT   GLADSTONE. 

330;  against,  265 — majority  against  the  Government,  65.  This 
increased  majority  caused  the  Premier  to  state  that  the  relations 
between  the  Government  and  the  House  were  now  altered,  and  it 
became  necessary  for  the  Ministry  to  consider  their  position.  On 
the  4th  of  May  Ministerial  explanations  were  tendered.  Mr. 
Disraeli  said  he  had  waited  upon  the  Queen,  and  informed  her 
that  the  proper  constitutional  course  to  take  would  be  to  dissolve 
Parliament  and  appeal  to  the  country ;  at  the  same  time,  he  offered 
the  resignation  of  Ministers,  which,  however,  he  qualified  by  the 
advice  that  if  the  Government  could  conduct  public  business 
with  the  co-operation  of  the  House  until  the  close  of  the  session, 
it  would  be  better  to  delay  the  dissolution  until  the  autumn.  Mr. 
Gladstone  strongly  protested  against  this  course,  and  Mr.  Lowe 
complained  that  no  concession  had  been  made  by  her  Majesty  to 
the  two  great  divisions.  Mr.  Bright  was  still  more  emphatic  in 
his  censure,  and  maintained  that  it  was  merely  for  the  sake  of 
prolonging  his  own  term  of  office  that  Mr.  Disraeli  had  made  this 
outrageous  demand  on  the  indulgence  of  Parliament.  The 
Government  had  no  right  to  a  dissolution,  and  they  had  no  claim 
to  remain  in  office  when  they  could  carry  nothing  of  their  own 
but  a  sixpenny  income-tax. 

The  discussion  was  resumed  upon  the  following  day,  and  at 
length  Mr.  Disraeli  said  that  the  power  held  by  the  Government 
to  dissolve  Parliament  related  entirely  to  the  Irish  Church 
question,  and  that  if  any  other  difficulty  arose  it  would  be  the 
duty  of  Ministers  again  to  repair  to  the  Sovereign.  The  second 
and  third  Irish  Church  resolutions  having  been  carried  in 
committee,  a  discussion  arose  respecting  the  Maynooth  and  other 
grants.  The  Premier  having  made  some  observations  upon  the 
divisions  in  the  Liberal  party  as  to  these  grants,  a  passage  of 
arms  arose  between  himself  and  Mr.  Bright.  The  hon.  member 
for  Birmingham  said, '  The  Prime  Minister  the  other  night,  with 
a  mixture  of  pompousness  and  sometimes  of  servility,  talked  at 
large  of  the  interviews  which  he  had  had  with  his  Sovereign.  I 
venture  to  say  that  a  Minister  who  deceives  his  Sovereign  is  as 
guilty  as  the  conspirator  who  would  dethrone  her.  I  don't 
charge  the  right  hon.  gentleman  with  deceiving  his  Sovereign. 
But  if  he  has  not  changed  the  opinions  which  he  held  twenty-five 
years  ago,  and  which  in  the  main  he  said  only  a  few  weeks  ago 
were  right,  then  I  fear  he  has  not  stated  all  it  was  his  duty  to  state 
in  the  interview  he  had  with  his  Sovereign.'  The  Minister  who 
put  his  Sovereign  into  the  front  of  a  great  struggle  like  this  was 
guilty  of  a  very  high  crime  and  great  misdemeanour  against  his 
Sovereign  and  against  his  country.  Mr.  Gladstone  said  of  Mr. 
Disraeli's  language  that  he  had  never  heard  such  from  a  Prime 


THE    REFORM    AND    IRISH    ClIURCtt    QUESTIONS.  369 

Minister  before.  Mr.  Disraeli  retorted  with  vigour,  and,  having 
charged  Mr.  Bright  with  indulging  in  stale  invective,  challenged 
him  to  bring  his  charges  to  the  vote  of  the  House.  This  exciting 
scene  terminated  by  the  passing  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  resolution. 
As  finally  reported  to  the  House,  the  resolutions  were  four  in 
number.  Three  we  have  already  given,  and  the  fourth  ran  as 
follows : — '  That  when  legislative  effect  shall  have  been  given  to 
the  first  resolution  of  this  committee,  respecting  the  Established 
Church  of  Ireland,  it  is  right  and  necessary  that  the  grant  to 
Maynooth  and  the  Regium,  Donum  be  discontinued,  due  regard 
being  had  to  all  personal  interests.  Her  Majesty,  having  replied 
to  the  address  that  she  would  not  suffer  her  interests  to  stand  in 
the  way  of  an^  measures  contemplated  by  Parliament,  on  the 
14th  of  May  Mr.  Gladstone  obtained  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill  to 
prevent  for  a  limited  time  new  appointments  in  the  Irish  Church, 
and  to  restrain  for  the  same  period  the  proceedings  of  the  Eccle- 
siastical Commissioners  for  Ireland.  On  the  22nd,  after  a  lengthy 
discussion,  the  Suspensory  Bill  was  read  a  second  time,  the 
numbers  in  its  favour  being  312  ;  against,  258 — majority,  54. 
The  bill  passed  the  Commons,  but  upon  the  motion  for  its  second 
reading  in  the  House  of  Lords  it  was  defeated  by  a  large  majority 
— a  result  by  no  means  unexpected. 

This  great  question  was  now  remitted  for  settlement  to  the 
constituencies.  The  Opposition  had  cleared  the  ground  for  action, 
and  felt  that  the  decision  of  the  Lords  on  the  Suspensory  Eill 
would  have  little  or  no  effect  upon  the  country  as  to  the  general 
question  of  the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church.  On  the 
31st  of  July,  the  last  Parliament  elected  under  the  Reform  Bill 
of  1832  was  prorogued  with  a  view  to  its  dissolution  in  the 
middle  of  November ;  it  was  understood  that  the  new  Parliament 
would  be  summoned  in  time  to  permit  a  crucial  debate  to  take 
place  upon  the  question  of  the  Irish  Church — in  which  the  fate 
of  the  Government  was  involved — before  the  close  of  the  year. 

Early  in  August  Mr.  Gladstone  began  his  electoral  campaign 
in  South-west  Lancashire.  Addressing  a  meeting  at  St.  Helen's, 
he  said  he  spoke  in  literal  truth  and  not  in  mere  sarcasm,  when 
he  affirmed  of  the  Irish  Church,  '  You  must  not  take  away  its 
abuses,  because  if  you  take  them  away  there  will  be  nothing  left.' 
It  was  idle  to  draw  a  comparison  between  the  Church  of  Ireland 
and  the  Church  of  England,  for  the  latter  entered  into  the 
natural  life  and  purpose  of  the  country.  Mr.  Gladstone  also 
delivered  addresses  at  Liverpool,  Warrington,  Wigan,  Ormskirk, 
and  other  places.  The  right  hon.  gentleman's  address,  in  which 
the  policy  of  the  Liberal  party  was  duly  set  forth,  appeared  on 
the  9th  of  October.  After  referring  to  the  defeat  of  Lord  Russell's 

B  U 


370  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Ministry,  and  the  enormous  addition  to  the  public  expenditure 
made  by  Mr.  Disraeli's  Government ,  Mr.  Gladstone  defended  the 
removal  of  the  Irish  Establishment  as  the  discharge  of  a  debt  of 
civil  justice,  and  the  blotting  out  of  a  national,  almost  a  world- 
wide reproach.  They  should  proceed  with  all  due  regard  to  exist- 
ing interests,  but  a  considerable  property  would  probably  remain 
at  the  disposal  of  the  State.  The  mode  of  its  application  could 
only  be  suggested  to  Parliament  by  those  who,  as  a  Government, 
might  have  means  and  authority  to  examine  into  the  wants  of 
Ireland.  These  funds,  however,  should  not  be  applied  to  the 
teaching  of  religion  in  any  other  form.  He  confidently  asked 
the  electors  for  their  approval  of  the  policy  of  the  Opposition  upon 
this  great  question.  Election  speeches  followed  each  other  in 
rapid  succession,  and  the  country  could  scarcely  keep  pace  with 
Mr.  Gladstone's  extraordinary  eloquence. 

On  the  llth  of  November  Parliament  was  dissolved,  and  writs 
were  issued  for  a  new  one,  returnable  on  the  10th  of  December. 
The  election  for  South-west  Lancashire  naturally  absorbed  the 
largest  share  of  the  public  attention,  as  it  was  well  known  that 
no  effort  would  be  spared  to  defeat  Mr.  Gladstone.  The 
nomination  took  place  on  the  22nd  of  November,  the  hustings 
being  erected  in  front  of  St.  George's  Hall,  Liverpool.  The 
weather  was  bitterly  cold,  but  several  thousand  persons  were 
present.  The  usual  electioneering  noises  were  prevalent,  and 
while  Mr.  Gladstone  was  speaking  he  was  regaled  with  a  choral 
performance  of  *  God  save  the  Queen.'  Placards  of  a  satirical 
kind  were  exhibited,  the  Conservatives  being  especially  happy  in 
their  inscriptions.  Some  of  these,  according  to  the  daily  journals, 
provoked  laughter  from  Mr.  Gladstone  himself.  Amongst  the 
most  amusing '  hits '  were '  Time  table  to  Greenwich,'  and  *  Bright's 
disease  and  Lowe  fever.'  Yet  good-humour  prevailed  during 
the  proceedings.  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  spoke  for  forty  minutes, 
referred  to  the  elections  which  had  already  taken  place,  where  the 
Ministerial  candidates  had  been  scattered  right  and  left.  He 
reviewed  the  acts  of  the  Government,  and  repeated  his  charges 
of  extravagance.  He  also  maintained  that  some  of  the  provisions 
of  the  Reform  Act  must  be  amended.  Alluding  to  the  abortive 
Ministerial  propositions  brought  forward  by  Lord  Mayo  in  the 
preceding  March,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  declared  that  the 
Cabinet  were  without  a  policy,  and  there  was  no  guarantee  that 
they  would  take  any  well-defined  course.  He  denied  that  the 
Liberal  policy  was  calculated  to  injure  the  cause  of  Protestantism, 
and  pointed  to  the  elections  in  Scotland,  a  thoroughly  Protestant 
part  of  the  kingdom,  as  a  proof  that  the  people  had  no  faith  in 
the  « No  Popery '  cry.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  referred  to  the  Liberal 


THE    REFORM    AND    IRISH    CHURCH    QUESTIONS.  371 

victories  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  appealed  to  the  electors  of 
South-west  Lancashire  to  permit  him  to  speak  the  words  of  truth 
and  justice  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  name  and  with  the 
authority  of  that  important  constituency. 

There  was  a  great 'preponderance  of  feeling  in  favour  of  Mr. 
Gladstone  at  the  hustings  ;  but  on  the  following  day  he  was 
defeated  at  the  poll,  the  numbers  being — Cross  (C.),  7,729  ; 
Turner  (C.),  7,676  ;  Gladstone  (L.),  7,415  ;  and  Grenfell  (L.), 
6,939.  The  leader  of  the  Opposition  issued  the  following  brief 
address  to  the  electors : — '  Gentlemen,  I  return  my  most  cordial 
thanks  to  the  7,41 5  electors  who  supported  me  at  the  poll,  and 
to  the  numerous  and  zealous  friends  who  have  so  ably  acted  on 
my  behalf.  It  is  to  me  a  matter  of  lively  satisfaction,  which  I 
can  never  lose,  that  I  received  a  large  majority  of  votes  within 
the  district  of  Liverpool.'  The  right  hon.  gentleman,  however, 
wae  not  without  a  seat  in  the  House,  having  been  already  elected 
for  Greenwich.  The  Liberals  of  that  borough,  as  a  precautionary 
measure  against  a  possible  contingency  elsewhere,  determined 
upon  putting  Mr.  Gladstone  in  nomination,  together  with  Mr. 
Alderman  Salomons.  Both  were  returned  by  large  majorities,  the 
numbers  being — Mr.  Alderman  Salomons  (L.),  6,645  ;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone (L.),  6,551 ;  Sir  H.  W.  Parker  (C.),  4,661 ;  and  Lord  Mahon 
(C.),  4,342. 

Although  the  Liberals  sustained  several  serious  single  defeats 
during  the  elections—  notably,  those  of  Mr.  Gladstone  in  South- 
west Lancashire,  the  Marquis  of  Hartington  in  North  Lanca- 
shire, and  Mr.  J.  Stuart  Mill  in  Westminster — there  was  an  enor- 
mous preponderance  of  Liberal  feeling  manifested  throughout  the 
country.  The  Liberal  majority  was  placed  by  the  daily  journals 
at  115.  The  Conservatives  were,  of  course,  strong  in  the  English 
counties ;  but  in  the  boroughs  they  could  only  return  94  mem- 
bers, as  against  214  Liberal  representatives.  In  Scotland  the 
Liberal  majority  was  still  more  marked.  The  Liberals  took  all 
the  burghs,  while  the  Conservatives  only  secured  seven  seats  in 
the  counties,  as  against  twenty-three  by  their  opponents.  Ireland 
also  gave  a  majority  for  the  Liberals,  both  in  counties  and 
boroughs.  Since  1832  no  such  party  majority  had  been  known. 
An  analysis  distinguishing  the  three  kingdoms  shows  that  in  this 
remarkable  election  of  1868  the  total  Liberal  vote  in  England 
and  Wales  was  1,231,450;  the  Conservative  vote,  824,057 — 
majority,  407,393.  The  total  Liberal  vote  in  Scotland,  with  three 
elections  undecided  (which  ultimately  added  a  slight  further  gain 
to  the  Liberals),  was  123,410;  the  Conservative  vote,  23,391  — 
majority,  100,019.  The  total  Liberal  vote  in  Ireland  was  53,379  ; 
the  Conservative  vote,  36,082 — majority,  17,297.  The  gross 

BB2 


372  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Liberal  vote  was  thus  1,408,239;  and  the  gross  Conservative  vote, 
883,530,  leaving  a  majority  in  favour  of  the  former  of  524,709. 
Another  test  also  demonstrated  the  strength  of  the  Liberals.  The  92 
constituencies  gained  by  them  throughout  the  elections  contained 
a  population  of  6,611,950  ;  while  the  69  won  by  the  Conservatives 
contained  only  a  population  of  5,177,534,  leaving  a  balance  on 
the  side  of  the  Liberals  of  1,434,416.  There  were  no  fewer  than 
227  out  of  the  whole  number  of  members  returned  who  had  no 
seat  in  the  previous  Parliament,  being  upwards  of  one-third  of  the 
entire  House  of  Commons. 

The  national  verdict  being  thus  strongly  in  favour  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  policy,  Mr.  Disraeli  did  not  adopt  the  usual  course  of 
waiting  for  its  endorsement  by  the  new  Parliament  ;  but,  in  a 
statement  addressed  to  his  supporters,  announced  that  Ministers 
had  tendered  their  resignations  to  her  Majesty.  Having  briefly 
reviewed  in  this  circular  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
general  election  was  conducted,  and  the  question  at  issue,  the 
Premier  said  it  was  clear  that  the  existing  Administration  could 
not  expect  to  command  the  confidence  of  the  newly-elected  House 
of  Commons  ;  but  he  added  that  the  members  of  the  Government 
would  continue  to  offer  an  uncompromising  resistance  to  the  dis- 
establishment and  disendowment  of  the  Irish  Church. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  who  was  naturally  the  only  Liberal  statesman 
to  whom  her  Majesty  could  have  recourse,  received  the  Eoyal 
summons  on  the  4th  of  December.  In  obedience  to  the  Queen's 
commands,  he  undertook  to  form  a  Ministry.  On  the  9th  the 
new  Government  was  completed,  and  on  the  following  day  the 
Premier  issued  a  brief  address  to  his  constituents.  Contrary  to 
original  expectation,  the  new  Cabinet  included  Mr.  Bright  as 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  Referring  to  this  matter  in  a 
speech  at  Birmingham,  the  hon.  member  said  that  he  had  never 
aspired  to  the  dignity  of  office  ;  and  when  the  question  was  put 
to  him  whether  he  would  step  into  the  position  in  which  he  now 
found  himself,  the  answer  which  came  from  his  heart  was  that  of 
the  Shunamite  woman  to  the  prophet, '  I  dwell  among  mine  own 
people.'  Happily,  he  trusted  that  the  time  had  come  when  in 
this  country  an  honest  man  might  enter  the  service  of  the  Crown, 
and  at  the  same  time  not  feel  it  in  any  degree  necessary  to 
dissociate  himself  from  his  own  people. 

The  new  Premier  and  the  various  members  of  the  Ministry 
were  unopposed  on  presenting  themselves  for  re-election  to  their 
respective  constituencies.  Speaking  at  Greenwich,  Mr.  Gladstone 
said  that  in  view  of  the  recent  manifestation  throughout  the 
country,  it  was  not  unnatural  that  the  Disraeli  Government 
should  have  melted  away  before  the  Parliament  which  they  had 


THE    REFOKM    AND    IEISH    CHUECH    QUESTIONS.  373 

called  into  existence — without  looking-  that  Parliament  in  the 
face,  and  without  asking  from  it  the  judgment  they  had  under- 
taken to  challenge — melted  away,  in  the  words  of  our  greatest 
poet,  '  like  a  mockery  king  of  snow.'  Eeferring  to  the  question 
of  the  Ballot,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  the  acts  of  intimidation 
which  had  characterised  many  of  the  recent  contests  had  led  him 
to  the  belief  that,  whether  by  open  voting  or  whatsoever  means, 
the  liberty  of  the  elector  must  be  secured.  It  would  also  be 
the  duty  of  the  Liberal  Government  forthwith  to  remedy  the 
grievances  inflicted  by  the  rate-paying  clauses  of  the  Eeform 
Act.  Touching  upon  education,  the  relations  between  capital 
and  labour,  and  the  public  expenditure,  he  observed  that  no 
Administration  could  be  expected  at  once  to  deal  with  every 
great  public  question,  but  he  should  be  much  disappointed  if 
there  was  not  an  immediate  reduction  in  the  estimates.  With 
regard  to  the  Irish  Church,  he  denied  that  there  was  any  analogy 
whatever  between  that  Church  and  the  Established  Church  of 
England,  while  the  former  had  been  condemned  by  the  voice  of 
the  people  in  the  three  kingdoms.  *  We  confide  (said  the  Premier) 
in  the  traditions  we  have  received  of  our  fathers ;  we  confide  in 
the  soundness  both  of  the  religious  and  of  the  civil  principles 
that  prevail ;  we  confide  in  the  sacredness  of  that  cause  of 
justice  in  which  we  are  engaged,  and  with  that  confidence  and 
persuasion  we  are  prepared  to  go  forward.' 

A  new  Liberal  Government — able  in  many  of  its  own  consti- 
tuent elements,  and  supported  by  the  overwhelming  vote  of  the 
people — was  thus  installed  before  the  close  of  the  year.  The 
task  before  it  was  arduous,  for  although  it  owed  its  formation 
ostensibly  to  the  national  desire  for  the  settlement  of  one  great 
question,  there  were  other  questions  looming  in  the  distance 
which  might  prove  a  source  of  difficulty  and  danger.  However, 
for  the  special  work  it  was  pledged  to  accomplish,  no  Government 
could  have  been  more  fully  strengthened  and  equipped  than  that 
which  had  Mr.  Gladstone  for  its  chief. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OP    LIBERALISM. 

The  difficulties  of  Disestablishment — Attacks  upon  Mr.  Gladstone's  Measure — The 
Premier's  Speech  on  unfolding  his  Scheme — Details  of  the  Hill — The  Reyium 
Donnm  and  the  Maynooth  Grant — Financial  Results  of  the  Operations — Character 
of  the  Premier's  Address — Debates  upon  the  Bill — Speeches  of  Mr.  Disraeli,  Mr. 
Bright,  Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy,  and  others — Mr.  Gladstone's  Reply — Second  Read- 
ing of  the  Bill  carried  by  an  overwhelming  Majority — Its  subsequent  Stages — 
Reception  in  the  Lords — a  memorable  Division — The  Measure  passes — Its 
Character  described — The  Irish  Land  Bill  introduced — Mr.  Gladstone's  compre- 
hensive Speech — Details  of  the  Scheme — Nature  of  the  Government  Proposals — 
They  are  attacked  by  Dr.  Ball  and  Mr.  Disraeli — Singular  Division  on  the  second 
Reading — The  Bill  passes  both  Houses— Elementary  Education  Bill  introduced — 
Another  important  Measure  carried — Massacre  of  English  Travellers  by  Greek 
Brigands — Proceedings  in  Parliament — The  Franco-German  War — Position  of 
England — Publication  of  the  proposed  Franco-Prussian  Treaty — Mr.  Gladstone 
on  English  Neutrality — Legislative  Changes  in  1870 — Release  of  the  Fenian 
Prisoners. 

ALTHOUGH  Mr.  Gladstone  was  thus  powerfully  sustained  by  the 
country  in  his  resolve  to  disestablish  the  Irish  Church,  there 
were  many  persons  who  doubted  the  successful  issue  of  his  policy. 
The  magnitude  of  the  task  before  the  new  Premier  was  such  as 
might  well  appal  any  statesman.  It  is  one  thing  to  pass  an 
abstract  resolution  declaring  disestablishment  advisable  and  neces- 
sary ;  it  is  another  to  cope  with  the  details  and  difficulties  which 
an  actual  measure  involves.  This  great  line  of  public  policy  and 
action  had  certainly  been  approved  by  the  constituencies  with 
unmistakable  clearness  ;  but  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  did  not  dis- 
guise the  fact  that  the  labour  before  the  Government  was  of  a 
most  arduous  and  intricate  character.  A  large  section  of  the 
Conservative  party  still  believed  it  to  be  impossible  of  achieve- 
ment, and  their  view  was  shared  by  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
clergy.  The  undertaking  was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  and  the  most 
difficult  to  which  any  statesman  of  modern  times  had  committed 
himself ;  but,  fortunately  for  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  Liberal  party 
never  wavered  in  their  allegiance  to  him ;  and  he  was  enabled  to 
construct,  and  carry  through  with  few  serious  alterations,  the 
measure  to  which  he  and  his  Cabinet  stood  pledged. 

The  spirit  in  which   these   disestablishment   proposals   were 
received  by  the  warmest  defenders  of  the  Irish  Church,  may  be 


THE    GOLDEN   AGE    OF    UBEBALISM.  375 

gathered  from  the  reports  of  the  public  meetings  and  of  the 
various  Synods  held  at  this  period.  At  one  of  the  latter,  the 
measure  was  denounced  as  '  highly  offensive  to  Almighty  God.' 
Speaking  at  Cork,  Lord  Bandon  said  that  compromise  was 
utterly  impracticable,  as  the  plunder  of  the  Church  was  only 
preparatory  to  the  plunder  of  the  land.  He  had  no  security  for 
his  property  for  to-morrow.  The  Bishop  of  Ossory  described  the 
bill  as  <  framed  in  a  spirit  of  inveterate  hostility  to  the  Church.' 
The  Earl  of  Carrick  maintained  that  it  was  *  the  greatest  national 
sin  ever  committed.'  Lord  de  Vesci  alluded  to  it  as  *  a  perilous 
weakening  of  the  foundations  of  property ; '  while  the  Archdeacon 
of  Ossory,  addressing  the  same  meeting  as  his  lordship,  exhorted 
his  hearers  to  l  trust  in  God  and  keep  their  powder  dry.'  The 
Archdeacon,  however,  was  careful  to  explain  that  in  thus  using 
a  memorable  phrase  of  Oliver  Cromwell's  he  made  no  reference 
to  '  carnal  weapons.'  In  the  sittings  of  Convocation,  Archdeacon 
Denison  deplored  '  the  great  national  sin  '  into  which  the  country 
seemed  to  be  plunging.  Dr.  Jebb  asked  the  assembly  to  express 
its  '  utter  detestation  of  a  most  ungodly,  wicked,  and  abominable 
measure  ; '  while  Archdeacon  Moore  insisted  that  at  all  hazards 
the  Queen  must  interfere  to  prevent  '  this  dreadful  thing ' — 
*  better  jeopardise  her  crown  than  destroy  the  Church.' 

But  the  language  of  many  of  the  Orange  laity  was  still  more 
extraordinary.  At  a  meeting  held  in  Exeter  Hall,  the  rejection 
of  the  bill  by  the  Peers,  and  the  prompt  dismissal  of  the  Ministry 
by  her  Majesty,  were  demanded.  The  speeches  delivered  were  of 
a  most  violent  character,  the  Government  being  spoken  of  as 
'  traitors,' '  robbers,'  and  *  political  brigands,'  while  the  statements 
made  by  the  Liberal  press  and  Liberal  speakers  were  characterised 
as  lies.  A  Conservative  member  of  Parliament  said  that  there 
were  thousands  of  Protestants  in  his  part  of  the  country  who 
thought  Mr.  Gladstone  was  a  '  traitor  to  his  Queen,  his  country, 
and  his  God,'  and  the  righteous  retribution  which  he  (the  member) 
would  visit  upon  the  right  hon.  gentleman  was  *  perpetual  exclu- 
sion from  power  for  having  dared  to  put  his  hand  on  the  ark  of 
God.'  Another  speaker  described  the  Cabinet  as  '  a  Cabinet  of 
brigands.'  All  Orangemen,  of  course,  were  not  so  violent  as  those 
whose  utterances  have  been  cited ;  and  we  have  only  introduced 
these  examples  as  showing  the  calumnies  heaped  upon  Mr.  Glad- 
stone for  undertaking  what  he  deemed  to  be  an  act  of  simple 
justice  towards  Ireland  and  the  too  long  neglected  Irish  people. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  Mr.  Gladstone  unfolded  his  scheme  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  For  three  hours  the  orator  fixed  the 
attention  of  a  densely-crowded  chamber  while  he  described  the 
Ministerial  method  of  dealing  with  the  Irish  Church.  As  Mr. 


376  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Disraeli  afterwards  said,  there  was  not  a  single  redundant  word 
in  this  remarkable  speech.  The  heads  of  the  Acts  relating  to 
the  Established  Church  of  Ireland  and  Maynooth,  and  the  first 
resolution  of  the  previous  session,  having  been  read,  Mr.  Gladstone 
moved  for  leave  to  introduce  a  bill  Ho  put  an  end  to  the 
Established  Church  in  Ireland,  to  make  provision  in  respect  to 
the  temporalities  thereof,  and  of  the  Royal  College  of  Maynooth.' 
CommenciDg  by  a  brief  review  of  the  previous  stages  of  the 
question,  and  answering  in  the  outset  some  of  the  principal 
objections  to  the  Government  policy,  the  speaker  recalled  the 
attention  of  the  House  to  the  pledges  given  by  those  who  had 
taken  up  the  subject.  The  bill  for  putting  an  immediate  end  to 
the  Establishment  and  the  public  endowment  of  the  Irish 
Church  would  be  a  thorough  but  at  the  same  time  a  liberal  and 
indulgent  measure,  prompt  in  its  operation,  and  final  in  every 
respect."  Dividing  his  analysis  of  the  bill  into  three  parts — its 
immediate  effect,  its  effect  at  a  certain  time  fixed  (but  not 
unalterably)  at  January  1,  1871,  and  its  operation  when  the 
process  of  winding  up  the  affairs  of  the  Irish  Church  was  brought 
to  a  close — Mr.  Gladstone  observed  that  the  bill  provided,  on 
the  first  head,  that  the  present  Ecclesiastical  Commission  should 
be  at  once  wound  up,  and  a  new  commission  appointed  for  ten 
years,  in  which  the  property  of  the  Irish  Church,  subject  to  life 
interests,  should  be  vested  from  the  time  of  the  passing  of  the 
bill.  Therefore,  technically  and  legally,  there  would  be  an 
immediate  disendowinent  of  the  Irish  Church  ;  but  disestablish- 
ment would  be  postponed  until  the  1st  of  January,  1871.  The 
union  between  the  Churches  of  England  and  Ireland  would  be 
dissolved  at  that  date,  and  all  ecclesiastical  corporations  would 
be  abolished.  The  Ecclesiastical  Courts  would  cease,  and  the 
Ecclesiastical  Laws  would  no  longer  be  binding  as  laws ;  except 
that  they  would  be  understood  to  exist  as  the  terms  of  the 
voluntary  contract  between  clergy  and  laity,  until  they  were 
altered  by  the  governing  body  of  the  disestablished  Church 
With  regard  to  the  interval  between  the  passing  of  the  Act  and 
the  date  of  January  1st,  1871,  and  during  the  reorganisation  of 
the  Church,  it  was  proposed  that  appointments  should  be  made 
to  spiritual  offices,  but  that  they  should  not  carry  with  them  the 
freehold  or  confer  vested  interests.  In  the  same  provisional  and 
temporary  manner,  appointments  would  be  made  to  vacant 
bishoprics,  but  only  on  the  prayer  of  the  bishops  to  consecrate  a 
particular  person  to  a  vacancy  ;  and  these  appointments  would 
carry  with  them  no  vested  interests,  and  no  rights  of  peerage. 
Crown  livings  vacant  during  the  same  period  would  be  filled 
up  on  similar  principles. 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  377 

In  order  to  assist  the  reorganisation  of  the  Church,  and  to 
favour  the  creation  of  a  body  which  could  negotiate  on  behalf  of 
the  Church  with  the  Commissioners,  the  Convention  Act,  which 
prevented  the  assembling  of  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Church, 
would  be  repealed ;  and  power  would  be  taken  to  the  Queen  in 
council  to  recognise  any  governing  body  which  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  the  disestablished  Church  might  agree  on,  and  which 
actually  represented  both  ;  and  that  body  would  be  incorporated. 
Mr.  Gladstone  assumed  that  by  January  1,  1871,  or  some  other 
date  to  be  incorporated  in  the  bill,  this  governing  body  would 
have  been  constituted ;  and  he  then  proceeded  to  explain  the  com- 
plicated details  of  the  arrangements  for  dealing  with  the  Church 
and  its  property  in  a  disestablished  condition.  In  this  long  and 
.  lucid  explanation  he  first  dealt  with  vested  interests.  A  vested 
interest  he  defined  to  be  the  title  of  an  incumbent — including 
in  this  term  bishops  and  dignitaries  as  well  as  beneficed  clergy — 
to  receive  a  certain  annuity  out  of  the  property  of  the  Church 
(fees,  pew-rents,  &c.,  being  put  out  of  the  question),  in  considera- 
tion of  the  performance  of  a  certain  duty.  The  Commissioners 
would  ascertain  the  amount  of  each  incumbent's  income,  deduct- 
ing what  he  paid  for  curates ;  and,  so  long  as  he  continued  to 
discharge  his  duties,  that  income  would  be  paid  him ;  but  he 
might  apply  to  have  this  commuted  into  an  annuity  for  life.  It 
was  not  proposed  to  interfere  compulsorily  with  the  position  of 
the  incumbent  in  relation  to  his  freehold  or  the  incidents  of  his 
landlordship,  with  three  exceptions — that  his  title  to  the  tithe 
rent-charge  would  be  vested  immediately  in  the  Commissioners  ; 
that  the  freehold  of  churches  wholly  in  ruins  would  be  taken 
from  the  incumbent ;  and  that  the  peerage  rights  of  the  Irish 
bishops  would  cease  at  once.  Mr.  Gladstone  next  observed  that 
the  compensation  to  curates  would  be  of  two  kinds  :  those  whom 
he  described  as  '  transitory  curates '  would  be  dealt  with  on  a 
principle  borrowed  from  the  Civil  Service  Superannuation  Act, 
and  would  be  dismissed  with  a  gratuity ;  but  permanent  curates, 
viz.,  those  who  had  been  employed  in  the  same  parish  from 
January  1,  1869,  to  January  1,  1871 — or  had  left  their  employ- 
ment not  from  their  own  free-will  or  misconduct  —would  be 
entitled  to  compensation  on  the  same  principle  as  the  incumbents. 
This  compensation  would  be  paid  by  the  incumbents.  It  was 
not  proposed  to  touch  private  endowments,  and  these  would  be 
the  only  marketable  property  conveyed  to  the  Church.  The 
Premier,  however,  limited  the  term  to  money  contributed  from 
private  sources  since  the  year  1660,  and  pointed  out  that  it 
would  not  include  churches  and  glebe  houses.  As  to  churches, 
wherever  the  *  governing  body '  made  an  application,  accompanied 


378  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

by  a  declaration  that  they  meant  either  to  maintain  the  church 
for  public  worship  or  to  remove  it  to  some  more  convenient  posi- 
tion, it  would  be  handed  over  to  them ;  but  in  the  case  of  St. 
Patrick's  Cathedral,  and  about  a  dozen  other  churches  partaking 
of  the  character  of  national  memorials,  the  Commissioners  would 
be  empowered  to  allot  a  moderate  sum  for  their  maintenance. 
Those  churches  which  were  not  in  use,  and  which  were  not  capable 
of  being  restored  for  purposes  of  worship,  would  be  handed  over  to 
the  Board  of  Works,  with  an  allocation  of  funds  sufficient  for 
their  maintenance.  Touching  upon  the  very  difficult  point  of 
glebe  houses,  Mr.  Gladstone  announced  that  he  had  seen  reason  to 
modify  his  views  of  the  previous  year.  They  were  not  marketable 
property,  for,  though  an  expenditure  upon  them  of  £1,200,000 
could  be  traced  distinctly,  their  annual  value  was  only  £18,600, 
and  there  was  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  building  charges  upon 
them  which  the  State  would  have  to  pay  on  coming  into  posses- 
sion. It  was  therefore  proposed  to  hand  over  the  glebe  houses  to 
the  governing  body  on  their  paying  the  building  charges,  and 
they  would  be  allowed  to  purchase  a  certain  amount  of  glebe  land 
round  the  houses  on  paying  a  fair  valuation.  The  burial  grounds 
adjacent  to  churches  would  go  with  the  churches,  all  existing 
rights  being  preserved,  and  other  burial  grounds  would  be  handed 
over  to  the  guardians  of  the  poor. 

The  next  question  was  one  of  peculiar  difficulty.  Mr. 
Gladstone  reminded  hon.  members  that  it  was  at  all  times  part 
of  the  views  of  those  who  proposed  the  resolutions  advocating 
disestablishment,  that  with  this  Act  should  come  the  final 
cessation  of  all  relations  between  the  State  and  the  Presbyterian 
clergy  in  Ireland,  and  between  the  State  and  the  College  of 
Maynooth.  The  Regium  Donum  and  the  Maynooth  Grant 
amounted  together  to  about  £70,000,  and  the  Premier  announced 
that  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  recipients  of  the  Regium 
Donum,  would  be  compensated  on  the  same  principles  as  the 
incumbents  of  the  disestablished  Church ;  while  in  regard  both 
to  the  grant  to  Maynooth  and  the  grants  to  Presbyterian  colleges 
— in  order  to  give  ample  time  for  the  necessary  arrangements,  and 
to  avoid  the  sudden  shock  and  disappointment  to  individuals — 
there  would  be  a  valuation  of  all  the  interests  in  these  grants 
at  14  years'  purchase  of  the  capital  amount  annually  voted.  In 
propounding  an  elaborate  scheme  for  the  final  extinction  of  the 
tithe  rent  charge  in  45  years,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  landlords 
would  be  allowed,  if  they  chose,  to  purchase  it  at  22£  years' 
purchase,  and  if  they  did  not  accept  the  offer,  they  would  come 
under  another  and  a  general  operation.  There  would  be  a 
compulsory  sale  to  them  of  the  tithe  rent  charge,  at  a  rate  which 


THE    GOLDEN   AGE    OP    LIBERALISM.  379 

would  yield  4^  per  cent. ;  and,  on  the  other  side,  they  would  be 
credited  with  a  loan  at  3^  per  cent.,  payable  in  instalments  in 
45  years.  The  power  of  purchase  would  remain  in  the  hands  of 
the  tenants  for  three  years  after  the  passing  of  the  Act,  and  it 
was  also  proposed  that  the  tenants  should  have  a  right  of  pre- 
emption of  all  lands  sold  by  the  commission,  and  that  three-fourths 
of  the  purchase  money  might  be  left  on  the  security  of  the  land. 
Mr.  Gladstone  thus  detailed  the  financial  results  of  these 
operations : — The  tithe  rent  charge  would  yield  £9,000,000 ; 
lands  and  perpetuity  rents,  £6,250,000 ;  money,  £750,000 — total, 
£16,000,000 ;  the  present  value  of  the  property  of  the  Irish 
Church.  Of  this,  the  bill  would  dispose  of  £8,650,000,  viz.,  vested 
interests  of  incumbents,  £4,900,000;  curates,  £800,000;  lay 
compensation,  £900,000 ;  private  endowments,  £500,000  ;  build- 
ing charges,  £250,000;  commutation  of  the  Maynooth  Grant 
and  the  Recjium  Donum,  £1,100,000  ;  and  expenses  of  the  com- 
mission, £200,000.  Consequently,  there  would  remain  a  surplus 
of  between  £7,000,000  and  £8,000,000 ;  and  the  question  arose, 
said  the  Premier,  amid  consideiable  excitement,  4  What  shall  we 
do  with  it  ?  '  He  held  it  to  be  indispensable,  under  the  circum- 
stances,-that  the  purposes  to  which  the  surplus  was  applied  should 
be  Irish.  Further,  they  should  not  be  religious,  although  they 
must  be  final,  and  open  the  door  to  no  new  controversy.  'After 
discussing  various  suggestions,  some  of  which  he  dismissed  as 
impossible,  and  others  as  radically  wrong,  the  speaker  announced, 
quoting  the  preamble  of  the  bill,  that  the  Government  had  con- 
cluded to  apply  the  surplus  to  the  relief  of  unavoidable  calami- 
ties and  suffering,  not  provided  for  by  the  Poor  Law.  The  sum 
of  £185,000  would  be  allocated  for  lunatic  asylums  ;  £20,000 
a-year  would  be  awarded  to  idiot  asylums ;  £30,000  to  training 
schools  for  the  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind;  £15,000  for  the  training 
of  nurses ;  £10,000  for  reformatories ;  and  £51,000  to  county 
infirmaries — in  all,  £31 1,000  a-year.  Mr.  Gladstone  claimed  that 
by  the  provision  of  all  these  requirements  they  would  be  aLle  to 
combine  very  great  reforms  ;  and  they  would  also  be  in  a  better 
condition  for  inviting  the  Irish  landlord  to  accede  to  a  change  in 
the  county  cess,  as  they  were  able  to  offer  by  this  plan  a  consider- 
able diminution  in  its  burden.  The  plan  for  disposing  of  the 
residue  he  believed  to  be  a  good  and  solid  plan,  full  of  public 
advantage.  After  touching  upon  possible  errors  in  his  statement, 
and  announcing  that  he  should  be  happy  to  welcome  suggestions 
from  any  quarter,  Mr.  Gladstone  referred  to  the  great  transition 
which  the  Government  were  asking  the  clergymen  of  the  Church 
of  Ireland  to  undergo,  and  to  the  privileges  which  the  laity  were 
called  upon  to  abate.  He  concluded  with  a  peroration  which — 


380  WILLIAM    EWAKT    GLADSTONE. 

inasmuch  as  it  must  always  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  right  hon. 
gentleman's  happiest  efforts — we  shall  place  before  the  reader  in 
its  entirety : — 

'  I  do  not  know  in  what  country  so  great  a  change,  so  great  a  transition,  has 
been  proposed  for  the  ministers  of  a  religious  communion  who  have  enjoyed  for 
many  ages  the  preferred  position  of  an  Established  Church.  I  can  well  understand 
that  to  many  in  the  Irish  Establishment  such  a  change  appears  to  be  notliing  less 
than  ruin  and  destruction  ;  from  the  height  on  which  they  now  stand  the  future  is 
to  them  an  abyss,  and  their  fears  recall  the  words  used  in  King  Lear,  when  Edgar 
endeavours  to  persuade  Glo'ster  that  he  has  fallen  over  the  cliffs  of  Dover,  and 
says: — 

"  Ten  masts  at  each  make  not  the  altitude 
Which  thou  hast  perpendicularly  fallen ; 
Thy  life's  a  miracle  ! f> 

And  yet  but  a  little  while  after  the  old  man  is  relieved  from  his  delusion,  and  finds 
he  has  not  fallen  at  all.  So  I  trust  that  when,  instead  of  the  fictitious  and 
adventitious  aid  on  which  we  have  too  long  taught  the  Irish  Establishment  to  lean, 
it  should  come  to  place  its  trust  in  its  own  resources,  in  its  own  great  mission,  in 
all  that  it  can  draw  from  the  energy  of  its  ministers  and  its  members,  and  the 
high  hopes  and  promises  of  the  gospel  that  it  teaches,  it  will  find  that  it  has 
entered  upon  a  new  era  of  existence — an  era  bright  with  hope  and  potent  for  good. 
At  any  rate,  I  think  the  day  has  certainly  come  when  an  end  is  finally  to  be  put  to 
that  union,  not  between  the  Church  and  religious  association,  but  between  the 
Establishment  and  the  State,  which  was  commenced  under  circumstances  little 
auspicious,  and  has  endured  to  be  a  source  of  unhappiness  to  Ireland  and  of  dis- 
credit and  scandal  to  England.  There  is  more  to  say.  This  measure  is  in  every 
sense  a  great  measure — great  in  its  principles,  great  in  the  multitude  of  its  dry, 
technical,  but  interesting  detail,  and  great  as  a  testing  measure ;  for  it  will  show  for 
one  and  all  of  us  of  what  metal  we  are  made.  Upon  us  all  it  brings  a  great 
responsibility — great  and  foremost  upon  those  who  occupy  this  bench.  We  are 
especially  chargeable,  nay,  deeply  guilty,  if  we  have  either  dishonestly,  as  some 
think,  or  even  prematurely  or  unwisely  challenged  so  gigantic  an  issue.  I  know 
well  the  punishments  that  follow  rashness  in  public  affairs,  and  that  ought  to  fall 
upon  those  men,  those  Phaetons  of  politics,  who,  with  hands  unequal  to  the  task, 
attempt  to  guide  the  chariot  of  the  sun.  But  the  responsibility,  though  heavy, 
does  not  exclusively  press  upon  us ;  it  presses  upon  every  man  who  has  to  take  part  in 
the  discussion  and  decision  upon  this  bill.  Every  man  approaches  the  discussion 
under  the  most  solemn  obligations  to  raise  the  level  of  his  vision  and  expand  its 
scope  in  proportion  with  the  greatness  of  the  matter  in  hand.  The  working  of 
our  constitutional  government  itself  is  upon  its  trial,  for  I  do  not  believe  there 
ever  was  a  time  when  the  wheels  of  legislative  machinery  were  set  in  motion 
under  conditions  of  peace  and  order  and  constitutional  rgularity  to  deal  with  a 
question  greater  or  more  profound.  And  more  especially,  sir,  is  the  credit  and 
fame  of  this  great  assembly  involved  ;  this  assembly  which  has  inherited  through 
many  ages  the  accumulated  honours  of  brilliant  triumphs,  of  peaceful  but 
courageous  legislation,  is  now  called  upon  to  address  itself  to  a  task  which  would, 
indeed,  have  demanded  all  the  best  energies  of  the  very  best  among  your  fathers 
and  your  ancestors.  I  believe  it  will  prove  to  be  worthy  of  the  task.  Should  it 
fail,  even  the  fame  of  the  House  of  Commons  will  suffer  disparagement ;  should 
it  succeed,  even  that  fame,  I  venture  to  say,  will  receive  no  small,  no  insensible 
addition.  I  must  not  ask  gentlemen  opposite  to  concur  in  this  view,  emboldened 
as  I  am  by  the  kindness  they  have  shown  me  in  listening  with  patience  to  a  state- 
ment which  could  not  have  been  other  than  tedious ;  but  I  pray  them  to  bear 
with  me  for  a  moment  while,  for  myself  and  my  colleagues,  I  say  we  are  sanguine 
of  issue.  We  believe,  and  for  my  part  I  am  deeply  convinced,  that  when  the  final 
consummation  shall  arrive,  and  when  the  words  are  spoken  that  shall  give  the 
force  of  law  to  the  work  embodied  in  this  measure — the  work  of  peace  and  justice 
— those  words  will  be  echoed  upon  every  shore  where  the  name  of  Ireland  or 
the  name  of  Great  Britain  has  been  heard,  and  the  answer  to  them  will  come  back 
in  the  approving  verdict  of  civilised  mankind. 

The  scheme  so  admirably   and    luminously    expounded    was 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OP    LIBERALISM.  381 

received  with  vehement  demonstrations  of  approval  by  the  sup- 
porters of  the  Ministry.  The  exposition  which  had  been  looked 
forward  to  with  some  misgiving  was  admitted  to  be  a  complete 
triumph.  The  Conservatives,  who  were  naturally  opposed  to  the 
details  of  the  measure,  agreed  with  their  opponents  in  admiring 
the  excellence  of  the  arrangement,  the  masterly  marshalling  of 
facts,  and  the  lucidity  of  detail  which  characterised  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's statement.* 

Mr.  Disraeli  did  not  oppose  the  introduction  of  the  bill,  but 
demanded  a  period  of  three  weeks  in  which  to  consider  it.  Mr. 
Gladstone  ultimately  agreed  that  the  second  reading  should  not 
be  taken  for  sixteen  days.  On  the  18th,  accordingly,  on  the 
order  for  the  second  reading  of  the  bill,  the  leader  of  the  Opposi- 
tion moved  its  rejection.  His  speech  on  that  occasion  was 
described  by  the  Times  as  '  flimsiness  relieved  with  spangles — the 
definition  of  a  columbine's  skirt.'  He  began  in  the  philosophical 
vein, '  and  while  we  freely  acknowledge  (observed  the  journal  just 
quoted)  that  Mr.  Disraeli's  fun  is  exquisite,  his  philosophy  is 
simply  detestable.  Then  he  became  historical  and  didactic,  and 
his  historical  paradoxes,  which  were  acceptable  enough  in  his  earlier 
political  novels,  fell  flat  when  reproduced  as  serious  arguments 

*  From  amongst  the  many  tributes  paid  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  eloquence  on  this 
occasion,  we  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  one  which  appeared  in  the  Daily 
Telegraph,  and  which  well  interpreted  the  general  sentiment  of  those  who  listened 
to  the  ex-Premier's  oration  on  that '  night  of  justice ' — a  night  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten : — 'We  shall  not  hesitate  to  say  that  Mr.  Gladstone  never  before,  amidst  all  the 
triumphs  that  mark  his  long  course  of  honour  and  success,  displayed  more 
vigorous  grasp  of  his  subject,  more  luminous  clearness  in  its  development, 
earnestness  more  lofty,  or  eloquence  more  appropriate  and  refined  than  in  the 
memorable  deliverance  of  last  evening.  Less  than  the  most  complete  mastery 
of  the  complex  scheme,  from  its  mightiest  principle  to  its  minutest  item, 
would  have  brought  down  that  remarkable  exhibition  of  intellect  from  the 
high  level  of  an  historical  oration  to  a  cold  and  weary  evolution  of  clauses 
and  calculations.  But  with  that  consummate  skill  which  in  old  days  made 
a  fine  art  of  finance  and  taught  us  all  the  romance  of  the  revenue,  Mr. 
Gladstone  made  his  statistics  ornamental,  and  deftly  wove  the  stiffest 
strings  of  figures  into  the  web  of  his  exposition.  Scarcely  even  so  much  as 
glancing  at  his  notes,  he  advanced  with  an  oratorical  step,  which  positively  never 
once  faltered  from  exordium  to  peroration  of  his  amazing  task;  omitting  nothing, 
slurring  nothing,  confusing  nothing ;  but  pouring  from  his  prodigious  faculty  of 
thought,  memory,  and  speech  an  explanation  so  lucid  that  none  of  all  the  many 
points  which  he  made  was  obscure  to  any  of  his  listeners  when  he  had  finished. 
And,  charged  as  the  speech  necessarily  was  witli  hard  and  stern  matter  of  fact  and 
figure,  the  intense  earnestness,  the  sincere  satisfaction  of  the  speaker  at  the  act  of 
concord  and  justice  he  was  inaugurating,  gave  such  elasticity  and  play  to  his 
genius,  that  nowhere  was  the  clause  so  dry  or  the  calculation  so  involved,  but 
some  gentle  phrase  of  respect,  some  high  invocation  of  principle,  some  bright  illu- 
mination of  tlio  theme  from  actual  liFo,  some  graceful  compliment  to  his  hearers, 
lightened  the  pa-<s;i.','<!  of  these  mountains  of  statistics,  and  kept  the  House  spell- 
bound by  thiit  rich  and  energetic  voice.  This  praise  may  soem  extravagant ;  but 
though  Mr.  Gladstone  has  done  many  things  of  marvellous  intellectual  and 
oratorical  force,  his  exposition  last  evening  of  the  measure  from  which  will 
assuredly  date  the  pacification  and  happiness  of  Ireland,  was  a  Parliamentary 
achievement  unparalleled  even  by  himself.' 


382  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

to  arrest  the  attention  and  sway  the  judgment  of  the  House  of 
Commons.'  He  objected  to  disestablishment  because  he  was  in 
favour  of  the  union  of  Church  and  State,  by  which  he  understood 
an  arrangement  which  armed  the  State  with  the  highest  influ- 
ence, and  prevented  the  Church  from  sinking  into  a  sacerdotal 
corporation.  Mr.  Disraeli  dwelt  with  much  earnestness  on  the 
possible  evil  consequences  of  divorcing  authority  from  religion, 
and  warned  the  House  against  establishing  an  independent 
religious  power  in  the  country,  which  might  be  stronger  than  the 
civil  power,  and  not  always  in  agreement  with  it.  As  to  disen- 
dowment,  if  a  State  seized  on  the  property  of  a  Church  without 
assigning  a  reason,  he  held  it  to  be  spoliation  ;  but  with  a  reason, 
valid  or  not,  it  was  a  confiscation.  The  title  of  the  Irish  Church 
was  stronger  than  that  of  any  other  landlord,  and  no  valid  reason 
had  been  assigned  for  depriving  her  of  her  property.  Amid  great 
amusement,  Mr.  Disraeli  sketched  a  hypothetical  case  of  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Government  principle  to  private  property — one  set  of 
landless  Irish  gentry  demanding  the  confiscation  of  the  estates  of 
their  more  fortunate  fellow-countrymen,  from  no  motive  but 
jealousy ;  he  also  referred  to  corporate  property,  as  though  the 
unendowed  London  hospitals  were  to  demand  the  confiscation  of 
the  revenues  of  Guy's,  St.  Bartholomew's,  and  St.  Thomas's.  The 
right  hon.  gentleman  then  criticised,  minutely  and  sarcastically, 
the  various  details  of  the  measure,  and,  in  concluding  an  address 
of  two  hours'  duration,  declared  that  England  could  not  afford 
another  Revolution. 

As  Mr.  Disraeli,  however,  had  himself  effected  a  greater 
revolution  when  he  '  dished  the  Whigs '  upon  the  question  of 
Reform,  his  declaration  failed  to  excite  any  emotion  approaching 
to  terror.  His  address  did  not  rise  to  the  level  of  his  previous 
great  speeches,  and  it  was  manifest  that  the  Opposition  felt 
their  position  had  not  been  put  in  its  strongest  light  until  the 
addresses  of  Dr.  Ball  and  Mr.  Grathorne  Hardy  had  been  delivered. 
The  former,  after  a  lengthened  examination  of  the  bill,  predicted 
that  it  would  produce  general  discontent  and  a  severe  shock  to 
the  rights  of  property,  which  would  bear  fruits  in  an  agitation 
on  the  land  question,  and  would  be  the  precedent  for  more  serious 
organic  changes. 

Mr.  Bright  dealt  with  the  question  on  broad  and  general 
principles.  Alluding  to  Mr.  Disraeli's  contention  that  the 
establishment  was  a  protector  of  freedom  of  religion  and 
toleration,  he  remarked  that  Mr.  Disraeli  seemed  to  read  a 
different  history  from  anybody  else1,  or  that  he  made  his  own, 
and,  like  Voltaire,  made  it  better  without  facts  than  with  them. 
Mr.  Bright  maintained  that  the  Establishment  had  failed  in 


THE   GOLDEN   AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  383 

every  way,  and  demanded,  '  Do  you  think  it  will  he  a  misappro- 
priation of  the  surplus  funds  of  this  great  Establishment  to  apply 
them  to  some  objects  such  as  those  described  in  the  bill?  Do 
you  not  think  that  from  the  charitable  dealing  with  these  matters 
even  a  sweeter  incense  may  arise  than  when  these  vast  funds  are 
applied  to  maintain  three  times  the  number  of  clergy  that  can  te 
of  the  slightest  use  to  the  Church  with  which  they  are  connected  ? 
We  can  do  but  little,  it  is  true.  We  cannot  relume  the 
extinguished  lamp  of  reason.  We  cannot  make  the  deaf  to  hear. 
We  cannot  make  the  dumb  to  speak.  It  is  not  given  to  us — 

"  From  the  thick  film  to  purge  the  visual  ray, 
And  on  the  sightless  eyeballs  pour  the  day." 

But  at  least  we  can  lessen  the  load  of  affliction,  and  we  can  make 
life  more  tolerable  to  vast  numbers  who  suffer.  ...  I  see  this 
measure  giving  tranquillity  to  our  people,  greater  strength  to  the 
realm,  and  adding  a  new  lustre  and  a  new  dignity  to  the  Crown. 
I  dare  claim  for  this  bill  the  support  of  all  good  and  thoughtful 
people  within  the  bounds  of  the  British  Empire,  and  I  cannot 
doubt  that,  in  its  early  and  great  results,  it  will  have  the  blessing 
of  the  Supreme,  for  I  believe  it  to  be  founded  on  those  principles 
of  justice  and  mercy  which  are  the  glorious  attributes  of  His 
eternal  reign.'  This  noble  and  dignified  peroration,  which  would 
have  seemed  daring  almost  coining  from  any  other  lips,  exercised 
a  very  powerful  and  impressive  effect  upon  the  House.  The 
speech  to  which  it  formed  a  fitting  conclusion  was  justly 
characterised  as  '  a  magnificent  oration.' 

Sir  Roundell  Palmer  opposed  the  Government  measure,  assign- 
ing for  so  doing  his  sense  of  an  imperious  and  overwhelming 
necessity.  He  assented  to  disestablishment,  but  there  was  no 
precedent  for  disendowment.  He  admitted,  however,  that  the  bill 
must  pass,  and  urged  the  Irish  Church  not  to  take  Mr.  Disraeli's 
advice  to  hold  back  and  refuse  to  co-operate  in  its  re-organisa- 
tion. Mr.  Lowe  made  a  smart  attack  upon  Mr.  Disraeli,  and 
after  defending  the  bill,  pointed  out  that  the  Irish  Church  had 
had  many  opportunities  of  reconciling  itself  with  the  Irish  people, 
but  had  neglected  them  all.  Its  fall  had  been  a  matter  of 
certainty  for  years;  'and,'  concluded  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  *  the  present  state  of  things  in  Ireland  is  no  longer 
unalterable.  We  can  alter  it,  and  we  will.'  Mr.  Hardy,  who  gave 
Mr.  Gladstone  full  credit  for  having  redeemed  his  pledges  to  sweep 
away  all  that  he  had  once  deemed  precious,  said  he  could  discover 
no  reason  for  this  attack  on  the  Irish  Church  but  jealousy,  such 
as  animated  Haman.  He  denied  that  the  Church  was  a  badge 
of  conquest — also  that  it  had  done  anything  to  deserve  destruc 


384  WILLIAM    EWAfcT    GLADSTONE. 

tion.  *  The  Irish  question '  was  not  the  creation  of  the  Church, 
but  of  the  English  State.  He  maintained  that  the  Act  of  Union 
was  violated  by  the  destruction  of  the  Church,  and  that  it  would 
be  necessary  to  alter  the  Coronation  Oath.  Having  examined  the 
provisions  of  the  measure,  Mr.  Hardy  said  that,  believing  to  the 
best  of  his  judgment,  and  to  the  best  of  the  light  of  his  con- 
science, that  the  bill  was  alike  wrong  in  the  sight  of  God  and 
against  the  interests  of  his  country,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
denounce  and  oppose  the  sacrilegious  measure. 

Mr.  Gladstone  replied,  eliciting  loud  cheers  when  he  remarked 
of  the  latter  portion  of  Mr.  Hardy's  speech  tSiat  it  showed  his  fH> 
ness  for  the  task  which  Burke  disclaimed,  viz.,  'to  draw  an  indict- 
ment against  a  whole  nation.'  But  even  in  his  libellous  picture 
of  the  Irish  people,  serious  evils  were  admitted  for  which  Mr. 
Hardy  had  no  remedy.  The  Government  had  one,  which  of 
necessity  they  proposed  piecemeal.  The  Premier  maintained  that 
Sir  Eoundell  Palmer,  in  giving  up  Establishment,  had  abandoned 
the  worthier  part  of  the  whole  argument.  He  also  showed  that 
the  bill  would  in  no  way  touch  the  Royal  supremacy.  After 
briefly  reviewing  the  course  of  the  debate,  he  said  that  the  charges 
brought  against  the  Government  only  proved  that  they  had  fairly 
fulfilled  their  pledge.  '  As  the  clock  points  rapidly  towards  the 
dawn,'  said  the  speaker  in  conclusion,  '  so  are  rapidly  flowing  out 
the  years,  the  months,  the  days,  that  remain  to  the  existence  of 
the  Irish  Established  Church.  .  .  .  Not  now  are  we  opening 
this  great  question.  Opened,  perhaps,  it  was  when  the  Parliament 
which  expired  last  year  pronounced  upon  it  that  emphatic  judg- 
ment which  can  never  be  recalled.  Opened  it  was,  further,  when 
in  the  months  of  autumn  the  discussions  which  were  held  in  every 
quarter  of  the  country  turned  mainly  on  the  subject  of  the  Irish 
Church.  Prosecuted  another  stage  it  was,  when  the  completed 
elections  discovered  to  us  a  manifestation  of  the  national  verdict 
more  emphatic  than,  with  the  rarest  exceptions,  has  been  wit- 
nessed during  the  whole  of  our  Parliamentary  history.  The  good 
cause  was  further  advanced  towards  its  triumphant  issue  when 
the  silent  acknowledgment  of  the  late  Government  that  they 
declined  to  contest  the  question  was  given  by  their  retirement 
from  office,  and  their  choosing  a  less  responsible  position,  from 
which  to  cany  on  a  more  desultory  warfare  against  the  policy 
which  they  had  in  the  previous  session  unsuccessfully  attempted 
to  resist.  Another  blow  will  soon  be  struck  in  the  same  good 
cause,  and  I  will  not  intercept  it  one  single  moment  more.' 

The  division  was  then  taken .  The  <  Ides  of  March '  had,  indeed, 
proved  disastrous  for  the  Irish  Church.  Great  excitement  pre- 
vailed in  the  House,  and  through  all  its  approaches.  When  the 


THE    GOLDEN   AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  385 

numbers  were  announced,  it  was  found  that  there  appeared — 
For  the  second  reading  of  the  Government  bill,  368  ;  against,  250 
— majority,  118.  This  majority  was  overwhelming  and  decisive; 
it  was  larger  than  had  been  expected  on  either  side.  There  were 
actually  present  in  the  House,  including  tellers,  622  members — 
a  number  exceeded  upon  only  one  or  two  previous  occasions. 
The  division  conclusively  demonstrated  the  progress  of  public 
opinion  upon  the  question  of  disestablishment,  the  majority  being 
almost  double  that  of  the  previous  year.  The  composition  of  the 
House  was  thus  accounted  for : — Ayes,  368  ;  Noes,  250  ;  tellers, 
4;  Speaker,  1 ;  Conservative  seats  vacant,  8  ;  Liberal  seats  vacant, 
6 ;  and  absentees,  21.  Lord  Elcho,  Sir  Round  ell  Palmer,  and 
Mr.  Briscoe  (Liberals)  voted  with  the  Noes.  Six  Conservatives 
voted  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  while  of  the  absentees  eight  were 
Liberals  and  thirteen  Conservatives.  On  both  sides  the  Whips 
exercised  the  greatest  vigilance,  and  the  number  of  members 
whose  absence  could  not  be  accounted  for  was  exceptionally  small. 

The  enormous  support  which  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  received  for 
his  proposals  fortunately  attended  the  progress  of  the  Irish  Church 
Bill  through  its  remaining  stages.  The  progress  of  the  bill  through 
committee  was  exceedingly  slow,  but  at  length — exactly  three 
months  from  its  introduction  in  the  Commons — the  third  reading 
came  on.  The  motion  was  strenuously  opposed,  Mr.  Disraeli 
declaring  that  the  passing  of  the  measure  would  lead  to  the 
ascendancy  of  the  Papal  power  in  Ireland,  with  a  consequent 
reaction  in  the  country.  Mr.  Gladstone  made  a  final  and  eloquent 
defence  of  his  scheme.  He  maintained  that  he  was  only  carrying 
into  effect  the  views  of  Mr.  Pitt  and  other  supporters  of  religious 
equality  in  Ireland.  The  measure  was  neither  unjust,  illiberal, 
nor  harsh ;  neither  would  it  permanently  cripple  Protestantism 
in  Ireland.  'The  Church,'  said  Mr.  Gladstone,  'may  have  much 
to  regret  in  respect  to  temporal  splendour,  yet  the  day  is  to  come 
when  it  will  be  said  of  her,  as  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  that 
"the  glory  of  the  latter  house  is  greater  than  that  of  the  former ; " 
and  when  the  most  loyal  and  faithful  of  her  children  will  learn 
not  to  forget  that  at  length  the  Parliament  of  England  took 
courage,  and  the  Irish  Church  was  disestablished  and  disendowed.' 
The  Government  had  again  a  large  majority,  the  numbers  being 
— For  the  third  reading,  361 ;  against,  247 — majority,  114.  The 
Premier,  however,  was  still  subjected  to  coarse  vituperation  out 
of  doors,  and  even  certain  English  Protestant  journals  published 
unfounded  reports  concerning  the  Premier's  alleged  relations  with 
the  Church  of  Rome — reports  only  intended  to  embarrass  the 
author  of  disestablishment  at  a  critical  moment. 

The  Irish  Church  Bill  led  to  many  animated  discussions  in 

cc 


386  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  House  of  Lords.  At  one  time  it  was  feared  that  it  would 
be  thrown  out  upon  the  second  reading.  The  Earl  of  Derby  and 
Lord  Cairns  argued  with  great  eloquence  against  the  measure, 
but  it  found  a  supporter  of  equal  intellectual  power  on  the 
episcopal  bench.  The  Bishop  of  St.  David's — whose  known 
learning  and  character  had  great  weight  with  the  country — 
stigmatised  as  heathenish  the  vain  and  superstitious  notion  that 
church  property  was  in  any  sense  divine — that  material  offerings 
might  be  accepted  by  the  Most  High  as  supplying  some  want  of 
the  Divine  nature.  Miss  Burdett  Coutts's  market  at  Spitalfields 
was  as  religious  a  work  as  Mr.  Guinness's  restoration  of 
Dublin  Cathedral.  He  was  as  eager  as  any  one  for  Protestant 
ascendancy,  but  ascendancy  of  a  religious,  moral,  and  intellectual 
character,  the  ascendancy  of  truth  and  reason  over  error.  Of 
that  ascendancy  he  did  not  believe  the  Irish  Church  to  be  a 
pillar.  He  had  no  fear  of,  because  no  belief  in,  the  power  of  the 
Pope.  Everywhere  he  saw  it  on  the  decline,  and  a  serious  blow 
would  be  dealt  at  it  in  Ireland  by  removing  a  grievance  which 
gave  the  priesthood  an  artificial  hold  on  the  sentiment  of  the 
people.  The  Bishop  of  Peterborough  strongly  attacked  the  bill, 
and  Lord  Derby  denounced  it  as  a  scheme  the  political  folly  of 
which  was  only  equalled  by  its  moral  turpitude.  Lords  Westbury 
and  Cairns  also  made  fierce  onslaughts  upon  the  measure  (though 
the  former  voted  for  it),  but  the  peers  did  not  follow  Lord 
Derby's  advice  to  reject  the  bill  at  once.  There  appeared  for 
the  second  reading,  179  ;  against,  146— majority  for  the  bill, 
33.  This  was  the  largest  division  in  the  House  of  Lords  within 
living  memory,  no  fewer  than  325  peers  having  taken  part  in  it. 
Eighteen  also  paired.  Amongst  Conservatives  who  voted  with 
the  Ministry  were  the  Marquises  of  Bath  and  Salisbury,  the 
Earls  of  Carnarvon,  Devon,  and  Nelson,  and  Lords  Wharncliffe, 
Lytton,  Calthorpe,  and  Abinger.  The  votes  of  the  episcopal 
bench  attracted  considerable  attention.  Neither  of  the  English 
Archbishops  voted,  but  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin  voted  against 
the  bill,  which  was  supported  by  the  solitary  vote  of  Dr.  Thirlwall, 
Bishop  of  St.  David's.  The  Bishop  of  Oxford  (Dr.  Wilberforce), 
though  present,  did  not  vote.  Thirteen  English  and  two  Irish 
Bishops  pronounced  against  the  bill,  while  there  were  many 
absentees,  including  the  Bishops  of  Carlisle,  Exeter,  Manchester, 
Salisbury,  and  .Winchester.  Lord  Clancarty  alone  signed  a 
protest  against  the  bill,  as  being,  in  his  lordship's  judgment, 
'  directly  at  variance  with  the  obligations  imposed  upon  th'e 
Sovereign  by  the  coronation  oath.' 

The   debate   which   took   place  on   the  second  reading  fully 
sustained  the  reputation  of  the  House  of  Lords  for  eloquence,  if 


THE    GOLKEtf    AGE    Otf    LIBERALISM.  38? 

it  did  not  indeed  enhance  it.  The  bill  passed  this  second  stage 
owing  to  a  feeling  on  the  part  of  many  peers,  that  a  measure 
which  was  thus  supported  by  the  country  and  a  great  majority  of 
the  Lower  House  ought  not  to  be  lightly  thrown  out.  The  ques- 
tion now  arose,  What  would  be  done  in  committee?  Various 
amendments  were  carried  of  an  important  nature,  to  some  of 
which  the  Government  could  not  agree.  The  bill  eventually 
passed  the  Lords  by  121  to  114,  under  a  protest  signed  by  Lord 
Derby  and  forty-three  temporal  and  two  spiritual  peers.  The 
Lords'  amendments  were  considered  by  the  Commons,  and  the 
chief  of  them  were  disagreed  with.  They  were  then  sent  back 
to  the  Lords,  and  an  animated  debate  ensued  in  the  Upper  House. 
Lord  Grey  complained  that  the  Lords  were  humiliated  and 
degraded,  and  Lord  Salisbury  said  their  lordships  were  called  upon 
to  yield  to  the  arrogant  will  of  a  single  man.  The  Earl  of  Win- 
chilsea  compared  Mr  Gladstone  to  Jack  Cade,  and  after  hinting 
at  the  coming  of  an  Oliver  Cromwell,  declared  that  he  was  ready 
for  the  block  sooner  than  surrender.  A  conference  upon  contested 
points  afterwards  took  place  between  Lord  Granville  and  Lord 
Cairns,  and  a  compromise  was  arrived  at.  This  compromise  was 
accepted  by  the  Commons,  and  on  the  26th  of  July  the  Irish 
Church  Bill  received  the  Eoyal  assent. 

Thus  passed  this  remarkable  measure,  which  excited  more  angry 
controversy  than  any  measure  since  the  great  Eeform  Bill  of  1832. 
'  It  was  carried  through  its  various  stages  in  the  face  of  a  united 
and  powerful  Opposition,  mainly  by  the  resolute  will  and 
unflinching  energy  of  the  Prime  Minister,  who,  throughout  the 
long  and  arduous  discussions,  in  which  he  took  the  leading  part, 
displayed,  in  full  measure,  those  qualities  of  acuteness,  force  of 
reasoning,  and  thorough  mastery  of  his  subject,  for  which  he  had 
long  been  conspicuous,  but  which  were  never  more  signally 
exhibited  than  on  this  occasion.  Upon  the  whole,  whatever  may 
be  thought  of  its  merits  or  demerits,  it  can  hardly  be  disputed 
that  the  Act  for  the  Disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church,  intro- 
duced and  carried  into  a  law  within  somewhat  less  than  five 
months,  was  the  most  remarkable  legislative  achievement  of 
modern  times.'  *  The  Government  had  manifestly  every  right  to 
claim,  as  they  did  in  the  Queen's  Speech  at  the  close  of  the  ses- 
sion, that  this  great  measure  might  be  remembered  hereafter  as 
a  conclusive  proof  of  the  paramount  anxiety  of  Parliament  to 
paj  reasonable  regard,  in  legislating  for  each  of  the  three  king- 
doms, to  the  special  circumstances  by  which  it  might  be  distin- 
guished, and  to  deal  on  principles  of  impartial  justice  with  all 
interests  and  all  portions  of  the  nation. 

*  Annual  Register,  1869. 

cc2 


§88  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Having  settled  the  Irish  Church  grievance,  however,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone did  not  rest  there.  This  was  undoubtedly  the  great  senti- 
mental difficulty  in  the  way  of  a  reconciliation  between  the  two 
peoples,  but  there  was  an  equally  important  question  behind — 
that  of  the  land.  Not  even  the  Ministry  which  had  disestablished 
the  Irish  Church  could  expect  to  retain  office  unless  it  went  further 
in  the  direction  of  popular  progress  indicated  by  the  sympathies 
of  both  divisions  of  the  United  Kingdom.  Accordingly,  at  the 
opening  of  the  session  of  1870,  and  in  the  course  of  the  debate 
on  the  Address,  the  Premier  stated  that  the  duty  of  the  Govern- 
ment  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  Ireland  was  absolutely  para- 
mount and  primary.  With  regard  to  Fenianism,  he  believed  it 
would  receive  its  death-blow  from  the  passing  of  good  and  just 
laws  for  removing  the  evils  accompanying  the  tenure  and  cultiva- 
tion of  land  in  Ireland. 

On  the  15th  of  February  the  Irish  Land  Bill  was  brought 
forward  in  a  crowded  House,  the  galleries  being  filled  with  distin- 
guished strangers.  In  the  outset,  Mr.  Gladstone  alluded  to  the 
predictions  of  the  opponents  of  the  Irish  Church  Bill  twelve  months 
before,  that  it  was  the  land  and  not  the  Church  which  lay  at  the 
root  of  Irish  grievances.  He  therefore  trusted  that  the  Opposition 
would  approach  the  question  with  a  due  sense  of  its  importance. 
The  necessity  for  closing  and  sealing  up  the  controversy  was 
admitted  by  all  fair-minded  and  moderate  men  on  both  sides. 
Acknowledging  the  valuable  assistance  rendered  by  the  recent 
literature  on  this  great  problem,  he  proceeded  to  dissipate  some 
of  the  misapprehensions  which  prevailed  as  to  the  condition  of 
Ireland,  such  as  the  notion  that  the  Irish  were  a  Celtic  race,  prone 
to  disorder ;  that  the  land  laws  were  the  same  in  Ireland  as  in 
England,  and  ought  therefore  to  produce  the  same  results  in  both 
countries ;  that  Ireland  had  been  prospering  for  the  last  twenty 
years,  and  that  the  people  had  no  occasion  to  exhibit  feelings  of 
discontent.  On  the  contrary,  with  regard  to  this  last  item,  the 
speaker  demonstrated  that  the  rate  of  wages  had  not  risen  within 
the  last  ten  years,  that  the  number  of  persons  receiving  poor 
relief  had  increased,  the  cost  of  subsistence  had  risen,  and  some  of 
the  most  imprudent  and  violent  interferences  with  the  fixed  usages 
of  the  country  had  occurred.  Moreover,  the  course  of  legislation 
for  the  past,  fifty  years,  though  intended  in  a  beneficial  spirit,  had 
possibly  been  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  occupiers.  The 
Act  ot  1793  giving  the  franchise  to  Koman  Catholics  had  induced 
the  cr:  ation  of  40s.  freeholds,  and  the  abolition  of  the  franchise  in 
1829  vastly  extended  the  mischief,  and,  perhaps,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances of  Ireland,  the  still  greater  mischief  of  mere  yearly 
tenancy.  The  Encumbered  Estates  Act,  which  had  since  passed 


THE    GOLDEtf   AGE    OP    LIBERALISM.  38d 

into  the  Act  for  Dealing  with  the  Sale  of  Landed  Estates,  by  not 
protecting  the  improvements  of  the  tenants,  had  operated  as  an 
extensive  confiscation.  Parliament  also,  during  the  previous  half 
century,  had  completely  changed  the  conditions  of  eviction  against 
the  tenants.  Speaking  broadly,  Mr.  Gladstone  asserted  that  after 
we  had  been  legislating  for  a  century  in  favour  of  Ireland,  it  was 
a  matter  of  doubt  whether,  as  far  as  the  law  was  concerned,  the 
condition  of  the  occupier  was  better  than  before  the  repeal  of  the 
Penal  Laws.  The  present  bill  would  reverse  the  presumption  of 
law  in  favour  of  yearly  tenancies,  and  would  not  leave  owners  and 
occupiers  full  freedom  of  contract. 

The  great  evil  to  be  dealt  with  was  insecurity  of  tenure—  as 
pointed  out  years  before  by  the  Devon  Commission — which  para- 
lysed the  occupier's  industry,  and  vitiated  his  relations  with  his 
landlord,  with  the  State,  and  with  society  at  large.  The  Pre- 
mier, having  glanced  at  the  various  remedies  which  had  been 
suggested,  pronounced  emphatically  against  perpetuity  of  tenure. 
He  held  that  to  convert  the  landlords  into  mere  recipients  of 
rent-charge,  to  divorce  them  from  their  responsibilities,  and  to 
relieve  them  of  their  duties,  would  not  be  for  the  public  good, 
would  cramp  the  development  of  the  agricultural  resources  of  Ire- 
land, and  must  ultimately  reproduce  the  evils  now  complained 
of.  Insecurity  of  tenure  manifested  itself  in  four  modes —  in  the 
withdrawal  of  privileges  hitherto  enjoyed  by  the  tenant,  in  the 
lavish  and  pitiless  use  of  notices  to  quit,  in  evictions,  and  in  the 
raising  of  rents  where  the  increased  value  of  farms  had  been  caused 
by  the  tenants'  improvements.  The  remedy  for  these  serious  evils 
might  be  extracted  from  the  experience  of  Ulster  without  any 
shock  to  the  foundations  of  property.  The  rental  of  eight  coun- 
ties where  stability  or  security  of  tenure  prevailed  was,  in  1779, 
£990,000  ;  in  1 809  it  was  £2,830,000.  The  rest  of  Ireland,  minus 
Ulster,  had  in  1779,  according  to  Arthur  Young,  a  rental  of 
£5,000,000,  and  in  1869  that  rental  was  £9,200,000.  Further 
details  were  adduced,  showing  that  while  the  rent  of  England  and 
Scotland,  where  there  was  more  security  of  tenure,  had  tripled  and 
sextupled  within  the  last  ninety  years,  in  Ireland  it  had  only 
doubled ;  and  while  in  Ulster  it  had  tripled,  in  the  other  provinces 
it  had  not  doubled.  Coming  to  the  provisions  of  the  bill,  Mr. 
Gladstone  divided  them  under  two  heads,  viz.,  the  acquisition  and 
the  occupation  of  land.  Touching  the  first,  Ireland  would  come 
under  the  operation  of  the  two  bills  to  be  introduced  for  facilitat- 
ing the  transfer  of  land  and  the  distribution  of  the  real  estate  of 
intestates,  but  all  the  provisions  specially  affecting  Ireland  were 
contained  in  the  present  bill.  It  proposed  to  increase  the  power  of 
limited  owners  with  regard  to  the  sale  and  lease  of  land,  and  assist- 


3Do  WILLIAM  EWA&T  GLADSTONE. 

ance  would  be  given  by  treasury  loans,  through  the  Irish  Board 
of  Works,  to  tenants  desiring  to  purchase  the  cultivated  lands 
they  then  occupied,  either  by  private  contract  or  through  the 
machinery  of  the  Landed  Estates  Court.  This  assistance  would 
only  be  given  as  a  rule  to  tenants  purchasing  their  own  holdings  ; 
but  where  a  landlord  would  .only  sell  in  gross,  and  the  tenants 
combined  to  buy  four-fifths,  assistance  would  be  given  to  persons 
outside  the  estate  to  purchase  the  other  fifth.  Provision  would 
be  made  for  loans  for  the  reclamation  and  purchase  of  waste  lands, 
and  for  assisting  landlords  to  pay  compensation  to  tenants  giving 
up  their  holdings  of  their  own  free  will. 

Dealing  with  the  second  division  of  the  bill — that  relating  to  the 
occupation  of  land  —Mr.  Gladstone  explained  the  nature  of  the 
judicial  machinery  for  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the  measure. 
This  would  be  of  two  kinds — either  a  court  of  arbitration  or  the 
civil  bill  court — from  which  latter  there  would  be  an  appeal  to 
the  Judges  of  Assize ;  and  under  a  clause  described  as  '  the  equi- 
ties clause,'  the  courts  would  be  able  to  take  into  consideration, 
not  merely  the  legal  aspects  of  each  case,  but  all  the  circumstances 
bearing  equitably  upon  it.  There  were  four  main  provisions  in 
the  bill,  corresponding  to  the  four  descriptions  of  Irish  holdings, 
viz.,  those  held  under  the  Ulster  custom,  those  held  under  analo- 
gous customs  in  other  parts  of  the  country  not  having  the  same 
traditionary  authority,  yearly  tenancies  which  enjoyed  no  kind  of 
protection  from  custom,  and  tenancies  under  lease.  The  bill  would 
take  the  Ulster  custom  as  it  existed,  and  give  it  at  once  the  force 
of  law,  and  it  would  legalise  the  other  customs  subject  to  the 
following  restrictions : — That  the  tenant  should  only  claim  when 
disturbed  by  the  act  of  his  landlord,  but  that  he  should  not  benefit 
if  evicted  for  non-payment  of  rent  or  for  sub-letting ;  that  all 
arrears  of  rent  and  damages  might  be  pleaded  as  a  set>off  by  the 
landlord,  and  that  the  custom  might  be  barred  by  a  lease  for  thirty- 
one  years.  For  tenants  at  will,  the  bill  established  a  scale  of 
damages  which  the  courts — subject  to  the  same  conditions  as  in 
tenancies  under  customs — would  be  able  to  award  to  evicted  ten- 
ants, viz.,  in  holdings  under  £10  a  sum  not  exceeding  seven  years' 
rent ;  in  holdings  between  £10  and  £50  a  sum  not  exceeding  five 
years'  rent ;  between  £50  and  £100  not  exceeding  three  years' 
rent ;  and  over  £100  two  years'  rent.  This  scale,  however,  did  not 
include  compensation  for  reclamation  of  land  and  permanent  build- 
ings, which  would  be  awarded  separately.  In  holdings  over  £50 
the  landlord  might  exempt  himself  from  this  scale  by  giving  a 
lease  for  thirty-one  years,  and  in  holdings  over  £100  the  parties 
might  contract  themselves  out  of  it.  The  Judges  would  be  required 
in  applying  this  scale  to  have  regard  to  the  injury  done  to  the 


THE    GOLDEtf    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  391 

tenants  by  eviction  and  the  improvements  they  had  effected. 
Asking,  amidst  some  laughter,  '  What  is  an  improvement  ?  '  Mr. 
Gladstone  defined  it  in  the  first  place  as  an  addition  to  the  letting 
value  of  the  land  ;  and  secondly,  it  must  be  suitable  to  the  nature 
of  the  holding.  The  bill  would  reverse  the  present  presumption 
of  law  ;  it  would  presume  all  improvements  to  be  the  property  of 
the  tenant,  and  it  would  be  for  the  landlord  to  prove  the  contrary. 
Eetrospective  improvements  would  be  included,  but  only  so  far 
back  as  twenty  years,  except  in  the  case  of  permanent  buildings 
and  reclamation  of  lands ;  but  no  claim  could  be  made  by  a  tenant 
contrary  to  the  terms  of  his  lease.  The  courts  would  take  into 
consideration  the  length  of  time  the  tenant  had  enjoyed  the  im- 
provement ;  and  no  claim  could  be  advanced  for  tenants'  improve- 
ments made  for  a  valuable  consideration,  or  where  the  landlord 
had  contracted  to  perform  them,  and  had  not  failed  in  his  engage- 
ment. As  to  the  holdings  under  lease,  any  owner  might  exempt 
his  lands  from  the  custom,  always  excepting  the  Ulster  custom, 
which  would  be  legalised,  and  from  the  scale  of  damages,  by  giving 
to  his  tenants  a  lease  for  thirty-one  years — provided  that  the  lease 
were  approved  by  the  court,  and  gave  the  tenant  at  the  close  of 
it  a  right  of  compensation  for  manures,  permanent  buildings,  and 
reclamation  of  land.  In  explaining  several  miscellaneous  and  sub- 
ordinate, yet  important  provisions,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  evic- 
tion for  non-payment  of  rent  would  not,  as  a  general  rule,  be 
deemed  a  disturbance  by  the  landlord  ;  but  where  it  followed  on 
inability  to  pay  an  excessive  and  flagrantly  unjust  rent,  the  court 
would  be  allowed  to  take  that  circumstance  into  consideration. 
In  future,  notices  to  quit  would  be  for  twelve  months  dating  from 
the  last  sale  day  in  the  current  year,  and- to  make  them  a  more 
expensive  amusement,  they  must  all  bear  a  half-crown  stamp.  In 
every  new  tenancy  over  £4,  the  county  cess  would  be  divided 
between  owner  and  occupier,  the  occupier  below  that  amount  being 
relieved  altogether. 

In  concluding  his  statement,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  the  Govern- 
ment had  toiled  hard  in  the  construction  of  their  scheme,  but 
they  were  far  from  believing  it  to  be  perfect ;  and  they  invited, 
in  unreserved  good  faith,  the  co-operation  of  all  parties  and  ot 
all  members  of  the  House.  They  desired  that  the  measure  should 
become  a  great  gift  to  Ireland,  and  put  an  end  to  the  grievances 
and  sufferings  which  had  so  long  accompanied  the  tenure  of  land 
in  that  country.  They  had  not  knowingly  proceeded  in  any 
spirit  of  partisanship  :  and  as  they  had  afforded  the  occupier 
improved  security  of  tenure,  so  they  had  afforded  the  landlord 
improved  security  for  his  rent,  and  improved  security  for  the 
better  cultivation  of  his  land.  With  regard  to  the  Irish  labourer, 


392  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

the  only  great  boon — and  it  was  a  great  boon — which  it  was  in 
the  power  of  the  Legislature  to  give  to  him,  was  to  increase  the 
demand  for  his  labour,  and,  by  imparting  a  stimulus  to  the 
agriculture  of  the  country,  to  insure  its  requiring  more  strong 
arms  to  carry  it  on,  and  thereby  to  bring  more  bidders  into  the 
market  for  those  arms,  and  raise  the  natural  and  legitimate  price 
of  their  labour.  Though  the  general  effect  of  the  measure  would 
be  to  impose  the  possibility  of  an  immediate  loss  upon  the 
landlord,  he  would  not  ultimately  be  a  loser.  He  (the  speaker) 
believed  there  was  a  huge  fund  of  national  wealth  in  the  soil  of 
Ireland  as  yet  undeveloped ;  he  trusted,  in  conclusion,  that  this 
bill  would  be  accepted  by  both  landlord  and  tenant  because  it 
was  just : — 

'  If  I  am  asked  what  I  hope  to  effect  by  this  bill,  I  certainly  hope  we  shall  effect  a 
great  change  in  Ireland ;  but  I  hope  also,  and  confidently  believe,  that  this  change 
will  be  accomplished  by  gentle  means.  Every  line  of  the  measure  has  been  studied 
with  the  keenest  desire  that  it  shall  import  as  little  as  possible  of  shock  or  violent 
alteration  into  any  single  arrangement  now  existing  between  landlord  and  tenant 
in  Ireland.  There  is,  no  doubt,  much  to  be  undone ;  there  is  no  doubt  much  to  be 
improved ;  but  what  we  desire  is  that  the  work  of  this  bill  should  be  like  the  work 
of  nature  herself,  when  on  the  face  of  a  desolated  land  she  restores  what  has  been 
laid  waste  by  the  wild  and  savage  hand  of  man.  Its  operations,  we  believe,  will 
be  quiet  and  gradual.  We  wish  to  alarm  none ;  we  wish  to  injure  no  one.  What 
we  wish  is  that  where  there  has  been  despondency  there  shall  be  hope  ;  where  there 
has  been  mistrust  there  shall  be  confidence ;  where  there  has  been  alienation  and 
hate  there  shall,  however  gradually,  be  woven  the  ties  of  a  strong  attachment 
between  man  and  man.  This  we  know  cannot  be  done  in  a  day.  The  measure  has 
reference  to  evils  which  have  been  long  at  work ;  their  roots  strike  far  back  into 
bygone  centuries,  and  it  is  against  the  ordinance  of  Providence,  as  it  is  against  the 
interest  of  man,  that  immediate  reparation  should  in  such  cases  be  possible ;  for  one 
of  the  main  restraints  of  misdoing  would  be  removed,  if  the  consequences  of  mis- 
doing could  in  a  moment  receive  a  remedy.  For  such  reparation  and  such  effects 
it  is  that  we  look  from  this  bill,  and  we  reckon  on  them  not  less  surely  and  not  less 
confidently  because  we  know  they  must  be  gradual  and  slow  ;  and  because  we  are 
likewise  aware  that  if  it  be  poisoned  by  the  malignant  agency  of  angry  or  of  bitter 
passions,  it  cannot  do  its  proper  work.  In  order  that  there  may  be  a  hope  of  its  entire 
success,  it  must  passed — not  as  a  triumph  of  party  over  party,  or  class  over  class ; 
not  as  the  lifting  up  of  an  ensign  to  record  the  downfall  of  that  which  has  once  been 
great  and  powerful — but  as  a  common  work  of  common  love  and  goodwill  to  the 
common  good  of  our  common  country.  Witli  such  objects,  and  in  such  a  spirit  as 
that,  this  House  will,  address  itself  to  the  work,  and  sustain  the  feeble  efforts  of 
the  Government.  And  my  hope,  at  least,  is  high  and  ardent  that  we  shall  live  to  see 
our  work  prosper  in  our  hand,  and  that  in  that  Ireland,  which  we  desire  to  unite 
to  England  and  Scotland  by  the  only  enduring  ties — those  of  free-will  and  free  affec- 
tion— peace,  order,  and  a  settled  and  cheerful  industry  will  diffuse  their  blessings 
from  year  to  year,  and  from  day  to  day,  over  a  smiling  land. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  proposals,  while  they  ensured  for  the  tenant 
security  of  holding,  confiscated  not  a  single  valuable  right  of  the 
Irish  landowner.  The  latter  required  to  be  taught  the  lesson 
that  he  would  receive  the  largest  amount  of  rent  when  he  was 
most  liberal  in  his  arrangements  with  his  tenantry.  The  bill  was 
simple,  and  was  founded  on  the  belief  that  free  contract  lies  '  at 
the  root  of  every  healthy  condition  of  society.  The  tenant  was 
secured  against  oppression  on  the  part  of  his  landlord,  and  the 


THJE    GOLDEN    AGD    OF    LIBERALISM.  393 

landlord  was  secured  legally  against  loss  or  detriment  to  his 
property. 

The  second  reading  was  fixed  for  the  7th  of  March,  and  on 
that  day  a  long  debate  began  upon  the  principles  and  details  of 
the  measure.  Dr.  Ball,  in  a  powerful  speech,  held  that,  as 
regarded  Ulster  tenant-right,  the  bill  perpetuated  and  fixed  a 
custom  which  varied  with  every  estate,  which  was  in  itself  an 
evil,  making,  as  it  were,  a  distinct  law  for  every  separate  holding ; 
as  regarded  compensation,  it  was  fixed  too  high,  the  maximum 
amounting  to  one-third  the  fee-simple.  He  did  not,  however, 
object  to  the  principle ;  but,  as  regarded  future  tenancies,  he 
thought  the  bill  utterly  bad.  Amongst  succeeding  speakers  was 
Sir  Koundell  Palmer,  who  described  the  bill  as  large  and  import- 
ant, but  not  revolutionary,  yet,  at  the  same  time, '  a  humiliating 
necessity.' 

Mr.  Disraeli  glanced  through  the  various  objections  taken  to 
the  measure,  and  then  warmly  attacked  Mr.  Horsman  (who  had 
spoken  strongly  in  favour  of  the  bill)  as  '  a  superior  person.'  When 
Secretary  to  the  Irish  Lord  Lieutenant,  Mr.  Horsman  had  excused 
himself  for  not  bringing  in  bills  on  the  ground  that  his  office  was 
a  complete  sinecure  ;  i  and  we,'  said  Mr.  Disraeli,  i  knowing  what 
a  superior  person  he  was,  did  not  put  an  uncharitable  construction 
on  his  conduct,  but  said,  "  This  is  a  part  of  some  profound  policy, 
which  will  end  in  the  regeneration  of  Ireland  and  in  the  consoli- 
dation of  her  Majesty's  United  Kingdom."  '  He  (Mr.  Disraeli) 
believed  that,  without  giving  any  final  or  general  opinion  upon 
the  merits  of  the  bill,  '  a  more  complicated,  a  more  clumsy,  or 
a  more  heterogeneous  measure  was  never  yet  brought  before  the 
attention  of  Parliament.'  After  ridiculing  the  tribunals  proposed 
by  the  scheme,  his  sketch  of  their  difficulties  being  received  with 
great  laughter,  Mr.  Disraeli  said, '  Do  not  let  us  vote  upon  this  sub- 
ject as  if  we  had  received  threatening  letters — as  if  we  expected 
to  meet  Rory  of  the  Hills  when  we  go  into  the  lobby.  No ;  let 
us  decide  upon  all  those  great  subjects  which  will  be  brought 
under  our  consideration  in  committee  as  becomes  members  of  the 
House  of  Commons.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  had  little  to  reply  to  besides  invective  in  closing 
the  debate.  Upon  all  the  leading  principles  of  the  measure  he 
remained  fixed  in  his  opinion — nothing  had  been  brought  forward 
calculated  to  affect  the  Government  positions.  On  the  general 
question  he  observed, i  It  is  our  desire  to  be  just,  but  to  be  just 
we  must  be  just  to  all.  The  oppression  of  a  majority  is  detestable 
and  odious — the  oppresion  of  a  minority  is  only  by  one  degree 
less  detestable  and  less  odious.  The  face  of  justice  is  like  the 
face  of  the  god  Janus.  It  is  like  the  face  of  those  lions,  the 


S04  WILLIAM   EWAET   GLADSTONE. 

work  of  Landseer,  which  keep  watch  and  ward  around  the  record 
of  our  country's  greatness.  She  presents  the  tranquil  and  majestic 
countenance  towards  every  point  of  the  compass  and  every  quarter 
of  the  globe.  That  rare,  that  noble,  that  imperial  virtue  has  this 
above  all  other  qualities,  that  she  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and 
she  will  not  take  advantage  of  a  favourable  moment  to  oppress 
the  wealthy  for  the  sake  of  flattering  the  poor,  any  more  than  she 
will  condescend  to  oppress  the  poor  for  the  sake  of  pampering 
the  luxuries  of  the  rich.' 

There  was  no  intention  on  the  part  of  the  Opposition  to  divide 
against  the  second  reading  of  the  bill,  but  a  division  was  forced 
by  a  few  members  with  this  extraordinary  result — For  the  second 
reading,  442  ;  against,  1 1 .  Mr.  Disraeli  and  many  of  his  influ- 
ential supporters  went  into  the  lobby  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  and 
the  eleven  members  who  desired  to  record  their  opposition  to  this 
measure  of  pacification  were  the  following :  — Sir  W.  Bagge,  Mr. 
Callan,  Mr.  D'Arcy,  Mr.  E.  Dease,  Mr.  Digby,  Sir  J.  Gray,  the 
Eight  Hon.  J.  W.  Henley,  Mr.  Heron,  Mr.  J.  Lowther,  Sir  P. 
O'Brien,  and  Mr.  Sherlock ;  tellers,  Mr.  Bryan  and  Col.  White. 
Before  the  bill  went  into  committee,  Mr.  Chichester  Fortescue's 
measure  for  securing  the  safety  of  life  and  property  in  Ireland 
was  rapidly  pushed  forward,  in  consequence  of  daring  outrages 
which  had  occurred  in  county  Mayo.  The  amendments  to  the 
Land  Bill,  of  which  notice  was  given,  were  no  fewer  than  three 
hundred  in  number.  Mr.  Disraeli  moved  in  committee  that  the 
compensation  for  eviction  should  be  limited  by  the  insertion  of  the 
words  '  in  respect  of  unexhausted  improvements  made  by  him,  or 
any  predecessor  in  title,  and  of  interruption  in  the  completion  ot 
any  course  of  husbandry  suited  to  the  holding.'  Mr.  Gladstone 
opposed  this  amendment  as  an  undisguised  attempt  to  overthrow 
one  of  the  cardinal  principles  of  the  bill,  and  it  was  defeated  by 
296  votes  to  220.  The  House  thus  decided  that  on  the  long 
disputed  question  of  the  tenure  of  Irish  land,  Ireland  had  been 
right,  and  England  wrong.  The  principle  of  tenant-right  was 
afterwards  affirmed  by  a  large  majority.  After  many  prolonged 
discussions,  the  bill  was  read  a  third  time  on  the  30th  of  May. 
On  being  brought  forward  in  the  Lords,  it  excited  considerable 
discussion,  but  after  a  three  nights'  debate,  the  second  reading 
was  carried  without  a  division.  Struggles  took  place  in  com- 
mittee, but  eventually  this  important  measure  passed  through 
the  Upper  House  with  no  serious  alterations,  and  on  the  1st  of 
August  it  received  the  Royal  assent.  The  second  of  Mr,  Glad- 
stone's great  legislative  acts  of  a  remedial  character  on  behalf  of 
Ireland  was  thus  added  to  the  statute- book. 

Besides  the  Irish  Land  Question,  several  prominent  topics-- 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  395 

one  of  a  domestic,  others  of  a  foreign  character — were  discussed 
during  this  session.  It  had  long  been  admitted  (referring  now 
to  the  former  subject)  that  elementary  education  in  this  country 
was  in  an  unsatisfactory  condition,  and  on  the  17th  of  February 
Mr.  Forster  introduced  the  Government  bill  providing  for  elemen- 
tary education  in  England  and  Wales.  This  measure  was  based 
upon  the  principle  of  direct  compulsion  as  regarded  the  atten- 
dance of  children,  and  to  effect  this,  power  was  to  be  given  to 
each  School  Board  to  frame  bye-laws  compelling  the  attendance 
at  school  of  all  children  from  five  to  twelve  years  of  age  within 
their  district.  The  Government  having  shown  a  decided  agree- 
ment on  some  points  with  the  members  of  the  Opposition,  Mr. 
Richard  charged  the  Premier  with  having  thrown  the  Noncon- 
formists overboard.  Mr.  Forster  became  extremely  unpopular  for 
a  time  with  the  latter  body,  and  he  was  described  by  Mr.  Kichard 
as  '  mounting  the  good  steed  Conservative,  and  charging  into  the 
ranks  of  his  friends  and  riding  them  down  rough-shod.'  On  the 
order  for  the  third  reading,  Mr.  Dixon  and  Mr.  Miall,  speaking 
on  behalf  of  the  Nonconformists,  denounced  the  measure,  and 
attacked  the  Government  for  having  roused  the  suspicion  and 
distrust  of  their  own  supporters,  while  they  had  secured  the  aid 
of  the  Opposition.  Mr.  Miall  said  that  the  Premier  had  led  one 
section  of  the  Liberal  party  through  the  Valley  of  Humiliation  ; 
but  'once  bit,  twice  shy,'  he  continued,  'and  we  can't  stand  this 
sort  of  thing  much  longer.'  Mr.  Gladstone  was^  roused  by  this 
speech,  and  a  sharp  passage  of  arms  occurred.  4 1  hope,'  said  the 
Premier,  replying  to  Mr.  Miall, '  that  my  hon.  friend  will  not  con- 
tinue his  support  to  the  Government  one  moment  longer  than  he 
deems  it  consistent  with  his  sense  of  duty  and  right.  For  God's 
sake,  sir,  let  him  withdraw  it  the  moment  he  thinks  it  better  for 
the  cause  he  has  at  heart  that  he  should  do  so.  So  long  as  my 
hon.  friend  thinks  fit  to  give  us  his  support  we  will  co-operate 
with  my  hon.  friend  for  every  purpose  we  have  in  common ;  but 
when  we  think  his  opinions  and  demands  exacting,  when  we  think 
he  looks  too  much  to  the  section  of  the  community  he  adorns,  and 
too  little  to  the  interests  of  the  people  at  large,  we  must  then 
recollect  that  we  are  the  Government  of  the  Queen,  and  that  those 
who  have  assumed  the  high  responsibility  of  administering  the 
affairs  of  this  Empire  must  endeavour  to  forget  the  parts  in  the 
whole,  and  must,  in  the  great  measures  they  introduce  into  the 
House,  propose  to  themselves  no  meaner  or  narrower  object — no 
other  object  than  the  welfare  of  the  Empire  at  large.'  This  second 
important  measure  of  a  memorable  session  eventually  passed  both 
Houses,  and  became  law. 

In  April,  the  country  was  startled  by  the  report  of  the  seizure 


306  WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

and  massacre  of  a  party  of  English  travellers  by  Greek  brigands. 
It  seems  that  the  party  consisted  of  Lord  and  Lady  Muncaster, 
Mr.  F.  G.  Vyner,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Lloyd  and  child,  Mr. 
Edward  Herbert,  Secretary  to  the  British  Legation,  and  Count 
Albert  de  Boyl,  Secretary  to  the  Italian  Legation,  with  their 
suites.  Having  visited  Marathon,  under  the  protection  of  an 
armed  escort,  they  had  reached  Raphini  on  their  return  to  Athens 
when  they  were  stopped  and  overpowered  by  a  party  of  brigands 
After  rough  usage,  the  ladies  were  released,  and  Lord  Muncastei 
was  also  allowed  to  proceed  to  Athens  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
the  consent  of  the  Greek  Government  to  the  terms  of  the  release 
submitted  by  the  brigands.  They  demanded  £50,000,  which 
was  afterwards  reduced  to  £25,000,  in  money,  a  free  pardon,  and 
the  release  of  certain  brigands  already  in  custody.  The  Greek 
Government,  thinking  little  of  the  threats  to  murder  the  captives 
if  these  demands  were  not  complied  with,  despatched  a  body  of 
troops  to  liberate  them  by  force.  The  British  Minister  at  Athens 
endeavoured  to  procure  the  release  of  the  captives,  even  on  the 
terms  demanded  by  the  brigands.  The  amnesty  was  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  the  way.  Seeing  the  active  efforts  which  were  being 
made,  the  brigands  took  their  captives  further  into  the  interior, 
and  in  a  few  days  murdered  them  in  cold  blood.  Mr.  Herbert 
and  Count  de  Boyl  were  shot  on  the  21st,  and  Mr.  Vyner  and 
Mr.  Lloyd  on  the  22nd.  It  was  stated  that  from  the  time  of 
their  capture  until  their  melancholy  death,  the  party  sustained 
each  other  with  cheerful  resignation  and  true  manliness.  The 
brigands  were  pursued  until  the  greater  portion  of  them  were 
shot  or  secured,  preparatory  to  being  sent  to  Athens  for  trial  and 
execution.  This  terrible  incident  created  a  profound  sensation 
in  England.  It  was  formally  brought  under  the  attention  of 
the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  Sir  Roundell  Palmer  being  the 
mover  in  the  Commons.  There  was  a  general  impression  that, 
from  the  outset,  two  parties  had  been  playing  their  game  of 
ambition  with  the  lives  of  our  countrymen. 

Mr.  Gladstone  acknowledged  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  but 
pleaded  the  necessity  for  further  information  before  taking  de- 
cided steps.  This  grievance  and  shocking  tragedy,  however,  would 
tend  to  an  opening-up  of  circumstances  connected  with  the  condi- 
tion of  Greece,  such  as  former  times  had  probably  never  afforded 
an  adequate  occasion  of  investigating.  But  he  still  cherished  a 
desire  that  some  other  method  would  be  discovered  of  accounting 
for  these  mischiefs  than  that  of  charging  them  upon  the  popular 
institutions  of  the  country.  In  consequence  of  Turkish  domina- 
tion in  Greece,  it  was  the  class  called  upon  to  govern  in  that 
country  which  was  defective,  far  more  than  the  class  to  be 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  397 

governed.  The  first  duty  of  the  English  Government  would  be  to 
ascertain  the  facts  absolutely,  and  then  comprehensively  to  con- 
sider the  obligations  which  arose.  In  the  House  of  Lords  the 
Earl  of  Carnarvon — whose  cousin,  Mr.  Herbert,  had  been  killed 
— demanded  '  a  full,  clear,  perfectly  just  trial  of  every  single  per- 
son, no  matter  what  his  rank  or  class,  against  whom  there  could 
be  any  fair  suspicion  of  complicity  with  these  foul  murders.' 
Ultimately,  several  brigands  were  executed,  and  the  band  imme- 
diately implicated  was  nearly  extirpated.  The  English  Govern- 
ment  did  not  see  their  way  to  more  active  interference,  and  before 
the  close  of  the  year,  events  of  still  greater  magnitude  than  this 
diabolical  outrage  absorbed  the  public  attention. 

In  July,  1870,  broke  out  the  war  between  France  and  Prussia, 
which  resulted  in  the  complete  prostration  of  the  former.  Much 
of  the  responsibility  for  the  conflict  was  due  to  the  precipita- 
tion and  the  eagerness  for  war  manifested  by  the  French  Emperor 
and  the  French  people.  England  could  not  view  such  a  contest 
without  apprehension,  chiefly  on  the  score  of  Belgium — whose 
proximity  to  both  combatants  rendered  her  an  object  of  great 
solicitude.  The  English  Government,  however,  speedily  issued 
a  proclamation  of  neutrality,  a  policy  obviously  dictated  by  the 
circumstances  of  the  case.  This  policy  was  adhered  to,  but  it 
laid  us  open  to  the  unreasonable  strictures  of  the  German  people. 
We  had  been  successful,  with  the  aid  of  others,  in  procuring  the 
withdrawal  of  the  nomination  of  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern  to 
the  Spanish  Crown  by  Prussia ;  but  diplomatic  relations  between 
that  country  and  France  were  already  greatly  strained,  and  the 
alleged  insults  to  M.  Benedetti,  at  Ems,  led  to  the  hostile  initia- 
tive being  taken  by  France. 

The  declaration  of  war  produced  great  excitement  in  England, 
and  this  excitement  was  intensified  by  the  publication  in  the 
Times  of  a  draft  treaty  between  Count  Bismarck  and  M.  Bene- 
detti, the  French  Minister  at  Berlin.  This  proposed  compact 
between  France  and  Prussia  was  regarded  as  a  direct  menace  to 
England  by  the  former  Power — France  looking  forward  to  the 
acquisition  of  Belgium  for  herself.  The  publication  of  the  treaty 
was  due  to  Prince  Bismarck,  who  hoped  to  procure  thereby  Eng- 
land and  Belgium  as  German  allies.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  admitted  that  the  Government  had  been  taken  by 
surprise  by  this  treaty,  whose  gravity  had  not,  in  the  slightest 
degree,  been  over-estimated.  He  awaited,  however,  declarations 
from  the  French  and  Prussian  Governments,  France  at  first 
denied  the  authenticity  of  the  document,  but  this  she  after  - 
wards  admitted.  The  moment  was  an  anxious  one  for  England, 
but  the  Premier  refrained  from  adopting  a  high-handed  policy, 


398  WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

although  he  asked  Parliament  for  two  millions  of  money  and 
twenty  thousand  additional  men — demands  readily  acceded  to. 

Immediately  before  the  prorogation  of  Parliament,  Mr.  Disraeli 
pressed  the  Government  to  make  known  its  intentions,  and  Mr. 
Gladstone's  reply  was  criticised  as  unsatisfactory.  He  objected  to 
the  idea  of '  armed  neutrality,'  as  inconsistent  with  that '  unequi- 
vocal friendliness  to  both  parties  '  which  England  was  anxious  to 
maintain.  The  Belgian  difficulty  received  no  exposition,  but  Mr. 
Gladstone  concluded  by  saying  that  the  country  had  adequate 
forces,  and  he  believed  that  the  Government  would  be  able  to 
maintain  such  a  dignified  and  friendly  position  as  would  carry 
with  it  no  suspicion,  and  would  not,  under  the  idea  of  securing 
safety,  introduce  new  elements  of  danger  and  disturbance.  Eng- 
land hoped,  at  some  happy  moment,  to  be,  either  alone  or  along 
with  others,  the  chosen  bearer  of  a  message  of  peace.  In  the 
House  of  Lords,  Earl  Granville  was  more  emphatic  and  explicit, 
declaring  that  England  meant  to  be  true  and  faithful  to  all  her 
treaty  engagements.  A  new  and  triple  treaty  was  signed  by 
England,  Prussia,  and  France,  recording  their  determination  to 
maintain  intact  the  independence  and  neutrality  of  Belgium,  as 
provided  in  the  Quintuple  Treaty  of  1839.  This  new  engagement 
was  to  be  binding  for  one  year  after  the  cessation  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war,  and  then  the  signatories  were  to  fall  back  upon  the 
Treaty  of  1839.  The  general  policy  of  the  Government  upon  this 
important  question  was  endorsed  by  the  country,  though 
complaints  were  made  of  the  unnecessary  reticence  of  the 
Prime  Minister. 

We  cannot  dismiss  this  important  session  of  1870  without  a 
brief  reference  to  certain  legislative  and  other  changes  which  were 
effected.  By  an  Order  in  Council  it  was  directed  that  from  the 
31st  of  August  next  ensuing  all  entrance  appointments  to  situa- 
tions in  all  Civil  Departments  of  the  State,  except  the  Foreign 
Office  and  posts  requiring  professional  knowledge,  should  be 
filled  by  open  competition.  The  Royal  prerogative  which  asserted 
that  the  General  Commanding-in-Chief  is  the  agent  of  the  Crown 
was  abolished,  and  that  distinguished  personage  was  formally 
declared  to  be  a  subordinate  of  the  Minister  of  War.  Some  diffi- 
culty was  anticipated  in  this  matter,  but  her  Majesty  frankly 
and  promptly  surrendered  her  privileges,  and  all  danger  of  a 
collision  with  Parliament  was  thereby  averted.  A  new  Foreign 
Enlistment  Act  was  passed,  which  enabled  the  Government  to 
prohibit  the  building  as  well  as  the  escape  of  Alabamas,  but 
compelled  the  Admiralty  to  release  them  on  receipt  of  a  bond  to 
the  effect  that  they  were  not  to  be  employed  for  any  illegal  work. 
The  disfranchisement  of  Bridgwater,  Beverley,  Sligo,  and  Cashel 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  399 

was  decreed.  An  Act  was  passed  removing  the  disabilities  of 
clergymen  who  abandon  the  clerical  profession ;  and  an  Act  was 
also  passed  modifying  the  Law  of  Married  Women's  Property. 
Finally,  the  half-penny  postage  for  newspapers  was  instituted, 
while  the  half-penny  card  was  also  introduced. 

The  release  of  the  Fenian  prisoners  was  a  matter  which 
attracted  considerable  attention.  Mr.  Gladstone  wrote  to  the 
Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin,  announcing  the  intention  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  release  the  Fenian  prisoners  then  undergoing  sentences  for 
treason  or  treason-felony,  on  condition  of  their  not  remaining  in, 
or  returning  to,  the  United  Kingdom.  The  Premier,  alluding 
to  the  enormity  of  their  offences,  said  that  the  same  principles 
of  justice  which  dictated  their  sentences  would  amply  sanction 
the  prolongation  of  their  imprisonment  if  the  public  security 
demanded  it.  '  It  is  this  last  question,  therefore,  which  has 
formed  the  subject  of  careful  examination  by  her  Majesty's 
Government,  and  they  have  been  able  to  come  to  the  conclusion 
that,  under  the  existing  circumstances  of  the  country,  the  release 
of  the  prisoners,  guarded  by  the  condition  which  I  have  stated, 
will  be  perfectly  compatible  with  the  paramount  interests  of 
public  safety,  and,  being  so,  will  tend  to  strengthen  the  cause 
of  peace  and  loyalty  in  Ireland.'  This  decision  on  the  part  of 
the  Government  was  very  generally  approved  by  the  press  and 
the  country,  though  the  condition  placed,  upon  the  amnesty  was 
variously  viewed,  being  severely  condemned  by  one  section  of  the 
people,  and  regarded  as  a  wise  restriction  by  the  great  majority. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  GOLDEN  AGE  OF  LIBERALISM  (concluded). 

The  Black  Sea  Treaty— Mr.  Disraeli  on  Foreign  Affairs— Reply  of  Mr.  Gladstone — 
Debate  on  the  Policy  of  the  Government— Marriage  Grant  to  the  Princess  Louise 
— Alarming  Condition  of  Ireland— Mr.  Gladstone's  Defence  of  the  Government 
—The  Army  Regulation  Bill— Abolition  of  Purchase— Mr.  Card-well's  Scheme- 
Debated  in  the  Commons — The  Opposition  defeated— The  Bill  rejected  in  the 
Lords — The  Premier  abolishes  Purchase  by  Royal  Warrant— The  step  severely 
criticised — Vote  of  Censure  in  the  Lords — Sir  Roundell  Palmer  approves  the 
Royal  Warrant— The  Ballot  Bill— Rejected  by  the  Lcrds— Other  Questions  dis- 
cussed— Mr.  Miall's  Motion  for  the  Disestablishment  of  the  Church  of  England 
— Opposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  rejected — Conclusion  of  the  Treaty  of  Wash- 
ington— Miscellaneous  Questions — Mr.  Lowe's  Match  Tax — Mr.  Bruce's  Licens- 
ing Bill,  &c. — The  Government  and  Epping  Forest — Mr.  Gladstone  on  his  Reli- 
gion— The  Home  Rule  Agitation — Speech  of  the  Premier — Waning  Popularity 
of  the  Ministry — Mr.  Gladstone's  Address  on  Blackheath — A  striking  Scene — 
Defence  of  the  Government  Policy — The  Constitution  of  the  House  of  Lords — A 
new  social  Movement — The  Future  of  England — Parliamentary  History  of  the 
Year  1871 — Legislative  Achievements  of  the  Gladstone  Administration. 

WHEN"  the  session  of  1871  opened,  difficulties  had  already  begun 
to  gather  round  the  Gladstone  Government,  though  it  was  destined 
to  accomplish  other  great  reforms  ere  it  fell  before  the  treacherous 
wave  of  public  opinion.  The  most  important  question  discussed 
at  an  early  period  was  that  concerning  the  Black  Sea  Treaty. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  altered  circumstances  of  Europe,  the 
Emperor  of  Eussia  declined  any  longer  to  recognise  the  neutrali- 
sation of  the  Black  Sea,  and  withdrew  from  the  naval  convention, 
at  the  same  time  restoring  to  the  Sultan  the  full  exercise  of  his 
rights,  and  duly  informing  the  other  Powers  concerned  of  his 
action.  The  Czar  further  declared  that  he  had  no  wish  to  re- open 
the  Eastern  Question,  that  he  adhered  to  the  principles  of  the 
treaty  as  fixing  the  position  of  Turkey,  and  that  he  was  ready  to 
enter  into  any  understanding  to  this  effect  with  the  other  Powers. 
After  much  diplomatic  negotiation,  a  conference  of  the  Powers 
was  held  in  London,  when  the  neutralisation  of  the  Black  Sea  was 
abrogated,  and  the  Porte  permitted  to  open  the  Dardanelles  and 
the  Bosphorus  to  the  vessels  of  war  of  friendly  and  allied  Powers, 
in  case  the  Government  of  the  Sultan  should  think  it  necessary 
to  do  so  in  order  to  ensure  the  execution  of  the  Treaty  of  1856. 
The  European  Commission  of  the  Danube  was  also  prolonged  for 


THE   GOLDEN   AGE    OF    LIBEEALISM.  401 

twelve  years,  and  the  works  already  made,  or  to  be  made,  on  that 
river  neutralised,  with,  however,  the  reservation  to  the  Porte  of  its 
right  to  send  ships  of  war  into  the  river. 

In  the  debate  on  the  Address,  Mr.  Disraeli  reviewed  the  state 
of  foreign  affairs  generally.  He  thought  that  England  should 
have  made  more  of  the  guarantee  to  Prussia  of  her  Saxon  pro- 
vinces, given  us  by  the  Treaty  of  Vienna,  and  also,  as  regarded 
France,  of  the  concession  obtained  from  Prussia  as  to  the  Hohen- 
zollern  candidature.  He  was  sarcastic  at  the  expense  of  the 
Government  upon  our  attenuated  armaments,  which  rendered 
*  armed  neutrality '  on  our  part  so  difficult.  After  paying  left- 
handed  compliments  to  Mr.  Childers,  Mr.  Cardwell,  and  Mr. 
Lowe  upon  their  economy,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  ridiculed 
our  proceedings  in  the  matter  of  the  Eussian  Note,  and  expressed 
his  belief  that  there  was  a  secret  treaty  between  Germany  and 
Russia.  At  the  close  of  his  amusing  survey,  while  not  prepared 
to  propose  an  amendment,  Mr.  Disraeli  said  that  he  did  not  think 
the  state  of  affairs  to  be  devoid  of  peril,  and  all  must  admit  the 
position  to  be  critical.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  reply,  maintained  that 
there  was  not  a  shadow  of  foundation  for  the  accusations  which 
had  been  made.  The  Ministry  had  no  knowledge  of  the  coming 
storm  until  it  broke  around  them.  With  regard  to  the  arma- 
ments of  the  country,  they  had  been  greatly  increased  in  efficiency 
since  the  Conservatives  went  out  of  office  in  1868  ;  and  the 
Premier  rallied  the  leader  of  the  Opposition  on  the  close  resem- 
blance between  his  conception  of  a  '  bloated  armament  'in  1861, 
and  his  conception  of  an  'attenuated  armament'  in  1871.  As 
to  the  binding  character  of  the  guarantee  of  Prussia's  Saxon 
provinces,  given  in  1815,  Mr.  Gladstone  showed  the  fallacy  of 
this  from  the  exposition  of  the  Government  of  which  his  opponent 
was  a  member,  touching  the  character  of  a  joint  guarantee  as 
exemplified  in  the  Luxemburg  guarantee  of  1868.  He  further 
declared,  respecting  the  Eussian  Note,  that  neither  Lord  Claren- 
don nor  Lord  Palmerston  had  ever  believed  that  the  neutralisa- 
tion of  the  Black  Sea  could  be  more  than  temporary,  assured  the 
House  that  England  would  not  have  had  a  single  ally  among  the 
neutral  Powers  if  she  had  proposed  simply  to  insist  on  this  neutral- 
isation when  the  Eussian  Note  appeared,  Austria  being  entirely 
opposed  to  that  course  ;  and  he  denied  that  we  had  made  any 
sort  of  special  appeal  for  help  to  Germany,  having  merely  notified 
our  course  to  Germany  as  to  other  Powers.  England  had  tradi- 
tions and  obligations  which  she  would  never  abandon ;  but  he  hoped 
she  would  never  be  guilty  of  the  folly  of  supposing  that  she  could 
improve  her  condition  in  the  face  of  Europe  by  setting  up 
imaginary  interests  which  she  did  not  possess.  He  saw  no  special 

DD 


402  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

or  near  peril  to  England,  whom  he  was  desirous  of  making  strong, 
but  he  admitted  the  possibility  that  the  neutral  Powers  might 
find  it  necessary  to  express  an  opinion  upon  the  terms  of  peace. 

Some  days  later,  Mr.  Disraeli  again  returned  to  the  subject  of 
the  Black  Sea  Treaty,  and  strongly  condemned  the  assembling  of 
a  conference  merely  to  register  the  humiliation  of  Great  Britain. 
Mr.  Gladstone  replied  with  some  warmth  to  the  taunt  that 
there  was  a  foregone  conclusion  in  his  mind,  when  the  conference 
met,  fatal  to  the  honour  of  the  country.  He  had  never  denied 
that  the  neutralisation  of  the  Black  Sea  was  a  vital  part  of  the 
Paris  Treaty,  but  only  that  it  was  exclusively  vital.  He  acknow- 
ledged his  error  as  to  Lord  Clarendon's  view  of  the  neutralisation 
condition,  but  he  still  believed  that  Lord  Palmerston,  while 
attaching  great  importance  to  it,  did  not  think  it  was  one  which 
could  be  permanently  enforced.  With  regard  to  Mr.  Disraeli's 
condemnation  of  the  Government  policy,  Mr.  Gladstone  said 
that,  with  one  great  quarrel  and  controversy  raging  in  Europe, 
the  right  hon.  gentleman  would  have  recommended  them  to  keep 
open  another,  and  not  to  take  any  means  to  arrive  at  an  amicable 
solution  of  the  question.  Such  was  the  policy  which  his  wisdom 
and  resources  suggested  to  him.  But  the  Government  had  been 
desirous  to  keep  together,  if  possible,  in  harmony  and  co-opera- 
tion, the  neutral  influences  in  Europe,  in  the  hope  that  in  some 
happy  moment  they  might  be  able  to  contract  that  range  of 
misery  and  destruction  which  they  had  long  seen  extending. 

Another  debate  shortly  afterwards  took  place  upon  our  foreign 
relations,  on  a  motion  by  Mr.  Auberon  Herbert,  '  That  this  House 
is  of  opinion  that  it  is  the  duty  of  her  Majesty's  Government  to 
act  in  concert  with  other  neutral  Powers  to  obtain  moderate 
terms  of  peace,  and  to  withhold  all  acquiescence  in  terms  which 
might  impair  the  independence  of  France,  or  threaten  the  future 
tranquillity  of  Europe.'  Sir  Robert  Peel  vigorously  assailed  the 
policy  of  the  Government.  It  was  one  in  which  '  we  ventured ' 
to  do  this,  and  '  we  ventured  '  to  do  that  all  through — language 
which  he  respectfully  submitted  to  the  House  was  not  of  the  kind 
which  Lord  Palmerston  would  have  used.  It  was  unworthy  of  a 
great  and  powerful  nation.  Mr.  Gladstone  denied  that  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Government  had  been  one  of  selfish  isolation.  To 
inquiries  as  to  the  possibility  of  concerted  action  with  Russia,  an 
answer  was  received  that  it  was  impossible.  Owing  to  the  unto- 
ward reception  of  this  overture  and  the  appearance  of  the  Russian 
Note,  Lord  Granville  could  not  further  develop  the  idea  of  media- 
tion. He  (Mr  Gladstone)  admitted  that  an  extorted  peace  was 
one  of  the  alternatives  we  had  to  fear,  and  that  the  greater  mag- 
nanimity shown  by  the  victor  the  better  would  it  be,  not  onl}  foi 


THE   GOLDEN   AGE    OP    LIBERALISM.  403 

France  and  Europe,  but  for  the  interests  of  Germany.  Neither 
of  the  belligerents  desired  intervention ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
rather  thought  the  premature  offer  of  our  good  offices  might  be 
prejudicial.  '  England  had  no  cause  to  be  discontented  with  her 
position  in  Europe ;  but  he  warned  the  House  not  to  set  too  high 
a  value  on  the  sole  influence  of  England,  for  the  strength  of 
neutrals'  action  was  that  they  should  be  all  represented.  He 
reiterated  his  statement  that  the  conditions  of  peace  were  a  matter 
of  watchful  concern  to  the  neutrals,  and  added  that  it  would  be 
a  noble  addition  to  the  great  deeds  of  this  country,  if  it  should 
be  able  to  mitigate  the  necessarily  severe  conditions  of  peace  so 
as  to  make  them  conducive  to  a  permanent  settlement.'  Express- 
ing himself  satisfied  with  Mr.  Gladstone's  statement  respecting 
the  position  of  England,  Mr.  Herbert  withdrew  his  motion. 

Before  dealing  with  the  great  question  of  the  session — the  aboli- 
tion of  Purchase  in  the  Army — several  other  topics  of  interest 
claim  attention.  The  proposed  grant  to  the  Princess  Louise  on 
her  marriage  roused  the  opposition  oi  some  members  of  the  House, 
who  affirmed  that  they  represented  the  sentiments  of  a  consider- 
able number  of  the  people.  In  view  of  this  opposition,  Mr.  Glad 
stone's  speech  on  moving  the  grant  was  fuller  and  more  argu- 
mentative than  had  usually  been  the  case  on  such  occasions.  The 
resolution  provided  an  annuity  of  £6,000  to  her  Royal  Highness, 
and  a  grant  of  £30,000.  The  Premier  stated  that  the  Queen,  in 
marrying  her  daughter  to  one  of  her  own  subjects,  had  followed 
her  womanly  and  motherly  instincts,  and  she  had  been  supported 
by  the  advice  of  her  responsible  Ministers.  Having  defended  the 
moderate  nature  of  the  provision,  and  passed  a  high  eulogium 
upon  the  economical  management  of  the  Royal  household,  Mr. 
Gladstone  affirmed  that  the  Civil  List,  when  settled  at  the  com- 
mencement of  her  Majesty's  reign,  did  not  contemplate  provisions 
of  this  nature,  nor  was  it  convenient  that  it  should.  Although 
the  Crown  Lands  now  produced  an  income  only  about  equal  to 
the  Civil  List,  it  they  were  managed  in  the  same  manner  as  a 
private  estate,  they  would  put  the  Sovereign  in  possession  of  the 
largest  income  in  the  country.  But  there  was  a  still  higher  ground 
than  this  why  the  proposition  should  be  supported,  viz.,  the  poli- 
tical importance  which  attached  to  supporting  the  dignity  of  the 
Crown  in  a  becoming  manner.  The  speaker  also  dwelt  upon  the 
value  of  a  stable  dynasty,  and  on  the  unwisdom  of  making  pecu- 
niary calculations  of  a  minute  nature  upon  such  occasions.  When 
the  resolution  for  the  marriage  portion  came  to  be  reported,  it  was 
opposed  by  Mr.  P.  A.  Taylor,  supported  by  Mr.  Disraeli,  and 
carried  by  the  singular  majority  of  350  votes  against  1. 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  Ireland,  and  especially  the  spread 

DD2 


404  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

of  an  agrarian  conspiracy  in  Westmeath,  compelled  the  Govern- 
ment to  move  for  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  unlawful  com- 
bination and  confederacy  existing  in  Westmeath  and  adjoining 
parts  of  Meath  and  King's  County.  Lord  Hartington,  Chief 
Secretary  for  Ireland,  in  moving  for  the  committee,  admitted 
that  it  was  with  feelings  of  painful  dismay  that  he  did  so,  but 
he  proceeded  to  explain  that  the  lawless  condition  of  things 
indicated  in  a  certain  quarter  was  no  criterion  of  the  general 
condition  of  Ireland.  Crime  had  subsided  in  the  country,  and  the 
constabulary  reports  exhibited  a  marked  improvement.  West- 
meath and  the  parts  immediately  adjacent,  however,  formed  a 
terrible  exception  to  the  general  rule,  and  the  state  of  things 
having  become  intolerable,  a  committee  was  required  to  secure  a 
thorough  investigation  of  the  case,  and  to  satisfy  the  House  that 
when  the  Government  asked  for  any  further  powers  their  demand 
was  justified  by  necessity.  Mr.  Disraeli  was  severely  sarcastic 
at  the  expense  of  the  Government,  which  had  expressed  its  dis- 
may at  Kibandism.  Keferring  to  past  legislation  for  Ireland,  he 
observed  that  the  Chief  Secretary  should  have  come  forward  and 
said, '  It  is  true  that  murder  is  perpetrated  with  impunity ;  it  is 
true  that  life  is  not  secure,  and  that  property  has  no  enjoyment 
and  scarcely  any  existence ;  but  this  is  nothing  when  in  the 
enjoyment  of  abstract  political  justice — and  by  the  labours  of  two 
years  we  have  achieved  that  for  Ireland ;  massacres,  incendiarism, 
and  assassinations  are  things  scarcely  to  be  noticed  by  a  Minister, 
and  are  rather  to  be  referred  to  the  inquiry  of  a  committee.' 
The  right  hon.  gentleman  added  that  the  people  of  England, 
being  persuaded  with  regard  to  Irish  politics  that  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  in  possession  of  the  philosopher's  stone,  had  returned  him  to 
the  House  with  an  immense  majority,  with  the  express  object  of 
securing  the  tranquillity  and  content  ot  Ireland.  Neither  time, 
labour,  nor  devotion  had  been  begrudged  him ;  '  under  his  influ- 
ence, and  at  his  instance,  we  have  legalised  confiscation, 
consecrated  sacrilege,  and  condoned  high  treason;  we  have 
destroyed  churches,  we  have  shaken  property  to  its  foundation 
and  have  emptied  gaols ;  and  now  he  cannot  govern  the  country, 
without  coming  to  a  Parliamentary  committee !  The  right  hon. 
gentleman,  after  all  his  heroic  exploits,  and  at  the  head  of  his 
great  majority,  is  making  Government  ridiculous.'  Mr.  Hardy 
also  bitterly  denounced  the  policy  of  the  Government. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  having  administered  a  rebuke  to  Mr.  Hardy  for 
his  heated  language  in  describing  murder  as  '  stalking  abroad,' 
and  the  Government  as  '  becoming  contemptible,'  announced  that 
the  Ministry  could  not,  consistently  with  their  sense  of  public 
duty,  withdraw  the  motion  for  a  committee.  He  was  glad  that 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  405 

Mr.  Disraeli,  who  had  formerly  told  the  House  deliberately  from 
his  place  that  the  consequences  of  disestablishment  would  be  more 
formidable  and  destructive  than  those  of  foreign  conquest,  had 
now  got  down  to  expressions  so  moderate  and  judicial  as  that  the 
Government  had  '  legalised  confiscation  and  consecrated  sacrilege.' 
Ministers  asked  the  House  to  assist  them  in  the  elucidation  and 
establishment  of  facts,  but  the  committee  was  also  necessary  from 
the  fact  that  they  desired*  to  prove  not  only  acts  that  were  done 
but  acts  that  were  not  done,  and  to  show  how  the  system  of  ter- 
rorism was  applied  to  all  the  transactions  of  private  life.  Much 
valuable  information  could  be  obtained,  but  only  on  the  condition 
that  those  giving  it  were  protected  against  its  publicity.  Turn- 
ing upon  Mr.  Disraeli,  the  Premier  made  an  effective  point  by 
remarking  upon  his  rival's  admission  that  in  the  year  1852  he  did 
not  adopt  the  means  which  he  believed  most  suitable  for  the  pro- 
tection of  life  and  property  in  three  counties  of  Ireland,  because 
the  Government  was  weak.  '  If  the  defences  of  the  Government 
are  weak,  and  the  number  of  troops  insufficient,  is  a  Government 
to  make  it  an  apology  for  departing  from  the  first  principles  of 
duty  that  they  sit  upon  this  bench,  that  they  want  to  sit  upon 
this  bench,  and  therefore  cannot  propose  measures  which,  in  their 
opinion,  principle  justifies,  and  the  safety  of  thecountry  demands  ?' 
Mr.  Gladstone  concluded  by  observing  that,  acting  upon  the 
immediate  elementary  obligations  of  a  Government,  at  all  hazards 
to  secure  personal  peace  and  freedom  in  the  transactions  of  life, 
they  submitted  their  proposal  to  the  House,  and  were  confident 
it  would  receive  the  approval  of  its  reflective  and  deliberate 
judgment. 

During  the  debate,  Mr.  Osborne,  in  a  humorous  speech, 
described  the  Cabinet  as  consisting  chiefly  of '  Whig  marionettes.' 
Alluding  to  the  changes  which  had  taken  place  in  its  composition, 
he  said  the  Cabinet  had  been  lately  whitewashed — that  is,  its 
members  had  been  shuffled,  and  they  had  come  back  in  the  old 
military  position  of  'As  you  were.'  In  his  principle  of  selection, 
the  First  Minister,  if  he  had  a  choice,  was  in  favour  of  Whig 
marionettes  of  the  most  approved  pattern,  while  he  himself  held 
the  official  wire.  He  could  not  help  thinking,  when  he  looked 
through  the  long  and  dreary  list  of  gentlemen  who  bowed  to  the 
presiding  genius,  there  was  written  over  the  doors  of  the  Cabinet, 

*  No  Irish  need  apply.'     The  Solicitor-General  for  Ireland  replied 
to  this  speech  in  a  similar  vein.      Alluding  to  Mr.  Osborne's 
complaint  that  the  Secretary  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  had  been 
transferred  to  the  treadmill  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  he  observed* 

*  I  apprehend  that  the  hon.  gentleman  would  be  very  glad  to 
work   upon  that   treadmill  himself,  and  I  take  the   liberty  of 


406  WILLIAM   EWART   GLADSTONE. 

saying  confidentially  that  in  less  than  eighteen  months  he  would 
not  only  become  a  silent  but  a  grateful  member  of  the  Govern- 
ment.' With  regard  to  Mr.  Osborne's  feeling  of  satisfaction  that 
he  had  an  Irish  seat  in  the  House,  Mr.  Dowse  said,  '  The  hon. 
member  is  an  Irishman  pro  re  nata ;  he  is  an  Irishman  for  the 
present,  and  will  continue  one — until  the  next  general  election. 
Having  said  so  much  for  the  hon.  member,  I  promise  him,  if  he 
gives  me  another  opportunity,  to  be  more  liberal  in  my  acknow- 
ledgments of  his  efforts  for  throwing  light  on  the  subject  of 
debate.'  The  Solicitor-General  concluded  by  adducing  arguments 
in  support  of  the  policy  of  the  Government.  At  the  close  of 
the  debate,  the  motion  for  a  select  committee  was  carried  by  a 
large  majority.  The  appointment  of  this  committee  was  fully 
justified  by  subsequent  events. 

We  now  come  to  the  Army  Eegulation  Bill  of  the  Government, 
which  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Card  well.  The  country  having  pro- 
nounced in  favour  of  the  abolition  of  the  purchase  system,  this 
was  the  chief  feature  of  the  measure  introduced  by  the  Secretary 
at  War.  In  moving  the  usual  army  estimates,  the  Minister 
explained  the  nature  of  the  new  scheme  of  army  re-organisation. 
He  stated  that  the  Government,  agreeing  with  Lord  Derby  that  it 
would  be  cheapest  to  pay  for  our  military  labour,  would  not  recom- 
mend compulsory  service,  but  there  would  be  clauses  in  the  bill 
enabling  the  Government  to  raise  any  number  of  men  upon  neces- 
sity. After  considering  the  various  methods  as  to  how  our  forces 
were  to  be  raised,  the  Ministry  had  decided  to  propose  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  purchase  system.  The  necessity  of  accepting  a  system 
of  retirement  and  promotion  by  selection  as  distinguished  by 
seniority  followed  this  decision,  as  well  as  the  payment  of  a  large 
sum  of  money  by  way  of  compensation,  which  he  calculated  would 
range  from  £7,400,000  to  £8,400,000.  The  bill  fixed  a  day  after 
which  no  pecuniary  interest  would  be  taken  by  any  one  in  any 
new  commission  ;  but  no  officer  would  be  the  worse  in  a  pecuniary 
sense  by  the  abolition  of  purchase.  A  commission  would  be 
appointed  to  ascertain  the  over-regulation  price  in  every  regiment, 
and  with  money  from  the  Consolidated  Fund  would  stand  in  the 
place  of  a  purchaser  to  the  officer  who  wished  to  sell  out,  to  retire 
on  half-pay,  &c.  The  number  allowed  to  retire  each  year  would 
be  limited  to  the  average  of  the  last  five  years.  As  to  first  com- 
missions, they  would  be  given  without  purchase  to  the  general 
public  by  competitive  examination,  to  subalterns  of  militia  regi- 
ments after  two  years'  good  service,  and,  as  before,  to  non-com- 
missioned officers.  These  were  the  leading  features  of  a  measure 
whose  minor  details  were  explained  with  great  minuteness  by  Mr. 
Cardwell. 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  46? 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  so  great  a  change  in  the  consti- 
tution of  the  army  could  be  effected  without  opposition.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  motion  for  the  second  reading  of  the  bill,  Colonel 
Loyd-Lindsay  proposed  a  resolution  declaring  that  the  expendi- 
ture necessary  for  the  national  defences  did  not  at  present  justify 
any  vote  of  public  money  for  the  extinction  of  purchase.  The 
resolution  was  influentially  supported,  and  many  arguments  were 
adduced  in  favour  of  the  retention  of  the  existing  system.  During 
the  debate  Sir  J.  Pakington  severely  criticised  the  measure,  which 
he  described  as  '  a  costly  party  project  and  a  sop  to  democracy,' 
and  attacked  Mr.  Trevelyan  for  circulating  '  trash,'  which  by  dint 
of  continual  repetition  had  come  to  be  believed.  Mr.  Trevelyan, 
who  had,  perhaps,  done  more  than  any  other  man  to  'educate' 
his  country  upon  this  question,  replied  with  spirit,  and  quoted  the 
case  of  Havelock,  who  declared  that  he  was  sick  for  years  in  wait- 
ing for  his  promotion ;  '  that  three  sots  and  two  fools  had  pur- 
chased over  him,  and  that  if  he  had  no  family  to  support  he  would 
not  serve  another  hour.'  The  hon.  member  for  the  Border  Burghs 
warned  the  Opposition  that  if  the  defeat  of  the  bill  brought  on  a 
dissolution,  '  Abolition  of  Purchase  '  would  be  an  excellent  hust- 
ings' cry.  Mr.  Disraeli  was  in  favour  of  moulding  the  bill  in  com- 
mittee, and  urged  Col.  Loyd-Lindsay  to  withdraw  his  motion.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  however,  announced  that  Government  would  insist 
upon  the  amendment  being  negatived.  The  speech  of  Mr.  Dis- 
raeli he  regarded  as  a  landmark  in  the  history  of  this  question, 
as  it  admitted  that  this  was  the  first  proposition  which  had  ever 
attempted  .to  weld  into  one  harmonious  whole  the  three  great 
arms  intended  for  the  defence  of  the  country.  The  bill  contained 
so  much  of  the  programme  of  the  Government  as  needed  legisla- 
tion. Its  product  would  answer  to  the  standard  of  our  require- 
ments, which  demanded  a  small  army  highly  trained,  and  a  large 
army  of  reserve  ready  at  any  moment.  With  regard  to  the  reserves, 
they  should  not  be  drawn  from  the  militia,  but  should  consist  of 
seasoned  men,  regularly  trained,  corresponding  to  the  German 
Landwehr.  He  hoped  that  Mr.  Disraeli's  declaration  against  pur- 
chase would  have  its  full  weight,  and  he  proceeded  to  justify  Mr. 
Card  well's  decision  to  sweep  away  the  whole  system  by  paying  off 
over-regulation  as  well  as  regulation  prices.  He  opposed  the  idea 
of  an  increase  ot  pay  when  purchase  was  abolished,  a  cry  which 
had  no  reason  on  its  side.  The  best  security  for  the  emoluments 
of  the  officers,  and  for  a  fair  system  of  retirement,  was  the  neces- 
sity on  the  part  of  the  country  of  attracting  the  best  men  into  its 
army.  Dealing  with  the  idea  that,  after  purchase  had  been  abol- 
ished, almost  everything  would  remain  as  it  was,  Mr.  Gladstone 
said  that  if  the  purchase  system  was  to  be  abolished  at  this  great 


408  WILLIAM  EWAKT"  GLADSTONE. 

cost — he  would  almost  call  it  this  vast  cost — the  reason  why  it 
was  to  be  abolished  was  that  the  whole  position  of  the  officers  of 
'the  army  might  be  fully  and  freely  considered,  and  might  be  sub- 
jected to  review  in  all  respects  where  it  should  seem  susceptible 
of  improvement.  The  idea  was  to  have  the  very  best  men  and  the 
very  best  officers ;  but  they  were  not  to  go  into  the  army  by  com- 
pulsion, they  were  to  go  into  it  by  free  choice.  The  Government 
would  go  into  committee  expecting,  even  inviting,  criticism,  and 
would  look  for  a  spirit  of  co-operation  in  all  those  who  were  desir- 
ous of  adjusting  the  clauses  of  the  bill.  They  had  an  object  of  the 
highest  and  purest  patriotism,  viz.,  to  secure  that  in  the  future, 
if  possible  even  more  than  in  the  past,  the  British  army  should 
be  and  remain  worthy  of  the  British  nation. 

The  amendment  was  negatived,  and  the  bill  read  a  second 
time.  On  going  into  committee,  Mr.  Mundella  moved  a  resolu- 
tion to  the  effect  *  That  this  House,  whilst  approving  the  abolition 
of  purchase  in  the  army,  is  of  opinion  that  the  army  may  be  put 
in  a  state  of  efficiency  without  increasing  the  ordinary  military 
estimates  of  last  year.'  He  asked  why  they  should  not  have 
more  organisation,  instead  of  the  cry  of  more  men  and  more 
money.  When  the  American  war  was  at  its  worst,  and  everybody 
was  crying  out  for  '  more  men,'  the  poet  Lowell  wrote : — 

'  More  men !     More  men — that's  where  we  fail, 
Weak  things  grow  weaker  yet  by  lengthening ; 
What  is  the  use  of  adding  to  the  tail, 
When  its  the  head's  in  want  of  strengthening  ? ' 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Pease,  who  inveighed  strongly 
against  the  increase  of  army  expenditure,  and  appealed  to  the 
Prime  Minister  to  reconsider  the  retrograde  step  he  was  now 
taking;  it  was  unsound,  economically;  politically  an  error. 
It  was  also  an  immoral  proceeding,  internationally,  for  this 
country  to  set  the  example  of  a  large  military  expenditure.  Mr. 
Gladstone  said  he  understood  the  motion  to  mean  that  between 
£2,750,000  and  £3,000,000  ought  to  be  taken  off  the  estimates 
before  the  House,  and  that  this  might  be  done  without  impairing 
the  efficiency  of  the  army.  He  was  not  prepared  to  accede  to 
that  proposition.  The  speeches  of  the  two  hon.  members  were 
rather  in  favour  of  retrenchment  generally,  than  in  support  of 
the  particular  motion  before  the  House.  Now,  after  allowing 
for  the  increase  which  had  arisen  this  year  in  the  military 
expenditure,  the  total  defensive  expenditure  for  the  year  would 
exhibit  a  sum  to  the  credit  of  the  Government  estimates  of 
between  £600,000  and  £800,000.  At  the  same  time,  he  would 
not  have  it  supposed  that  the  prolonged  scale  of  military  expen- 
diture, which  the  circumstances  and  exigencies  of  the  time 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OP    LIBERALISM.  409 

required,  would  become  the  normal  measure  of  the  military 
expenditure  of  the  country.  After  going  through  the  various 
charges,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  his  hon.  friends  need  not  appre- 
hend for  a  moment  that  the  Government  were  more  disposed 
than  they  had  heretofore  shown  themselves  to  encourage  unneces- 
sary alarm,  that  they  were  less  sensible  of  the  duty  and  the  value 
of  endeavouring  to  retrench  public  expenditure,  or  that  they  were 
less  disposed,  and,  so  far  as  depended  upon  them,  less  determined 
to  apply  that  principle,  according  to  the  varying  exigencies  cf 
the  time,  with  a  firm  and  steady  hand  during  the  period,  whether 
it  were  long  or  short,  that  they  might  have  the  honour  to 
administer  the  affairs  of  the  country.  In  the  end,  Mr.  Mundella's 
motion  was  defeated  by  294  to  91. 

There  still  remained  before  the  Government  the  great  task  of 
abolishing  Purchase  in  the  Army.  Their  labours  were  facilitated 
by  a  recent  report  of  a  Royal  commission,  to  the  effect  that  the 
practice  of  bargaining  for  commissions  was  inseparable  from  the 
permission  to  buy  them ;  but  there  was  one  great  obstacle  to  the 
proposed  abolition  in  the  fact  that  an  expenditure  of  several  mil- 
lions would  be  immediately  necessary.  This  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment scheme  was  warmly  opposed  by  the  military  members  of 
the  House,  and  an  amendment  against  it  was  moved  by  Colonel 
Loyd-Lindsay.  That  officer,  however,  withdrew  his  motion  at  the 
request  of  Mr.  Disraeli ;  but  the  clauses  of  the  bill  continued  to 
be  discussed  with  great  persistency  and  at  undue  length.  After 
several  months  had  elapsed,  leaving  little  prospect  of  the  bill 
being  passed  in  its  entirety,  the  Government  were  driven  to  state 
that  they  would  only  insist  on  the  purchase  clauses,  and  the 
transfer  of  power  over  the  Militia  and  Volunteers  from  the  Lords- 
Lieutenant  to  the  Crown.  Mr.  Disraeli  sharply  criticised  the 
policy  of  the  Government,  stating  that  he  had  only  approved  the 
abolition  of  purchase  as  a  means  towards  the  re-organisation  of  the 
army,  which  had  now  been  abandoned.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied 
that  the  abolition  of  purchase  had  always  been  the  chief  feature 
of  the  Government  scheme,  and  that  they  must  and  would  clear 
the  ground  for  re-organisation  by  abolishing  it,  as  well  as  the 
privilege  of  the  Lords-Lieutenant.  The  bill  accordingly  passed 
through  committee.  Besides  securing  the  leading  points  just 
indicated,  it  restored  to  the  State  the  government  of  the  army, 
enabled  Parliament  to  fix  from  year  to  year  the  number  of  the 
militia,  authorised  Government  to  insist  on  six  months'  continuous 
training  as  the  condition  of  entering  that  force,  and  rendered 
volunteers  when  under  training  in  the  camps  subject  to  the  Mutiny 
Act. 

Much  speculation  arose   upon  the  probable  reception  of  the 


410  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

measure  by  the  House  of  Lords,  and  at  a  meeting"  of  Conserva- 
tive peers  held  at  the  Carl  ton  Club — attended  only  by  a  section 
of  the  party,  however — it  was  resolved  to  oppose  the  bill.  On  its 
being  brought  forward,  the  Duke  of  Richmond  moved  that  the 
House  should  not  pass  the  second  reading  until  it  had  before  it  a 
comprehensive  plan.  Lord  Sandhurst  defended  the  bill,  but  the 
great  majority  of  the  speeches  delivered  were  antagonistic  to  it. 
Lord  Salisbury  said  it  was  the  duty  of  the  House  to  protect  the 
country  against  rash  and  imperfect  legislation,  and  he  exhorted 
their  lordships  not  to  abandon  the  army  to  the  influence  of  com- 
bined senility  and  corruption.  The  bill  was  urged  forward  by  the 
Prime  Minister  to  redeem  the  barrenness  of  a  useless  session. 
Lord  Granville  besought  the  House  to  pause  ere  it  placed  itself 
in  collision  with  the  Commons.  Eventually  the  bill  was  rejected 
by  155  to  130;  but  as  regarded  actual  peers  of  the  realm  the 
Government  had  a  majority  of  one.  The  measure  was  defeated  by 
the  Scotch  and  Irish  representative  peers,  29  of  whom  voted  or 
paired  with  the  Opposition,  and  only  three  for  the  Government. 
This  decision  was  distasteful  to  the  country,  and  it  was  gene- 
rally felt  that  the  question  could  not  be  suffered  thus  to  remain 
shelved.  It  was  reserved,  however,  for  the  Prime  Minister  to  dis- 
cover a  way  out  of  the  difficulty  which  was  as  extraordinary  and 
unexpected  as  it  was  effectual.  On  the  20th  of  July,  in  answer- 
ing a  question  addressed  to  him  by  Sir  George  Grey,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone announced  that  the  Government  had  resolved  to  advise  her 
Majesty  to  take  the  decisive  step  of  cancelling  the  Royal  warrant 
under  which  purchase  was  legal.  That  advice  was  accepted  by 
her  Majesty,  and  a  new  warrant  had  been  framed  in  terms  con- 
formable with  the  law.  It  was  consequently  his  duty,  on  the 
part  of  the  Government,  to  state  that,  after  the  1st  of  November 
ensuing,  purchase  in  the  army  would  no  longer  exist.  When 
the  cheers  which  followed  this  announcement  had  subsided,  Mr. 
Gladstone  went  on  to  say  that,  under  the  altered  circumstances 
of  the  case,  it  was  not  for  them  to  indicate  what  course  the  House 
of  Lords  should  pursue.  In  considering  this  matter,  the  Govern- 
ment had  had  no  other  object  in  view  but  simplicity,  despatch, 
the  observance  of  constitutional  usage,  and  the  speedy  termina- 
tion of  a  state  of  suspense  which  they  thought  most  injurious — 
he  would  not  say  dangerous — to  the  army,  and  calculated  to  delay 
the  progress  of  a  measure  that  was  likely,  in  their  judgment,  to 
do  full  justice  to  the  fair  pecuniary  claims  of  the  officers,  and  the 
loss  of  which  might  make  it  difficult  to  find  means  of  doing 
justice  to  those  claims.  It  would  not  be  becoming  or  appropriate 
to  forecast  what  course  Ministers  should  take  in  case  they  were 
to  fail  in  prosecuting  the  bill  to  its  legitimate  conclusion.  But 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    6$    LIBERALISM.  411 

one  thing  it  was  his  duty  to  state  on  the  part  of  the  Government, 
viz.,  that  they  would  use  the  best  means  in  their  power,  mindful 
of  the  honourable  pledges  they  had  given,  to  secure  at  the  hands 
of  Parliament  just  and  liberal  terms  for  the  officers  of  the  army. 

Mr.  Disraeli  described  this  exercise  of  prerogative  as  a  very 
high-handed  course — he  would  not  say  then  illegal  course,  as  he 
reserved  that  point  for  future  consideration.  He  was  checked  by 
the  Speaker  for  denouncing  the  Ministerial  policy  as  '  part  of  an 
avowed  and  a  shameful  conspiracy  against  the  undoubted  pri- 
vileges of  the  other  House  of  Parliament.'  Having  withdrawn 
these  words,  he  went  on  to  maintain  that  no  Minister  acted  in  a 
wise- manner  who,  on  finding  himself  baffled  in  passing  a  measure 
which  he  believed  to  be  of  importance,  came  forward  and  told  the 
House  that  he  would  defy  the  opinion  of  Parliament,  and  who 
appealed  to  the  prerogative  of  the  Crown  to  assist  him  in  the 
difficulties  which  he  had  himself  created. 

When  the  Koyal  warrant  came  on  for  discussion  in  the  Lords, 
the  Duke  of  Eichmond  moved  to  add  the  following  words : — « That 
this  House,  in  assenting  to  the  second  reading  of  this  bill,  desires 
to  express  its  opinion  that  the  interposition  of  the  Executive 
during  the  progress  of  a  measure  submitted  to  Parliament  by  her 
Majesty's  Government,  in  order  to  attain  by  the  exercise  of  the 
prerogative,  and  without  the  aid  of  Parliament,  the  principal 
object  included  in  that  measure,  is  calculated  to  depreciate  and 
neutralise  the  independent  action  of  the  Legislature,  and  is 
strongly  to  be  condemned :  and  this  House  assents  to  the  second 
reading  of  this  bill  only  in  order  to  secure  the  officers  of  her 
Majesty's  army  compensation  to  which  they  are  entitled,  con- 
sequent on  the  abolition  of  purchase  in  the  army.'  Lord  Salis- 
bury delivered  another  bitter  speech,  and  said  that  although  Lord 
Granville  had  been  made  the  most  reluctant  instrument  of  insult- 
ing the  order  to  which  he  belonged,  their  lordships  knew  the 
dictator  under  whom  he  served.  The  noble  marquis  asked  whether 
it  was  worth  while  to  retain  their  power  by  uniformly  acting 
against  their  convictions.  Lord  Romilly  stated  that  he  joined 
with  considerable  pain  the  Opposition  peers  upon  this  question  : 
but  the  Duke  of  Somerset  (who  had  frequently  opposed  the 
measures  of  the  Government)  said  that  purchase  must  go,  and 
no  other  course  than  that  which  they  had  adopted  was  really  open 
to  the  Ministry.  After  speeches  from  Lord  Eussell,  Lord  Cairns, 
and  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  vote  of  censure  was  carried  by  a 
majority  of  80.  The  bill  itself  passed  without  a  division.  When 
the  measure  came  to  be  discussed  in  the  Commons,  after  its  return 
from  the  Lords,  there  was  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  upon  the 
legal  aspects  of  the  question  between  Sir  K.  Collier,  the  Attorney- 


412  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

General,  and  Sir  J.  D.  Coleridge,  the  Solicitor-General.  This 
divergence  caused  Mr.  Harcourt  to  ask,  amidst  laughter  from 
both  sides  of  the  House,  which  horse  the  Government  intended  to 
win  with — the  Attorney-General  on  *  Statute,'  or  the  Solicitor- 
General  on  *  Prerogative'  ?  Mr.  Harcourt  nevertheless  cordially 
supported  the  issue  of  the  warrant ;  it  was  the  statute,  he  held,  not 
the  Royal  warrant,  which  would  make  purchase  illegal.  Mr.  Faw- 
cett  spoke  strongly  against  the  resort  to  prerogative,  and  said  that 
if  this  act  had  been  done  by  a  Tory  Ministry,  it  would  have  been 
passionately  denounced  by  Mr.  Gladstone  amid  the  applause  of 
the  whole  Liberal  party.  The  Premier,  in  defending  his  policy, 
said  that  to  have  proceeded  by  warrant  in  the  outset  would  have 
assumed  that  the  House  of  Commons  of  its  own  authority  could 
compensate  persons  who  had  habitually  broken  the  law.  As  to 
the  argument  that  the  consideration  for  which  the  House  had 
agreed  to  pay  a  large  sum  of  money  had  disappeared  from  the 
bill,  and  that  purchase  might  be  revived  as  it  had  been  abolished, 
the  Lords  were  responsible  for  this,  and  he  was  content  to  trust 
to  the  vigilance  of  the  House  of  Commons  to  prevent  any  such 
act.  With  regard  to  the  question  whether  he  had  advised  the 
Crown  to  issue  the  warrant  on  statute  or  by  prerogative,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone replied  that  he  had  advised  her  Majesty  that  she  was  in 
possession  of  a  legal  power,  and  that  an  adequate  necessity 
existed  for  exercising  it.  Although  there  were  precedents  for  it, 
he  did  not  deny  that  it  was  a  grave  proceeding ;  but  the  great 
justification  for  it  was  the  impossibility  of  otherwise  putting  a 
stop  to  the  flagrant  and  crying  evil  of  over-regulation  prices.  As 
to  the  censure  of  the  House  of  Lords,  while  he  did  not  under- 
value it,  he  appealed  to  the  public  opinion  of  the  country  for  his 
exculpation. 

The  absence  of  Sir  Roundell  Palmer  from  these  debates  having 
been  frequently  commented  upon,  on  the  last  day  of  the  session 
a  letter  was  read  from  that  eminent  Liberal  lawyer  approving  of 
the  issue  of  the  Royal  warrant.  Such  a  warrant  was  within  the 
undoubted  power  of  the  Crown;  and  after  recapitulating  the 
existing  circumstances,  Sir  Roundell  Palmer  said  he  thought  the 
issue  of  the  warrant  was  the  least  objectionable  course  which  the 
Government  could  pursue.  The  measure  passed;  and  greatly 
diversified  as  were  the  opinions  of  the  people  upon  the  method 
by  which  the  abolition  of  purchase  was  secured,  all  were  agreed 
in  a  short  time  as  to  the  substantial  wisdom  of  the  Act  itself. 

Another  measure  which  was  discussed  this  session  with  great 
asperity  was  the  Ballot  Bill.  A  considerable  section  of  the 
Conservative  party  resolved  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the 
measure  with  every  available  weapon  in  their  power.  Mr. 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  413 

Gladstone,  who  supported  the  bill,  said  it  must  and  should  pass 
the  Commons  before  the  session  was  concluded ;  and  the  Opposi- 
tion, in  order  to  defeat  his  purpose,  delivered  portentous  speeches 
against  the  measure,  whose  relevancy  it  was  sometimes  impossible 
to  discover.  For  nearly  six  weeks  this  warfare  continued,  but  at 
length  the  bill  was  carried,  though  a  skeleton  only  of  the  original 
scheme.  In  the  Lords  the  bill  met  with  scant  courtesy,  being 
rejected  by  97  votes  to  48.  Many  Liberal  peers  stayed  away,  and 
others  voted  against  the  measure  on  the  ground  of  the  late  period 
of  the  session.  A  second  question  of  importance,  that  of 
University  Tests,  was  settled  during  the  session.  Mr.  Gladstone 
introduced  a  bill  substantially  the  same  as  that  which  the  Lords 
had  rejected  the  previous  year.  On  the  question  again  being 
remitted  to  the  Upper  House,  Lord  Salisbury  carried  an  amend- 
ment of  a  religious  nature  striking  at  the  root  of  the  bill.  This 
was  disagreed  with  by  the  Commons,  and  ultimately  the  Lords 
themselves  disavowed  it  by  128  to  89,  and  the  bill,  as  it  fmnlly 
left  the  Commons,  was  agreed  to,  and  received  the  Eoyal  assent. 
The  result  of  his  measure  was  that  all  lay  students  of  whatever 
religious  creeds  were  in  future  to  be  admitted  to  the  Universities 
on  equal  terms. 

On  two  other  important  questions  Mr.  Gladstone  was  heard 
this  session,  and  his  utterances  attracted  great  attention.  Mr. 
Jacob  Bright's  bill  for  conceding  the  Parliamentary  franchise  to 
female  householders,  if  single  women,  was  rejected  by  220  to  151 ; 
but  the  Premier  caused  considerable  sensation  by  admitting  that, 
if  the  ballot  were  once  established,  women  might  be  admitted  to 
the  franchise  without  detriment.  A  long  debate  also  took  place 
upon  Mr.  Miall's  motion,  '  That  it  is  expedient,  at  the  earliest 
practicable  period,  to  apply  the  policy  initiated  by  the  dis- 
establishment of  the  Irish  Church  to  the  other  churches  established 
by  law  in  the  United  Kingdom.'  Mr.  Dismeli,  in  the  course  of 
the  debate,  expressed  his  confident  belief  that  the  great  majority, 
both  in  the  House  and  in  the  country,  was  decidedly  in  favour  of 
the  Churcli.  The  Nonconformists  had,  for  the  moment,  allied 
themselves  with  the  revolutionary  philosophers,  but  their  prin- 
ciples were  opposed  to  the  real  feeling  of  the  country,  and  he 
believed  that  even  now  a  plebiscite  would  be  in  favour  of  the 
Church.  He  should  oppose  the  motion  in  the  interests  of  civil 
.•md  religious  liberty,  and  more  for  the  sake  of  the  State  than  of 
the  Church.  Mr.  Gladstone  announced  emphatically  that  the 
Government  were  hostile  to  the  motion,  and  did  not  at  all  profesa 
to  limit  their  opposition  to  the  present  occasion.  The  Church  of 
Kngland  was  not  a  foreign  church ,  it  was  the  growth  of  the 
history  and  traditions  of  the  country  The  disestablishment  of 


ill  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  Irish  Church  had  been  one  of  the  largest  tasks  to  which  a 
Legislature  could  address  itself.  '  But,'  added  the  Premier, '  the 
question  of  the  Irish  Church  sinks  into  insignificance — I  mean 
material  insignificance — beside  the  question  of  the  English  Church. 
It  is  not  the  number  of  its  members  or  the  millions  of  its  revenue ; 
it  is  the  mode  in  which  it  has  been  from  a  period  shortly  after  the 
Christian  era,  and  has  never  for  1,300  years  ceased  to  be,  the 
Church  of  the  country,  having  been  at  every  period  ingrained 
with  the  hearts  and  the  feelings  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people, 
and  having  intertwined  itself  with  the  local  habits  and  feelings, 
so  that  I  do  not  believe  there  lives  the  man  who  could  either 
divine  the  amount  and  character  of  the  work  my  hon.  friend 
would  have  to  undertake  were  he  doomed  to  be  responsible  for 
the  execution  of  his  own  propositions,  or  who  could  in  the  least 
degree  define  or  anticipate  the  consequences  by  which  it  would 
be  attended.'  If  Mr.  Miall  sought  to  convert  the  majority  of  the 
House  of  Commons  to  his  opinions,  he  must  begin,  concluded  the 
right  hon.  gentleman,  by  undertaking  the  preliminary  work  of 
converting  to  those  opinions  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Eng- 
land. The  motion  was  rejected  by  374  votes  to  89. 

A  threatened  rupture  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  was  averted  by  the  conclusion  of  the  Treaty  of  Washington 
in  the  month  of  May.  The  British  Commissioners  were  Lord  de 
Grey  (afterwards  created  Marquis  of  Eipon  for  his  services),  Sir 
Stafford  Northcote,  Professor  Bernard,  Sir  Edward  Thornton,  and 
Sir  John  Macdonald.  After  having  sat  thirty-seven  times,  the 
High  Joint  Commissioners  at  New  York  signed  a  treaty  pro- 
viding for  the  establishment  of  two  boards  of  arbitration — one  to 
consider  the  Alabama  and  similar  claims,  which  would  be  recog- 
nised as  national,  and  settled  on  the  principle  of  responsibility 
for  depredations  where  Government  had  not  exercised  the  utmost 
possible  diligence  and  precaution  to  prevent  the  fitting  out  of 
privateers ;  the  other  would  consider  miscellaneous  claims  on  both 
sides,  confined  principally  to  those  arising  out  of  the  Civil  War. 
No  claims  arising  out  of  the  Fenian  invasion  of  Canada  would  be 
admitted.  All  legitimate  cotton  claims  would  be  considered,  except 
those  of  British  subjects  domiciled  in  the  South.  The  San  Juan, 
boundary  question,  it  was  ultimately  arranged,  should  be  arbi- 
trated upon  by  the  Emperor  of  Germany.  American  vessels  were 
to  navigate  the  St.  Lawrence  free,  and  the  Canadian  canals  on 
payment  of  the  regular  tolls.  The  treaty  was  ratified  towards 
the  close  of  May. 

On  miscellaneous  questions  the  Government  were  responsible 
for  various  failures,  and  they  likewise  sustained  several  severe 
checks.  Conspicuous  amongst  the  former  was  the  budget  mtro- 


THE   GOLDEN   AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  415 

duced  by  Mr.  Lowe  on  the  20th  of  April.  In  consequence  of 
the  abolition  of  purchase,  the  army  estimates  were  much  swollen, 
and  there  was  a  great  excess  of  estimated  expenditure  over 
revenue.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  proposed  to  make 
up  this  deficiency  in  various  ways,  and  amongst  his  propositions 
was  a  tax  on  matches,  bearing  the  box  label  '  Ex  luce  lucellum,' 
from  which  he  expected  £550,000.  The  match-tax  speedily 
became  one  of  the  most  unpopular  taxes  ever  proposed ;  it  was 
the  butt  of  the  comic  and  the  bete  noire  of  the  serious  papers, 
and  was  condemned  by  the  country  generally.  The  trade  rose 
in  arms  against  it,  and  it  was  shown  that  the  proposed  duty 
would  vary  from  100  to  400  per  cent.,  even  more  on  the  whole- 
sale price.  Thus  the  duty  upon  £625  worth  of  the  commonest 
matches  would  be  £3,000.  The  match  trade  would  be  virtually 
extinguished  by  such  an  imposition.  Unable  to  withstand  the 
dissatisfaction  created  by  his  proposal,  Mr.  Lowe  abandoned  the 
tax.  Several  other  propositions  in  the  budget  were  either  modi- 
fied or  withdrawn,  and  an  increased  income-tax  was  imposed. 
Mr.  Bruce's  Licensing  Bill  also  excited  great  opposition.  Its 
two  broad  principles,  as  defined  by  its  author,  were  that  the 
public  had  a  right  to  a  sufficient  number  of  respectably  conducted 
houses ;  and  that  all  vested  interests  should  be  carefully  considered. 
There  were  certain  restrictive  clauses,  however,  in  the  measure 
which  led  to  hostile  demonstrations  on  the  part  of  the  trade,  and 
in  the  end  Mr.  Bruce  abandoned  the  chief  features  of  his  scheme, 
and  declined  to  pledge  himself  to  re-introduce  the  bill  in  the 
following  session.  Mr.  Goschen  introduced  two  bills  on  the  subject 
of  local  taxation,  designed  to  provide  a  uniform  system  of  local 
government  throughout  England  and  Wales  (the  metropolis 
excepted),  and  to  secure  uniformity  of  rating.  The  bills  did  not 
come  to  a  second  reading.  The  Government  further  suffered  a 
defeat  on  a  matter  of  the  greatest  interest  and  importance  to  the 
poorer  classes  of  London.  Having  proposed  a  commission  to 
settle  the  rights  of  the  Crown  with  regard  to  Epping  Forest,  Mr. 
Cowper-Temple  brought  forward  a  motion  virtually  against  the 
Ministry,  as  it  proposed  to  secure  the  preservation  of  the  un- 
enclosed portions  of  the  forest  as  an  open  space  for  the  enjoyment 
of  the  people  of  the  metropolis.  The  resolution  was  opposed  by 
Mr.  Gladstone,  who  stated  that  the  Government  had  secured  one 
thousand  acres  of  the  forest  as  a  recreation  ground  for  the  people. 
Mr  Cowper-Temple's  motion,  notwithstanding,  was  carried  by  a 
large  majority.  The  loss  of  the  '  Captain  nd  the  '  Megaora '  led 
to  grave  reflections  upon  alleged  Admiralty  mismanagement,  but 
Mr.  Goschen,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Childers  as  First  Lord,  elabo- 
rately defended  the  conduct  of  the  Board.  The  session,  which,  in 


410  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

spite  of  its  failures,  had  been  far  from  barren,  terminated  on  the 
21st  of  August. 

During  the  following  recess,  Mr.  Gladstone's  energy  was  as 
sleepless  as  ever.  In  addition  to  various  public  appearances  which 
he  made,  he  was  once  more  called  upon  to  detend  himself  on  the 
score  of  his  religion.  The  affection  with  which  he  was  viewed  by 
a  large  section  of  the  community  seemed  to  be  counterbalanced  by 
the  animosity  of  a  smaller  if  more  active  section.  Writing  from 
Balmoral  co  Mr.  Whalley,  in  answer  to  a  question  which  the  hon. 
member  for  Peterborough  had  put  on  behalf  of  his  constituents, 
the  Premier  said,  'I  quite  agree  with  those  of  your  constituents 
on  whose  behalf  you  address  me,  in  thinking  that  the  question 
"  whether  the  Prime  Minister  of  this  country  is  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  Home,  and  being  such,  not  only  declines  to  avow  it, 
but  gives  through  a  long  life  all  the  external  signs  of  belonging 
to  a  different  communion,  is  a  "  question  of  great  political  import- 
ance," and  this  not  only  "in  the  present,"  but  in  any  possible 
condition  of  the  "  Liberal "  or  any  other  "  party."  For  it  involves 
the  question  whether  he  is  the  basest  creature  in  the  kingdom 
which  he  has  a  share  in  ruling ;  and  instant  ejectment  from  his 
office  would  be  the  smallest  of  the  punishments  he  would  deserve. 
If  I  have  said  this  much  upon  the  present  subject,  it  has  been  out 
of  personal  respect  to  you.  For  I  am  entirely  convinced  that, 
while  the  question  you  have  put  to  me  is  in  truth  an  insulting 
one,  you  have  put  it  only  from  having  failed  to  notice  its  true 
character ,  since  I  have  observed  during  my  experience  of  many 
years  that,  even  when  you  undertake  the  most  startling  duties, 
you  perform  them  in  "  the  gentlest  and  most  considerate  manner  " 
This  last  sentence  was  worthy  of  the  Premier's  rival  in  his  best 
mood.  The  hon  member  for  Peterborough  was  generally  con- 
demned for  acting  as  the  mouthpiece  of  an  insufferable  inquisition 
into  Mr.  Gladstone's  religious  opinions. 

The  cry  for  Home  Eule,  and  the  unwarrantable  conduct  of 
Irish  juries  in  connection  with  certain  trials  for  agrarian  crime, 
considerably  disturbed  the  equanimity  of  the  country  during  the 
recess.  The  Prime  Minister,  however,  delivered  a  speech  in 
connection  with  these  matters  which  greatly  allayed  the  public 
excitement.  In  receiving  the  Freedom  of  the  City  of  Aberdeen, 
he  took  occasion  to  say  that  he  did  not  quite  know  what  was 
meant  b)  the  cry  of  Home  Rule.  He  was  glad  to  know  emphati 
cally  that  it  did  not  mean  the  breaking  up  into  fragments  of  the 
United  Kingdom  He — and  he  hoped  all  those  who  heard  him 
—intended  that  it  should  remain  a  United  Kingdom.  From 
circumstances  which  e  adduced,  the  Irish  people  were  liable  to 
become  more  or  less  the  victims  from  time  to  time  of  this  or  that 


THfi    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  417 

political  delusion.  'But,'  he  continued,  'there  is  nothing  that 
Ireland  has  asked  and  which  this  country  and  this  Parliament 
have  refused.  This  Parliament  has  done  for  Ireland  what  it 
would  have  scrupled  to  do  for  England  and  for  Scotland.  There 
remains  now  a  single  grievance  — a  grievance  with  regard  to  uni- 
versity education,  which  is  not  so  entirely  free  in  Ireland  as  it 
has  now  been  made  in  England  ;  but  that  is  an  exceptional  sub- 
ject, and  it  is  a  subject  on  which  I  am  bound  to  say  Ireland  has 
made  no  united  demand  upon  England ;  still,  I  regard  it  as  a 
subject  that  calls  for  legislation,  but  there  is  no  demand  which 
Ireland  has  made  and  which  England  has  refused,  and  I  shall  be 
very  glad  to  see  such  a  demand  put  into  a  practical  shape,  in  which 
we  may  make  it  the  subject  of  rational  and  candid  discussion.' 
There  were  no  inequalities  between  England  and  Ireland,  the 
right  hon.  gentleman  maintained,  except  such  as  were  in  favour 
of  the  latter.  He  admitted,  nevertheless,  that  the  circumstances 
under  which  Ireland  was  too  long  governed  were  hostile,  nay, 
almost  fatal  to  her  growth.  They  ought  rather  to  be  pleased 
with  what  she  had  done  than  to  complain  of  her.  But  if  the 
doctrines  of  Home  Kule  were  to  be  established  in  Ireland,  they 
would  be  equally  entitled  to  it  in  Scotland,  and  still  more  so  in 
Wales,  where  the  people  spoke  hardly  anything  but  their  own 
Celtic  tongue.  '  Can  any  sensible  man,  can  any  rational  man, 
suppose  that  at  this  time  of  day,  in  this  condition  of  the  world, 
we  are  going  to  disintegrate  the  great  capital  institutions  of  this 
country,  for  the  purpose  of  making  ourselves  ridiculous  in  the 
sight  of  all  mankind,  and  crippling  any  power  we  possess  for 
bestowing  benefits  through  legislation  on  the  country  to  which 
we  belong  ? '  With  regard  to  past  measures  for  Ireland,  he  would 
not  admit  that  she  was  not  going  to  be  conciliated.  But  there 
was  a  still  higher  law  to  remember  than  that  of  conciliation. 
'We  desire  to  conciliate  Ireland,  we  desire  to  soothe  her  people 
— the  wounded  feelings  and  the  painful  recollections  of  her 
people.  We  desire  to  attach  her  to  this  island  in  the  silken 
cords  of  love ;  but  there  was  a  higher  and  a  paramount  aim  in 
the  measures  that  Parliament  has  passed,  and  that  was  that  it 
should  do  its  duty.  It  was  to  set  itself  right  with  the  national 
conscience,  with  the  opinion  of  the  world,  and  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  justice ;  and  when  that  is  done,  I  say  fearlessly  that, 
whether  conciliation  be  at  once  realised  or  not,  the  position  of 
this  country  is  firm  and  invulnerable.' 

Dealing  with  the  Army  Regulation  Bill,  in  a  speech  at  Whitby, 
the  Premier  averred  that  that  measure  alone  was  sufficient  to 
make  and  confer  honour  upon  the  session.  The  power  of  the 
Crown  was  brought  in,  but  it  could  not  have  been  done  without. 

E  E 


418  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

With  regard  to  the  Ballot  Bill,  although  it  had  been  rejected,  the 
time  had  not  been  lost.  When  the  measure  was  presented  next 
session  at  the  door  of  the  House  of  Lords,  he  believed  it  would  be 
with  an  authoritative  knock  which  it  would  not  have  otherwise 
possessed.  After  deprecating  hasty  legislation,  Mr.  Gladstone  said 
that '  no  doubt  many  a  clever  fellow  writing  in  a  newspaper  could 
put  his  finger  on  many  a  blot  on  our  legislation,  and  show  how 
it  might  have  been  done,  and  he  had  no  doubt  that  he  thought  he 
could  have  done  it  better  himself.'  Referring  next  to  a  magazine 
article  which  appeared  at  the  time,  and  which  caused  a  strong 
sensation,  entitled  the  '  Battle  of  Dorking,'  the  Premier  exhorted 
his  hearers  not  to  be  alarmed.  The  disposition  to  alarm  sat  worse 
upon  the  English  than  upon  any  other  people,  because  we  were 
accused  abroad  of  being  an  arrogant  and  a  self-assertive  people ; 
and  nothing  could  be  more  injurious  than  for  such  a  people  to  lash 
themselves  into  a  state  of  apprehension  and  panic,  or  to  endea- 
vour to  persuade  themselves  that  all  mankind  were  in  a  con- 
spiracy against  them.  He  exhorted  them  to  be  on  their  guard 
against  alarmism.  '  The  power  of  this  country  is  not  declining,'  he 
observed  in  conclusion.  '  It  is  increasing — increasing  in  itself,  and 
I  believe  increasing  as  compared  with  the  power  of  the  other 
nations  of  Europe.  It  is  only  our  pride,  it  is  only  our  passions,  it 
is  only  our  follies  which  can  ever  constitute  a  real  danger  to  us. 
If  we  can  master  these,  no  other  foe  can  hurt  us ;  and  many  a 
long  year  will  make  its  round,  and  many  a  generation  of  men 
will  be  gathered  to  its  fathers,  before  the  country  in  which  we 
are  born,  and  which  we  deeply  love,  need  forfeit  or  lose  its  place 
among  the  nations  of  the  world.' 

There  were  signs  during  the  year  1871 — as  indeed  it  has  been 
already  indicated — that  the  popularity  of  the  Ministry  was 
declining.  The  Premier  was  too  much  in  earnest  for  his  Whig 
supporters,  whose  political  animation  was  well-nigh  suspended  by 
the  rapidity  of  his  reforms.  Rarely  had  the  apathy  of  the  country 
to  great  legislative  schemes  been  so  nobly  overcome  as  during 
Mr.  Gladstone's  premiership,  but  a  reaction  began  to  set  in. 
Early  in  1871,  even  a  section  of  his  own  constituents  drew  up  a 
petition  inviting  him  to  resign  his  seat  for  Greenwich,  This 
movement  had  a  ridiculous  but  the  only  legitimate  ending.  The 
Premier  was  heavily  weighted,  according  to  the  popular  view,  by 
such  colleagues  as  Mr.  Lowe  and  Mr.  Ayrton — men  of  great  and 
unquestioned  ability,  but  whose  reading  of  the  public  pulse  was 
not  of  the  surest  and  most  satisfactory  description.  The  labours 
of  Hercules  were  thrown  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  First  Minister, 
and  it  was  a  little  too  much  to  make  him  responsible  for  the 
erratic  action  of  every  subordinate.  A  meeting  was  called  at  the 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBERALISM.  419 

Lecture  Hall,  Greenwich,  in  support  of  the  requisition  desiring 
Mr.  Gladstone  to  resign  his  seat ;  but  the  Liberals  repudiated  all 
connection  with  the  movement,  and  the  tables  were  turned  in  a 
surprising  manner  upon  the  requisitionists.  After  a  scene  of  con- 
siderable violence,  a  vote  of  confidence  was  passed  in  Mr,  Glad- 
stone, and  the  proceedings  closed  with  a  volley  of  cheers  for  the 
right  hon.  gentleman. 

The  chief  event  of  the  recess,  however,  was  the  Premier's  great 
speech  on  Blackheatb.  For  two  hours,  on  a  bleak  October  day, 
Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  an  open  air  audience,  consisting  of 
some  20,000  persons.  In  his  whole  career  he  has,  probably, 
never  made  a  more  dramatic  appearance.  Standing  before  the 
immense  audience  bareheaded,  by  the  sheer  force  of  his  elo- 
quence the  right  hon.  gentleman  subdued  the  opposition  of 
those  who  had  come  expressly  to  circumvent  him.*  He  began 
his  speech  by  craving  indulgence  in  respect  to  his  discharge  of 
local  duties,  and  observed  that,  though  it  might  be  a  serious 

*  From  a  description  of  the  scene  which  appeared  in  the  Daily  News  we  take  the 
following  passage: — 'The  dense  mass  heaved,  and  there  rose  from  it  an  audible 
gasp  as  a  burst  of  cheering  was  heard  in  the  offing.  IN'earer  rolled  the  cheers, 
mingled  with  some  yells,  but  the  silence  of  keen  expectancy  reigned  before  the 
hustings.  The  door  at  the  hack  of  the  booth  opened,  there  was  some  confusion 
among  its  occupants,  and  then — here  was  Mr.  Gladstone,  standing  at  the  right 
hand  of  Mr.  Angerstein.  Then  the  throng  broke  the  silence  of  expectancy.  Peal 
after  peal  of  cheering  rent  the  air.  There  was  a  waving  forest  of  hats.  The 
cheering  was  spasmodic — it  was  too  loud  to  be  sustained,  and  ever  as  it  drooped 
a  little  was  audible  the  steady  automaton-like  hissing.  But  as  yet  there  was  little 
or  no  hooting,  only  the  bitter,  persistent  hissing  in  the  lulls  of  the  cheering.  If  Mr. 
Angerstein  flatters  himself  that  in  the  remarks  he  made  introducing  Mr.  Gladstone 
he  was  audible  ten  feet  to  his  front,  he  simply  labours  under  a  delusion.  The 
noise  that  drowned  his  words  was  utterly  indescribable.  When  this  brief  preface 
was  over,  Mr.  Gladstone  stood  forward  bareheaded.  There  was  something  deeply 
dramatic  in  the  intense  silence  which  fell  upon  the  vast  crowd  when  the  renewed 
burst  of  cheering,  with  which  he  was  greeted,  had  subsided.  But  the  first  word  ho 
spoke  was  the  signal  of  a  fearful  tempest  of  din.  From  all  around  the  skirts  of  the 
crowd  rose  a  something  between  a  groan  and  a  howl.  So  fierce  was  it  that  for  a  little 
space  it  might  laugh  to  scorn  the  burst  of  cheering  that  strove  to  overmaster  it. 
The  battle  raged  between  the  two  sounds,  and  looking  straight  upon  the  excited 
crowd  stood  Mr.  Gladstone,  calm,  resolute,  patient.  It  was  fine  to  note  the  manly 
British  impulse  of  fair-play  that  gained  him  a  hearing  when:  the  first  ebullition  had 
exhausted  itself,  and  the  revulsion  that  followed  so  quickly  and  spontaneously,  on 
the  realisation  of  the  suggestion  that  it  was  mean  to  hoot  a  man  down  without 
giving  him  a  chance  to  speak  for  himself.  After  that  Mr.  Gladstone  may  be  said 
to  have  had  it  all  his  own  way.  Of  course  at  intervals  there  were  repetitions  of  the 
interruptions.  When  he  first  broached  the  dockyard  question  there  was  long,  loud, 
and  fervent  groaning ;  when  he  named  Ireland  a  cry  rose  of  "  God  save  Ireland  !  " 
from  the  serried  files  of  Hibernians  that  had  rendezvoused  on  the  left  flank.  But 
long  before  he  had  finished  he  had  so  enthralled  his  audience,  that  impatient  dis- 
gust was  expressed  at  the  handful  who  still  continued  their  abortive  efforts  at 
interruption.  When  at  length  the  two  hours'  oration  was  over,  and  the  question 
was  put  that  substantially  was,  whether  Mr.  Gladstone  had  cleared  away  from  the 
judgment  of  his  constituency  the  fog  of  prejudice  and  ill-feeling  that  unquestion- 
ably encircled  him  and  his  Ministry,  the  affirmative  reply  was  given  in  bursts  of 
all  but  unanimous  cheering,  than  which  none  more  earnest  ever  greeted  a  politi- 
cal leader. '  Rarely  has  an  English  Premier  ventured  to  throw  himself  thus 
completely  upon  the  sympathies  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people. 

F  K  2 


420  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

misfortune  to  many  whom  it  affected,  the  closing  or  restriction 
of  Government  establishments  might  at  the  same  time  be  a  duty 
to  the  nation.     Three-fourths  of  the  reduction  in  the  number  of 
the  dockyard  labourers  was  due  to  their  predecessors,  and  the 
whole  plan  had  been  devised  by  a  former  Government.   Touching 
upon  the  abolition  of  purchase  in  the  army,  Mr.  Gladstone  said 
he  rejoiced  to  think  that  in  a  single  session  they  had  been  able  to 
achieve  a  task  so  formidable.     He  had  faith  in  the  army,  in  spite 
of  all  the  writings  of  alarmists.     The  autumn  manosuvres  had 
demonstrated  that,  if  it  should  please  Providence  to  bring  upon  us 
the  necessity,  never  was  the  country  more  able  to  entrust  its  defence 
to  troops  and  to  officers  more  worthy  of  their  country,  or  more 
certain  to  make  that  defence  effectual.     In  defending  the  War 
Minister,  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  *  There  has  been  a  fashion  during 
the  present  year  to  scoff  at  Mr.  Cardwell.     I  can  only  say  that, 
when  he  is  condemned,  I,  for  my  part,  am  glad  to  share  the  con- 
demnation.    But  I   venture   to   affirm  that  no   man  who  ever 
held  the  seals  of  office  since  the  Secretaryship  at  War  was  estab- 
lished, has  done  so  much  for  the  reform  and  the  efficiency  of  the 
army  ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  when  he  retires  from  the  office, 
he  will  leave  behind  a  name  entitled  to  the  approval  and  the 
gratitude  of  the  country.'     Dealing  with  the  Education  Act,  the 
speaker  observed  that  a  great  and  comprehensive  measure  of  that 
kind  could  hardly  be  perfect.     t  Indulgence,  equity,  the  sacrifice 
of  extreme  opinions,  must  be  asked  for  in  every  quarter.     But  I 
ask  those  who  are  least  satisfied  with  the  Education  Act  this  one 
and  simple  question,  whether  it  is  not  a  great  stride,  and  one 
achieved  upon  a  path  of  real  progress  ?    I  will  not  now  attempt  to 
say  more  upon  the  question  than  this : — On  the  one  hand  we  shall 
endeavour  to  adhere  to  that  principle  of  the  Act  which  aims  at 
the  severance  between  the  application  of  the  State  funds  and 
controverted  matters  in  religion ;  and  on  the  other  I  must  pause, 
for  my  own  part,  and  I  believe  my  colleagues  would  feel  them- 
selves obliged  to  "pause,  before  they  could  resolve  to  say  to  the 
parent  desirous  to  send  his  child  to  a  school  of  his  own  persuasion, 
compelled  by  public  authority  to  send  it  to  school,  and  unable 
to  pay  the  charge,  If  you  attempt  to  send  the  child  to  a  school 
of  your  own  persuasion,  if  you  don't  consent  to  send  him  to  a 
school  the  principles  of  which  you  disapprove — namely,  the  rate 
school  — we  shall  send  you  to  prison.     I  don't  think  public  opinion 
would  sustain  us  in  such  a  course.'     Alluding  to  the  ballot,  he 
expressed  his  belief  that  his  hearers  were  of  opinion  the  Govern- 
ment had  made  a  good  and  wise  choice  in  pressing  that  important 
question  upon  the  attention  of  Parliament. 

It  was  scarcely  possible,  after  the  recent  important  differences 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBEEALISM.  421 

of  opinion  between  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  that  Mr.  Glad- 
stone should  avoid  all  reference  to  the  functions  and  constitution 
of  the  House  of  Lords.  When  he  arrived  at  this  stage  of  his 
address,  he  was  interrupted  by  a  voice,  '  Leave  the  constitution  of 
the  House  of  Lords  alone  ! '  Whereupon  he  proceeded  to  say  : — 

'  I  am  not  prepared  to  agree  with  my  friend  there,  because  the  constitution  of 
the  House  of  Lords  has  often  been  a  subject  of  consideration  amongst  the  wisest 
and  most  sober-minded  men ;  as,  for  example,  when  a  proposal— of  whch  my  frend 
disapproves,  perhaps — was  made  a  few  years  ago  to  make  a  moderate  addition  to 
the  House  of  Lords  of  peers  holding  tlieir  peerages  for  life.  I  am  not  going  to  dis- 
cuss that  particular  measure;  I  will  only  say,  without  entering  into  details  that 
would  be  highly  interesting,  but  which  the  vast  range  of  the  subject  makes  im- 
possible on  the  present  occasion — I  will  only  say  that  I  believe  there  are  various 
particulars  in  which  the  constitution  of  the  House  of  Lords  might,  under  favour- 
able circumstances,  be  improved.  And  I  am  bound  to  say  that,  though  I  believe 
there  are  some  politicians  bearing  the  name  of  Liberal  who  approve  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  House  of  Lords  with  respect  to  the  Ballot  Bill  at  the  close  of  last 
session,  I  must  own  that  I  deeply  lament  that  proceeding.  I  have  a  shrewd  sus- 
picion in  my  mind  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  people  of  England  have  a 
sneaking  kindness  for  the  hereditary  principle.  My  observation  has  not  been  of  a 
very  brief  period,  and  what  I  have  observed  is  this,  that  wherever  there  is  any- 
thing to  be  done,  or  to  be  given,  and  there  are  two  candidates  for  it  who  are 
exactly  alike — alike  in  opinions,  alike  in  character,  alike  in  possessions,  the  one 
being  a  commoner  and  the  other  a  lord — the  Englishman  is  very  apt  indeed  to 
prefer  the  lord.' 

In  giving  instances  in  support  of  his  opinion,  Mr.  Gladstone 
dealt  with  a  new  social  movement  which  at  thai  time  was  the 
subject  of  much  discussion.  This  movement  was  originated  by 
Mr.  Scott  Kussell,  and  its  object  was  to  improve  the  condition  of 
the  working  classes  by  an  alliance  of  workmen  with  (chiefly)  Con- 
servative statesmen.  The  memorandum  which  formed  its  basis 
was  signed  by  Lords  Salisbury,  Carnarvon,  Lichfield,  Sandon,  and 
John  Manners,  and  by  Sir  J,  S.  Pakington,  Sir  Stafford  Northcote, 
and  Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy.  Mr.  Gladstone  indulged  in  a  little 
pleasantry  at  the  expense  of  this  scheme,  whose  ultimate  issues 
did  not  satisfy  its  promoters.  '  Here  was  one  body  on  one  side, 
another  body  on  the  other  side,  and  in  the  middle  Mr.  Scott  Rus- 
sell. Mr.  Russell  comes  in  communication  with  both  of  these 
bodies.  He  speaks  first  to  the  one  and  then  to  the  other.  You 
have  seen  a  clergyman  in  a  large  church  when  he  gives  out  his 
text ;  he  first  of  all  looks  to  the  people  in  one  part  of  the  church, 
and  says,  "  You  will  find  it  written  so-and-so,"  and  then  to 
the  other  side  of  the  cong  egation,  "  You  will  find  it  so-and- 
so."  This  is  exactly,  or  almost  exactly,  what  seems  to  have  been 
done  by  Mr.  Scott  Russell.  The  only  difference  is  this — that, 
unfortunately,  Mr.  Scott  Russell  gives  a  text  out  of  one  Testa- 
ment to  the  people  on  this  side,  and  a  text  out  of  the  other  Testa- 
ment to  the  people  on  the  other  side.'  As  to  the  composition  of 
the  body  he  had  organised,  he  might  have  said,  *  I  have  organised 
a  body  of  educated,  intelligent,  and  independent  men,'  and  per- 


422  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

haps  that  would  have  occurred  in  another  country.  But  what 
is  the  language  he  used  ?  He  said, '  I  have  organised  this  body, 
and  what  does  it  contain  ?  It  contains  peers,  lords,  baronets,  and 
one  commoner — one  solitary  commoner  among  peers,  lords,  and 
baronets.'  It  was  by  these  means  that  Mr.  Scott  Russell  thought 
to  make  his  prescription  most  acceptable  to  those  for  whom  it 
was  intended.  The  right  hon.  gentleman,  however,  speaking  of 
the  House  of  Lords,  went  on  to  acknowledge  the  admirable  and 
exemplary  manner  in  which  many  of  the  peers  performed  their 
duties. 

'Detailing  the  great  advantages  winch  had  accrued  from  the 
legislation  of  the  past  generation,  including  Free  Trade,  the 
removal  of  twenty  millions  of  taxation,  a  cheap  press,  and  an 
education  bill,  Mr.  Gladstone  enforced  the  lesson  that  Englishmen 
must  depend  upon  themselves  for  their  future  well-being  and 
improvement.  After  describing  those  who  promised  Utopian 
benefits  to  the  working  man  as  quacks,  deluded  and  beguiled  by 
a  spurious  philanthropy,  the  Premier  thus  concluded  his  long  and 
animated  address : — 

'  How,  in  a  country  where  wealth  accumulates  with  such  vast  rapidity,  are  we 
to  check  the  growth  of  luxury  and  selfishness  by  a  sound  and  healthy  opinion  ? 
How  are  we  to  secure  to  labour  its  due  honour — I  mean  not  only  to  the  labour  of 
the  hands,  but  to  the  labour  of  the  man  with  any  and  all  the  faculties  which  God 
has  given  him?  How  are  we  to  make  ourselves  believe,  and  how  are  we  to  bring 
the  country  to  believe,  that  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man  labour  is  honourable  and 
idleness  is  contemptible  ?  Depend  upon  it,  gentlemen,  I  do  but  speak  the  serious 
and  solemn  truth  when  I  say  that  beneath  the  political  questions  which  are  found 
on  the  surface  lie  those  deeper  and  more  searching  questions  that  enter  into  the 
breast  and  strike  home  to  the  conscience  and  mind  of  every  man  ;  and  it  is  upon 
the  solution  of  these  questions  that  the  well-being  of  England  must  depend.  Gentle- 
men, I  use  the  words  of  a  popular  poet  when  I  give  vent  to  this  sentiment  of  hope, 
with  which  for  one  I  venture  to  look  forward  to  the  future  of  this  country.  He 
says : — 

"  The  ancient  virtue  Is  not  dead,  and  long  may  it  endure. 
May  wealth  in  England " 

and  I  am  sure  he  means  by  wealth  that  higher  sense  of  it — prosperity,  and  sound 
prosperity — 

"  May  wealth  In  England  never  fail,  nor  pity  for  the  poor." 

May  strength  and  the  means  of  material  prosperity  never  be  wanting  to  us ;  but  it 
is  far  more  important  that  there  shall  not  be  wanting  the  disposition  to  use  those 
means  aright.  Gentlemen,  I  shall  go  from  this  meeting,  having  given  you  the  best 
account  of  my  position  in  my  feeble  power,  within  the  time  and  under  the  circum- 
stances of  the  day — I  shall  go  from  this  meeting  strengthened  by  the  comfort  of 
your  kindness  and  your  indulgence  to  resume  my  humble  share  in  public  labours. 
No  motive  will  more  operate  upon  me  in  stimulating  me  to  the  discharge  of  duty 
than  the  gratitude  with  which  I  look  back  upon  the,  I  believe,  unexampled  cir- 
cumstances under  which  you  made  me  your  representative.  But  I  shall  endeavour 
— I  shall  make  it  my  hope — to  show  that  gratitude  less  by  words  of  idle  compli- 
ment or  hollow  flattery  than  by  a  manful  endeavour,  according  to  the  measure  of 
my  gifts,  humble  as  they  may  be,  to  render  service  to  a  Queen  who  lives  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  and  to  a  nation  with  respect  to  which  I  will  say  that  through 
all  posterity,  whether  it  be  praised  or  whether  it  be  blamed,  whether  it  be 
acquitted  or  whether  it  be  condemned,  it  will  be  acquitted  or  condemned  upon 


THE    GOLDEN    AGE    OF    LIBEEALISM.  423 

this  issue,  of  having  made  a  good  or  bad  use  of  the  most  splendid  opportunities ; 
of  having  turned  to  proper  account,  or  failed  to  turn  to  account,  the  powers,  the 
energies,  the  faculties  which  rank  the  people  of  this  little  island  as  among  the  few 
great  nations  that  have  stamped  their  name  and  secured  their  fame  among  the 
greatest  nations  of  the  world.' 

The  year  1871  was,  in  many  respects,  a  memorable  one. 
When  it  opened,  war  was  still  raging  between  Prussia  and 
France,  but  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  in  the  month  of  May. 
We  have  already  seen  how  our  own  difficulties  with  the  United 
States  were  placed  in  the  way  of  a  satisfactory  adjustment. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  year,  the  whole  nation  was  moved  with  a 
sense  of  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  the  recovery  of  the  heir 
to  the  Throne  from  a  dangerous  illness,  and  one  to  which  for  a 
long  period  none  but  a  fatal  result  was  feared  and  anticipated. 

The  Parliamentary  history  of  the  year  was  not  altogether 
satisfactory,  though  there  have  been  sessions  since  quite  as  barren 
in  acts  of  great  and  useful  legislation.  On  the  1st  of  January, 
the  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church  was  finally  completed. 
With  regard  to  extra-Parliamentary  politics,  in  the  autumn  an 
agitation  was  commenced  for  the  reform  or  the  abolition  of  the 
House  of  Lords,  but  it  speedily  subsided  ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  as 
we  have  seen,  defended  the  Lords  in  his  speech  at  Blackheath, 
while  admitting  that  the  constitution  of  the  House  might  be 
improved.  Sir  Charles  Dilke  caused  considerable  sensation  by 
first  attacking  the  Queen's  administration  of  the  Civil  List  in  a 
lecture  delivered  at  Newcastle,  and  avowing  himself  a  Republican 
a  few  days  later  in  a  speech  made  at  Bristol.  Not,  perhaps,  as 
the  consequence  of  this,  but  owing  rather  to  a  special  conjuncture 
of  circumstances,  the  country  shortly  afterwards  testified  its 
loyalty  to  the  Throne  in  an  especially  marked  and  enthusiastic 
degree.  Lastly,  there  was  a  continuance  of  the  Home  Rule 
agitation,  while  Mr.  Dixon  and  a  powerful  body  of  Nonconformists 
strongly  attacked  the  clauses  of  the  Education  Bill  which  allowed 
of  aid  to  denominational  schools — one  leading  object  sought 
being  the  exclusion  of  religious  teaching  from  day  schools. 

The  Gladstone  Administration  had  now  passed  its  zenith,  and 
its  decadence  had  already  begun.  There  are  some  reforms  which, 
when  they  do  not  touch  the  mass  of  the  people,  are  readily 
acquiesced  in ;  but  when  a  Ministry  resolutely  sets  itself  to  the 
reform  of  abuses  in  all  directions,  however  laudable  its  objects,  it 
is  sure  to  incur  the  hostility  of  individual  interests.  Mr.  Bruce 
alienated  the  whole  of  the  brewing  interests  by  his  Licensing 
Bill,  and  the  Government  acquired  further  unpopularity  by  the 
disasters  reflecting  upon  the  Admiralty.  Indignation  was  caused 
when,  upon  the  promotion  of  Sir  M.  Smith  to  the  Privy  Council, 
the  Attorney-General  (Sir  R.  Collier)  was  gazetted  as  a  Puisne 


424  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas,  for  the  purpose  of  qualifying  him 
for  «an  appointment  to  the  Judicial  Committee,  which  was  soon 
afterwards  completed.  Opponents  of  the  abolition  of  purchase, 
moreover,  did  not  forget  to  enlarge  upon  what  they  described  as 
the  straining  of  the  Constitution  by  the  issue  of  the  Royal 
warrant.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  these  and  other  matters  led  to  much 
obloquy  being  cast  upon  the  Government ;  and  the  Premier — to 
whom  personally  little  or  no  blame  could  attach  for  many  of 
these  transactions — found  towards  the  close  of  the  year  that  his 
popularity  was  waning.  A  reaction  had  set  in  against  so-called 
*  heroic '  legislation — which  really  meant  that  Mr.  Gladstone,  who 
in  1868  so  clearly  and  unmistakably  interpreted  the  public 
sentiment,  was  now  in  advance  of  it.  His  earnestness  and 
enthusiasm  were  already  beginning  to  be  but  ill-appreciated  by 
the  very  classes  who  had  wafted  him  into  power,  and  given  him 
such  an  enormous  majority. 

But,  in  looking  back  upon  the  legislative  enactments  of  the 
three  sessions  of  1869,  1870,  and  1871,  who  can  deny  that  they 
warrant  the  designation  which  we  have  given  to  the  present  divi- 
sion of  this  work  ?  That  period  which  (to  say  nothing  of  minor 
measures)  witnessed  the  passing  of  the  Irish  Church  Act,  the 
Endowed  Schools  Bill,  the  Bankruptcy  Bill,  the  Habitual  Crimi-  - 
nals  Bill,  the  Irish  Land  Act,  the  Elementary  Education  Act,  the 
Abolition  of  Purchase  in  the  Army,  the  negotiation  of  the  Wash- 
ington Treaty,  the  passing  of  the  University  Tests  Bill  and  of 
the  Trades  Union  Bill,  and  the  repeal  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Titles 
Act,  may  well  be  entitled  to  the  appellation  of  the '  golden  age  of 
Liberalism.'  There  have  been  few  periods  in  the  history  of  this 
country — we  might  venture  almost  to  say  there  have  been  none 
— when  measures  of  equal  magnitude  have  been  passed  within 
this  limited  space  of  time.  i  The  hour  and  the  man'  were  both 
designed  for  the  task  which  had  to  be  accomplished.  Never  was 
there  an  age  when  a  stronger  zeal  for  reform  was  manifested — 
taking  reform  now  not  merely  in  a  political  and  Parliamentary, 
but  in  a  social,  religious,  and  national  sense  ;  and  never  was  there 
a  statesman  more  fully  capable  of  meeting  the  needs  of  such  an 
age  than  Mr.  Gladstone.  They  were  the  complement  of  each 
other,  and  when  Englishmen  reflect  upon  the  great  legislative 
achievements  of  the  time,  it  is  well  for  them  also  to  remember 
that  the  cry  of  justice  to  Ireland,  and  other  demands  for  imperial 
legislative  reforms,  owed  their  fulfilment  to  the  untiring  energy, 
the  dauntless  will,  and  the  high  moral  and  political  courage  of 
him  whose  name  now  occupies  so  conspicuous  a  position  in  our 
political  annals. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  ALABAMA  CLAIMS — THE  BALLOT — IRISH  UNIVERSITY 
EDUCATION. 

The  Year  1872 — Recovery  of  the  Prince  of  Wales — Growing  Unpopularity  of  the 
Government — Debate  on  the  Address — The  Premier  on  Mr.  Disraeli's  Survey  of 
the  Ministerial  Policy — Debates  on  Sir  Robert  Collier's  Appointment — The  'Ewelme 
Scandal' — The  Government  and  the  Public  Parks — Sir  Charles  Dilke's  Motion 
on  the  Civil  list — Opposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone — Extraordinary  Scene  in  the  House 
— The  Ballot  Bill — The  Measure  carried — The  Alabama  Claims — Mr.  Gladstone 
on  the  Washington  Treaty — The  Geneva  Arbitration— Award  of  the  Arbitrators — 
Protest  of  Sir  Alexander  Cockburn — Irish  University  Education — Scheme  of  the 
Government — Great  Speech  by  the  Premier — Details  of  the  Measure — The  Bill  in 
Danger — Debate  on  the  Second  Reading — Speeches  of  Mr.  Lowe,  Mr.  Disraeli, 
and  Mr.  Gladstone — Defeat  of  the  Government — Ministerial  Interregnum — Mr. 
Disraeli  declines  to  take  office — Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Situation — Resumes  the 
Premiership — Measures  of  the  Session  of  1873 — Ministerial  Changes. 

THE  new  year  dawned  amid  universal  symptoms  of  rejoicing 
on  the  part  of  the  people.  The  Queen  invited  her  subjects  to 
share  in  her  gratitude  for  the  recovery  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  a  thanksgiving  service  was  held  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
under  circumstances  of  splendour  and  impressiveness.  The 
reception  which  the  Sovereign  and  the  Heir  to  the  Throne  met 
with  on  their  progress  from  Buckingham  Palace  testified  to  the 
hold  which  the  Royal  family  had  upon  the  affections  of  the 
people,  whose  demonstrations  acquired  a  deeper  fervour  from  the 
recollection  of  the  period  of  deep  anxiety,  now  happily  overpast. 
National  prosperity,  too,  was  advancing  in  a  marked  degree,  and 
there  seemed  no  reason  to  dread  the  introduction  of  discordant 
elements  into  the  life  of  the  commonwealth. 

The  chief  political  feature  of  the  period  was  the  continued 
unpopularity  of  the  Government.  Speculation  was  rife  as  to  its 
stability,  and  yet  those  who  predicted  its  downfall  during  the 
session  of  1872  were  unable  to  point  to  a  combination  powerful 
enough  to  take  its  place.  For  that  reason,  the  strongest 
opponents  of  the  Ministry,  while  anxious  to  damage  its  prestige 
and  to  humiliate  it  in  the  eyes  of  the  country,  were  not  desirous 
of  witnessing  its  overthrow.  By  way  of  illustrating  the  divisions 
and  the  spirit  which  existed,  a  Liberal  journal  observed  that 
'  many  would  like  to  knock  over  Lord  Hatherley,  many  to  expel 


426  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Mr.  Forster,  many  to  rid  the  Government  of  Mr.  Bruce,  many 
to  hurt  Mr.  Lowe,  most  of  all,  perhaps,  to  humiliate  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. But  they  all  want  to  know  how  this  can  be  done  without 
causing  a  dissolution  or  change  of  Government.  It  is  a  spiteful 
problem  in  maxima  and  mmima,  how  to  inflict  on  the  Govern- 
ment the  maximum  of  discredit  with  the  minimum  of  immediate 
result.  The  censors  of  the  Government  are  like  a  dueller  who 
declares  he  does  not  want  to  kill  his  antagonist,  but  only  to 
"  give  him  a  lesson  that  he  will  remember  to  the  day  of  his  death." 
That,  however,  is  a  very  delicate  feat  to  achieve  when  you  are 
playing  with  deadly  weapons.  You  may  wish  to  "  wing  "  your 
adversary,  and  send  a  ball  just  through  his  heart.  And  the  great 
question  now  is,  Can  the  Government,  even  with  the  cordial  help 
of  its  many  open  enemies  and  insincere  friends,  manage  to  receive 
the  tokens  of  the  accumulated  dislikes  of  so  many  different 
sections,  and  yet  survive  the  session  ? '  The  Prime  Minister, 
looking  round  upon  his  lieutenants,  could  scarcely  discover  one 
who  was  not  credited,  justly  or  unjustly,  with  having  contributed 
his  share  to  the  weight  of  opprobrium  under  which  the  Govern- 
ment was  labouring.  But  while  not  exempting  the  Ministry 
from  blame  in  several  matters,  every  candid  mind  must  confess 
that  much  of  the  criticism  passed  upon  it  was  groundless. 

In  the  debate  on  the  Address,  Mr.  Disraeli  challenged  the 
policy  of  Ministers,  remarking  that  they  had  adopted  a  new 
system  of  vindicating  their  characters  during  the  recess.  '  We 
really  have  had  no  time  to  forget  anything.  Her  Majesty's 
Ministers  may  be  said  during  the  last  six  months  to  have  lived 
in  a  blaze  of  apology.'  After  protesting  against  this  new  system, 
the  right  hon.  gentleman  continued,  c  The  notices  of  motion  given 
this  evening  will  afford  her  Majesty's  Government  ample  oppor- 
tunities for  defending  their  conduct,  past  or  present.  If  it  is 
in  the  power  of  the  Government  to  prove  to  the  country  that  our 
naval  administration  is  such  as  befits  a  great  naval  power,  they 
will  soon  have  an  occasion  of  doing  so ;  and  if  they  are  desirous 
of  showing  that  one  of  the  transcendental  privileges  of  a  strong 
Government  is  to  evade  Acts  of  Parliament  which  they  have 
themselves  passed,  I  believe,  from  what  caught  my  ear  (his 
evening,  that  that  opportunity  will  also  soon  be  furnished  them.' 
Attacking  next  the  clauses  of  the  Queen's  Speech,  Mr.  Disraeli 
observed,  with  regard  to  Ireland,  that  there  had  originally  been  a 
reference  to  the  'third  branch  of  the  Upas  tree,'  but  it  had 
slipped  out  at  the  last  moment.  The  Ballot  had  been  preferred 
to  such  measures  as  the  Mines  Regulation  Act  and  Sanitary 
Legislation.  He  condemned  the  paragraph  relating  to  the  Wash- 
ington Treaty  as  frigid  and  jejune,  and  utterly  inadequate  to  the 


THE  WASHINGTON  TREATY.  427 

occasion.  Mr.  Gladstone  and  Lord  Granville,  having  full  control 
and  supervision  of  the  negotiations  at  Washington,  were  solely 
responsible  for  the  treaty,  whose  terms  he  proceeded  to  discuss, 
objecting  strongly  to  its  retrospective  clauses.  He  demanded  from 
the  Government  their  grounds  for  stating  that  the  treaty  excluded 
claims  which  were  preposterous  and  wild,  and  which  equalled  a 
tribute  from  a  conquered  people.  He  asked  for  the  view  of  the 
American  Government  upon  our  reading  of  the  treaty.  Her 
Majesty's  Ministers  must  be  perfectly  frank  upon  the  question, 
for  it  appeared  to  him  that  if  they  got  into  a  Serbonian  bog  of 
diplomacy  upon  this  matter  the  consequences  might  be  enormous 
and  fatal. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  undisturbed  apparently  by  his  rival's  sarcasm, 
at  once  said  that  the  Government  courted  the  most  searching 
inquiry  into  the  case  of  the  '  Megsera,'  and  into  Sir  Robert 
Collier's  appointment.  Every  assistance  would  be  given  by  the 
Government,  to  the  taking  of  the  judgment  of  the  House  upon 
these  questions.  Having  adverted  to  the  recovery  from  illness 
first  of  her  Majesty  and  then  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Premier 
touched  upon  the  Irish  references  in  the  Speech,  and  assured  the 
leader  of  the  Opposition  that  he  was  mistaken  in  his  assumption 
as  to  the  question  of  education  in  Ireland.  He  next  justified  the 
precedence  which  had  been  given  to  the  ballot ;  and  with  regard 
to  the  Alabama  case,  he  said  that  it  was  the  duty  of  Ministers 
to  state  their  case  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and 
especially  to  the  people  of  this  country,  in  the  mildest  terms 
possible  consistent  with  an  appreciation  of  the  momentous 
importance  of  the  question.  The  paragraph  relating  to  the  treaty 
was  in  his  opinion,  therefore,  quite  adequate  to  the  emergency. 
Mr.  Disraeli's  historical  retrospect  of  the  negotiations  he  accepted 
as  proving  that  the  British  Government  had  at  no  time  acceded, 
either  in  intention  or  otherwise,  to  an  instrument  admitting 
constructive  claims.  Whatever  blame  fell  on  those  who  concluded 
the  treaty  must  be  borne  by  the  Government — the  Commissioners 
were  entirely  free  from  it ;  but  he  denied  that  there  was  blame 
anywhere.  Large  concessions  had'undoubtedly  been  made  to  the 
American  Government — such  as  accepting  retrospective  action 
and  abstaining  from  claiming  compensation  for  the  Fenian  raids 
in  Canada — but  they  were  j  ustifiable.  The  American  Government 
had  made  no  protest  against  the  interpretation  publicly  put  on 
the  treaty  in  the  House  of  Lords  in  the  previous  June.  In 
consequence  of  the  American  case  having  been  only  in  possession 
of  all  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  for  a  week  or  so,  a  communica- 
tion could  not  be  addressed  to  the  American  Government  until 
within  the  last  few  days.  The  treaty  was  not  ambiguous,  and 


428  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

could  not  be  read  in  two  contradictory  senses ;  on  the  contrary, 
the  Government  would  contend  that,  tried  by  grammar,  logic, 
common  sense,  policy,  or  any  other  conceivable  criterion,  its  only 
just  and  unequivocal  meaning  was  that  which  they  put  upon  it.  It 
amounted  almost  to  an  interpretation  of  insanity  to  suppose  that 
any  negotiators  could  intend  to  admit,  in  a  peaceful  arbitration, 
claims  of  such  an  unmeasured  character  as  the  right  hon.  gentle- 
man had  partially  described,  such  as  he  (Mr.  Gladstone)  for  a 
moment  glanced  at,  and  such  as  it  was  really  impossible  to  have 
supposed  the  American  Government  to  intend ;  these  would  be 
claims  transcending  every  limit  hitherto  known  or  heard  of — 
claims  which  not  even  the  last  extremities  of  war  and  the  lowest 
depths  of  misfortune  would  force  a  people  with  a  spark  of  spirit, 
with  the  hundredth  part  of  the  traditions  or  courage  of  the  people 
of  this  country,  to  submit  to  at  the  point  of  death.  They  relied 
on  the  friendly  disposition  which  prevailed  between  the  two  peoples 
for  an  amicable  settlement,  but  under  no  circumstances  would  the 
Government  allow  themselves  to  swerve  from  their  sacred  and 
paramount  duty  to  their  country. 

Sir  Robert  Collier's  appointment  led  to  very  warm  debates  in 
both  Houses.  In  the  Lords  the  Duke  of  Argyll  severely  condemned 
the  letter  from  Lord  Chief  Justice  Cockburn  protesting  against 
the  appointment — a  letter  which,  he  said,  contained  '  railing,  nay, 
almost  ribald  accusations.'  Lord  Stanhope's  vote  of  censure  upon 
the  Government  was  negatived  by  89  against  87  votes.  A  similar 
vote  was  moved  in  the  Commons  by  Mr.  Cross,  whereupon  Sir 
Roundell  Palmer  moved  an  amendment  to  the  effect  that  there 
was  no  just  cause  for  Parliamentary  censure.  His  speech  was  of 
great  service  to  the  Government.  Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy  said  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  impute  wrong  motives,  but  there  were  cases 
in  which  Acts  of  Parliament  had  been  dealt  with  in  a  peculiar 
manner,  and  statutes  dispensed  with  by  the  Premier.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone rose  and  complained  that  irrelevant  topics — such  as  the 
appointment  to  the  living  of  Ewelme — had  been  introduced  into 
the  debate  by  the  preceding  speaker.  He  asked  the  House  to 
reserve  its  judgment,  and  not*  to  allow  the  question  of  the  con- 
struction of  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  be  prejudiced  by  the  intro- 
duction of  matters  which  had  nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with  it. 
If  he  (the  speaker)  had  been  guilty  of  the  wilful  violation  of  a 
statute,  he  should  deserve  not  merely  exclusion  from  office  but 
from  Parliament  altogether.  The  admissions  made  in  the  course 
of  the  debate,  however,  showed  that  the  statute  had  been  obeyed, 
and  that  a  competent  man  had  been  appointed — nay,  more  than 
a  competent  man,  looking  to  the  status  and  rights  of  an  Attorney- 
General.  The  Government  had  unsuccessfully  applied  to  three 


THE    EWELME    BECTOH?.  429 

Judges  before  appointing  Sir  Eobert  Collier,  and  without  such  a 
resource  would  have  been  brought  into  serious  practical  difficulty, 
having  regard  to  the  dignity  of  the  office.  They  had  not  violated 
the  statute — this  was  admitted  as  affecting  the  letter  of  it — but 
only  somebody's  idea  of  the  intention  of  the  statute.  The  mean- 
ing of  the  qualification  specified  in  the  Act  was  judicial  status, 
judicial  experience  being  merely  one  element  among  others.  The 
burden  of  proof  to  the  contrary  lay  upon  the  mover  of  the  motion. 
The  Government  did  not  foresee  the  storm  that  would  be  raised 
over  this  appointment,  and  if  they  had  foreseen  it  they  would 
not  have  been  so  foolish  as  to  have  evoked  it.  But  was  there 
ever  a  vote  of  censure  passed  upon  a  Government — a  sentence  of 
capital  punishment — that  hung  upon  so  slender  a  thread  ?  He 
hoped  the  House  would  never  be  drawn  aside  from  the  straight 
road  of  justice  into  slippery  paths.  He  did  not  consider  the  con- 
sequences to  the  Government  of  this  motion ;  he  put  it  upon 
higher  grounds.  Moreover,  if  carried,  Sir  Eobert  Collier  would 
feel  that  a  shade  rested  upon  his  judicial  fame,  and  that  it  pos- 
sibly might  become  the  end  of  his  judicial  career.  The  House  of 
Lords  had  declined  to  pass  judgment  against  this  appointment  ; 
and  he  was  well  convinced  that  the  House  of  Commons  would 
refuse  to  fall  into  the  snare. 

The  House  negatived  the  vote  of  censure  by  a  majority  of  27. 

Another  matter  which  led  to  a  debate  in  the  month  of  March 
was  one  described  by  the  papers  as  '  the  Ewelme  scandal.'  In 
this  case  the  Premier  had  appointed  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Harvey 
to  the  vacant  rectory  of  Ewelme ;  but  as  the  statute  required  that 
the  rector  of  that  parish  should  be  a  member  of  the  Oxford  Con- 
vocation, Mr.  Harvey — who  had  been  educated  at  Cambridge — 
was  made  a  member  of  the  Oxford  Convocation,  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  statute.  Here  again  no  question  arose  as  to  the 
fitness  of  the  appointment ;  but  Mr.  Mowbray,  in  bringing  the 
matter  before  the  House  of  Commons,  affirmed  that  the  act  wag 
a  direct  and  wanton  violation  of  the  statute  of  Parliament  and 
of  the  statutes  of  the  University,  and  that  it  had  led  to  most 
reprehensible  delay.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  his  reply,  having  thrust 
aside  the  irrelevant  portions  of  Mr.  Mowbray's  speech,  asked 
what  •  the  Government  had  to  do  with  the  qualifying  office  for 
Mr.  Harvey.  As  a  Minister,  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  and 
had  it  been  a  qualifying  office  given  by  the  Emperor  of  China  or 
the  Mikado  of  Japan  it  could  not  have  been  more  independent 
of  the  action  of  the  British  Government  than  in  this  case. 
Neither  had  the  qualification  anything  to  do  with  the  duties  of 
the  post.  Membership  of  Convocation  did  not  imply  education 
at  the  University,  and  if  the  words  introduced  in  the  Lords  had 


430  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

been  understood  so  to  limit  the  rights  of  the  Crown,  it  would 
have  been  his  duty  to  advise  the  Crown  to  withhold  its  assent. 
Mr.  Harvey  had  not  acquired  a  colourable  qualification,  but  one 
solid,  substantial,  and  perfect.  As  to  the  probable  question, 
what  demon  prompted  him  to  create  this  difficulty  for  himself, 
Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  his  demon  was  simply  and  solely  the 
desire  to  appoint  the  fittest  man  to  the  parish  fittest  for  the  man. 
Mr.  Harvey  was  eminent  as  a  divine,  and  his  ill-health  rendered 
his  immediate  removal  to  a  more  salubrious  neighbourhood  desir- 
able. The  Premier  concluded  by  saying  that  he  stood  upon  the 
construction  of  the  Act,  which  he  had  in  no  sense  violated. 

The  debate  closed  without  a  division.  Several  scenes  occurred 
at  an  early  period  of  the  session  in  connection  with  Mr.  Ayrton's 
Bill  for  the  Eegulation  of  the  Parks.  The  Government  intro- 
duced a  clause  throwing  on  the  Houses  of  Parliament  the  respon- 
sibility of  certain  bye-laws  for  the  parks.  Mr.  Hardy  stigmatised 
this  as  a  cowardly  proceeding,  whereupon  Mr.  Gladstone  rebuked 
him  for  bringing  an  acid  and  venomous  spirit  into  the  debates, 
and  said  that  it  was  the  bungling  and  feeble  conduct  of  the  late 
Government  which  had  led  to  the  present  difficulties.  Mr. 
Disraeli  complained  that  when  his  friend  Mr.  Hardy  moved  in 
this  question  in  1866,  the  present  Prime  Minister  sat  night 
after  night  in  sullen  silence,  and  never  spoke  with  reference  to 
the  proceedings  that  took  place  in  the  Park,  except  when  he 
addressed  a  tumultous  multitude  from  the  balcony  of  his  own 
private  residence.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied  with  excusable  warmth 
that  his  opponent's  imagination  had  led  him  astray  ;  but,  as  Mr. 
Sheridan  had  remarked,  there  had  been  former  occasions  when  a 
gentleman  had  drawn  on  his  memory  for  his  jokes  and  his  ima- 
gination for  his  facts.  With  respect  to  the  one  intelligible 
sentence  in  the  right  hon.  gentleman's  observations,  there  was 
no  foundation  of  fact  in  it  whatever.  When  the  right  hon.  gentle- 
man said  that  after  the  lapse  of  six  years  it  was  necessary  to 
rub  up  one's  recollection  by  reference  to  what  had  really  occurred, 
he  strongly  recommended  him  to  practise  the  doctrine  he  had 
preached,  and  to  improve  his  memory  of  those  things  before  he 
ventured  to  make  such  extraordinary  statements.  Col.  Gilpin 
having  attacked  Mr.  Gladstone  in  a  similar  manner,  the  Premier 
retorted,  amidst  the  cheers  and  laughter  of  the  House,  that  he 
did  not  think  the  imagination  which  prevailed  on  the  front  bench 
had  extended  so  far  back  as  the  third.  The  Government 
ultimately  carried  their  proposals. 

Of  all  the  scenes,  however,  which  took  place  this  session — and 
indeed  for  many  years  previously — the  most  violent  and  discredi- 
table was  that  which  arose  out  of  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  motion  for 


EXTRAOBDINAEY  SCENE  IN  THE  HOUSE.  4$i 

returns  bearing  upon  the  Civil  List.  Lord  Bury  having  asked 
whether  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  Sir  C.  Dilke's  declaration  at 
Newcastle  that  he  was  a  Republican  were  not  irreconcilable,  and 
having  observed  also  that  the  present  motion  was  a  colourable 
method  of  repeating  that  declaration,  the  Speaker  decided  that 
there  was  nothing  irregular  in  the  motion,  and  Sir  C.  Dilke  was 
allowed  to  proceed.  The  hon. 'member  said  his  aim  was  to  show 
that  Parliament  had  a  general  and  special  right  to  inquire  into 
the  management  of  the  Civil  List,  and  that  there  ought  to  be  such 
an  inquiry.  The  object  of  an  inquiry  was  not  to  destroy  the  vested 
interests  of  the  holders  of  sinecures  and  unnecessary  offices,  but 
to  prevent  any  new  interests  being  created,  and  to  facilitate  the 
next  settlement  of  the  Civil  List.  After  a  lengthy  explanation  of 
the  nature  of  the  returns  moved  for,  and  an  examination  of  the 
Exchequer  accounts  from  the  beginning  of  the  reign,  Sir  Charles 
Dilke  withdrew  a  previous  statement  of  his  that  the  Queen  had 
paid  no  income-tax,  and  expressed  his  regret  that  he  had  been 
misled.  His  reasons  for  the  opportuneness  of  the  present  inquiry 
were — the  public  belief  that  the  Sovereign  had  accumulated  large 
savings ;  the  grants  to  the  Princesses,  which  he  asserted  were 
entirely  unprecedented  ;  and  the  secrecy  maintained  in  respect  of 
Royal  wills,  which  made  it  impossible  to  ascertain  the  Sovereign's 
private  fortune.  He  urged  the  importance  of  granting  the  inquiry 
because  of  an  impression  which  prevailed  that  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Crown  large  sums  were  wasted. 

When  the  hon.  member  sat  down  there  was  a  general  impression 
that  the  House  would  go  to  a  division  at  once,  but  Mr.  Gladstone 
rose  and  replied  to  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  address.  The  Premier, 
who  was  loudly  cheered  throughout  by  both  sides  of  the  House, 
complained  that  the  hon.  member  had  been  careless  in  the 
investigation  of  his  facts,  and  observed  that  the  result  of  the  inquiry 
of  a  select  committee  had  been  to  prove  a  very  large  reduction 
in  the  Civil  List  compared  with  the  two  former  reigns.  To  go  into 
the  charges  brought  forward  was  impossible  without  notice  ;  but 
these  charges  and  the  observations  about  sinecures  were  equally 
beside  the  mark,  and  would  not  bear  the  inference  which  Sir 
Charles  Dilke  had  suggested.  Some  portion  of  the  information 
now  asked  for  was  already  before  the  House  in  a  different  form. 
With  regard  to  the  new  portion,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  it  was 
impossible  to  consider  it  without  referring  to  the  incident  in  which 
the  motion  originated ;  and,  by  his  unfortunate  speech  at  New- 
castle, the  hon.  member  had  brought  the  subject  into  an  ill-omened 
association  with  proposals  to  change  the  form  of  our  Government 
which  were  most  repugnant  to  the  great  body  of  the  people.  Mr. 
Gladstone  severely  condemned  the  circumstances  of  this  meeting, 


432  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

and  said  it  was  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  duty,  in  his  assi  lined  charactet 
of  a  '  public  instructor,'  to  have  made  it  clear  to  his  audience  that 
Parliament  was  solely  responsible  for  the  Civil  List,  and  that  the 
Queen  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  settlement  of  it.  To  grant  the 
motion  would  be  to  propagate  the  belief  in  the  country  that  the 
House  of  Commons  had  assented  to  it  in  direct  reference  to  the 
Newcastle  speech,  and  as  an  initiation  of  the  change.  The  Govern- 
ment were  not  willing  to  contribute  to  the  creation  of  such 
an  impression.  Her  Majesty  had  faithfully  adhered  to  her  com- 
pact with  the  nation,  and,  contrasting  this  with  former  times,  the 
Premier  mentioned  that  the  Queen  had,  since  the  commencement 
of  her  reign,  spent  £600,000  on  private  pensions ;  and  he  urged 
the  evil  precedent  it  would  set  to  future  Sovereigns  if  the  people 
attempted  to  re-open  the  life  bargain.  He  concluded  by  asking 
the  House,  as  a  matter  of  policy,  and  as  a  matter  of  grateful  duty 
to  the  Queen,  to  reject  the  motion,  and  that  without  further 
discussion. 

For  the  honour  of  the  House  of  Commons,  the  scene  which 
ensued  is  probably  unexampled  in  its  history.  The  number  of 
sympathisers  with  Sir  Charles  Dilke's  resolution,  either  in  the 
House  or  the  country,  was  exceedingly  small  ;  but,  as  the 
Speaker  had  ruled  that  there  was  nothing  irregular  in  it,  he  and 
his  seconder  were,  of  course,  entitled  to  that  hearing  which  would 
have  been  given  to  motions  less  distasteful.  Members  hooted 
and  groaned  with  stentorian  power,  and  the  scene  baffled  descrip- 
tion. Mr.  Liddell  afterwards  expressed  a  hope  that  the  whole 
proceedings  would  be  regarded  as  a  comedy,  but  it  was  a  comedy 
into  which  only  the  rougher  elements  of  burlesque  entered.  Mr. 
Auberon  Herbert  endeavoured  to  second  the  motion,  but  was 
met  with  a  storm  of  cries  and  howls  which  completely  drowned 
his  voice.  When  the  cries  of  '  Divide ! '  mingled  with  groans 
and  hisses  had  to  some  extent  subsided,  the  hon.  member 
apologised  for  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  for  his  unintended  personal 
attack  on  the  Sovereign,  and  then  proclaimed  his  own  preference 
for  a  Republican  form  of  Government.  A  large  number  of 
members  hereupon  left  the  House,  while  those  who  remained 
continued  to  shout  and  to  interrupt  the  speaker.  Mr.  Herbert, 
with  much  sang-froid,  sent  for  a  glass  of  water,  which  was  inter- 
preted as  a  sign  that  he  meant  to  be  heard  out.  The  remainder 
of  his  speech  consisted  only  of  disjointed  sentences. 

Just  as  Mr.  Herbert  was  replying  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  complaint 
that  the  hon.  baronet  had  not  supplied  full  information,  an  hon. 
member  rose,  and  blandly  said  that  he  did  not  think  there  were 
forty  members  present.  Several  members  immediately  left  the 
House,  calling  upon  others  to  '  Come  out ; '  but  the  Speaker  found 


THE    BALLOT.  433 

that  more  than  the  required  number  still  remained.  Mr.  Herbert 
rose  again  as  the  Speaker  reached  the  magical  number  of  '  forty,' 
and  was  entering  into  further  detail?  connected  with  the  Privy 
Purse  and  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  when  another  hon.  member 
rose,  and,  addressing  the  Speaker,  observed,  '  It  appears  to  me, 
sir.  the  House  has  considerably  thinned  since  you  last  counted  ; 
I  move  that  it  be  counted.'  There  was  still  more  than  forty 
present,  and  this  was  found  to  be  the  case  on  a  third  count.  At 
last  an  hon.  member  thought  he  had  hit  upon  a  solution  of  the 
difficulty.  This  was  Lord  Greorge  Hamilton,  who  rose  and  said, 
'  Mr.  Speaker,  I  espy  strangers  present.'  The  Speaker  then  ordered 
strangers  to  withdraw — 'strangers,'  of  course,  including  the 
reporters.  It  was  understood  that  during  the  remainder  of  Mr. 
Herbert's  speech  the  cries  and  interruptions  were  renewed  with 
increased  vehemence.  The  cries  proceeded  chiefly  from  members 
in  the  more  remote  and  obscuie  parts  of  the  House.  Amid  the 
general  confusion  were  heard  imitations  of  the  crowing  of  cocks, 
whereat  Mr.  Dodson  rose  to  order.  He  said  he  would  not  ask 
whether  the  state  of  the  House  and  the  scene  they  were  witnessing 
were  for  the  credit  and  dignity  of  the  House  of  Commons ;  he  would, 
merely,  as  a  point  of  order,  ask  whether  the  sounds  that  proceeded 
from  near  the  chair  were  not  un-Parliamentary  and  disorderly. 

The  Speaker  said  the  sounds  he  had  heard  were  undoubtedly 
gross  violations  of  the  order  of  the  House ;  and  he  could  not 
refrain  from  expressing  the  pain  with  which  he  had  witnessed 
the  scene  that  had  just  taken  place.  Other  members  having 
spoken,  and  a  motion  for  adjournment  made  by  Mr.  Dillwyn 
having  been  defeated  by  a  large  majority,  Mr.  Fawcett  rose 
and  said  that  though  a  year  ago  he  might  have  voted  for  the 
motion,  now  that  it  was  associated  with  the  Newcastle  speech, 
which  he  thoroughly  disapproved,  he  should  vote  against  it. 
The  question  of  Republicanism  ought  not  to  be  raised  on  a 
miserable  haggle  over  the  cost  of  the  Queen's  household.  Mr. 
Liddell  denied  that  the  Conservative  party  had  attempted  to 
stifle  discussion.  He  blamed  Mr.  Herbert  for  endeavouring  to 
brave  the  House,  and  then  said  that  when  history  looked  back  upon 
the  proceedings  of  that  evening,  it  would  probably  be  all  regarded 
as  a  *  Comedy  of  Errors.'  Sir  Charles  Dilke  having  expressed  his 
determination  to  divide  the  House,  the  original  question  was 
put,  when  there  appeared — Ayes,  2  ;  Noes,  276.  The  two 
members  who  supported  Sir  C.  W.  Dilke  and  Mr.  Herbert  were 
Mr.  Gr.  Anderson  and  Sir  W.  Lawson.  The  result  of  the  division 
was  hailed  with  loud  cheering. 

The  Ballot  Bill,  the  chief  measure  of  the  session,  led  to  many 
protracted  debates  It  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Forster,  amd  ita 

v  V 


434  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

second  reading  was  carried  in  a  meagre  house  by  109  to  56.  Mr. 
Walter  said  he  had  voted  against  the  ballot,  believing  that  its 
introduction  was  but  preliminary  to  a  new  reform  bill,  which 
would  abolish  all  little  boroughs,  and  boroughs  which  were  really 
fragments  of  counties,  and  enfranchise  all  county  householders. 
He  believed  that  these  boroughs  would,  under  the  bill,  be  bought 
wholesale,  and  that  equal  electoral  districts  would  soon  be  inevi- 
table. Unless  the  country  was  prepared  for  that,  the  House  ought 
not  to  pass  the  bill.  For  himself,  however,  he  should  oppose  it  no 
more.  After  the  discussion  of  many  of  the  details  of  the  measure, 
a  crisis  arose  in  connection  with  an  amendment  moved  by  Sir  W. 
Harcourt,  which  was  carried  against  the  Government  by  274  votes 
to  246,  a  large  number  of  Liberals  voting  with  the  majority,  and 
others  absenting  themselves.  The  Government  agreed  to  accept 
a  modified  form  of  this  amendment  as  follows  : — '  No  person  shall, 
directly  or  indirectly,  induce  any  voter  to  display  his  ballot-paper 
after  he  shall  have  marked  the  same,  so  as  to  make  known  to  any 
person  the  name  of  the  candidate  for  or  against  whom  he  has  so 
marked  his  vote  ' — the  penalty  for  doing  this  to  be  three  months' 
imprisonment  with  hard  labour.  Mr.  Gladstone  then  announced 
the  intention  of  the  Government  to  proceed  with  the  bill,  and  the 
third  reading  was  eventually  carried  by  276  votes  to  218.  Some 
amendments  to  the  bill  were  carried  in  the  Lords,  and  when  it  was 
returned  amended  to  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Forster  moved 
to  disagree  with  making  the  ballot  optional.  This,  he  said,  would 
render  the  bill  useless,  or  worse  than  useless.  Mr.  Disraeli,  in 
supporting  the  Lords'  amendments,  remarked  that  he  regarded 
compulsory  secrecy  as  a  degrading  punishment  for  '  the  excesses 
of  electoral  society,'  much  as  the  Blot  Act  for  rioting.  He  denied 
entirely  the  demand  of  the  country  for  the  ballot. 

Mr.  Gladstone  retorted  that  his  opponent,  who  thought  the 
ballot  stood  in  the  same  relation  to  corruption  as  the  Eiot  Act  did 
to  rioting,  evidently  regarded  it  as  an  efficient  remedy.  He  (Mr. 
Gladstone)  appealed  not  only  to  the  Liberals,  but  to  the  newly- 
elected  Conservative  members  for  various  constituencies  specified, 
io  show  that  there  was  a  very  great  demand  for  the  ballot.  The 
right  hon.  gentleman  also  pointed  out  that  very  stringent  securi- 
ties were  taken  against  any  publication  by  the  presiding  officer 
of  an  illiterate  person's  vote,  which  securities  the  Lords  had  done 
away  with. 

The  option-giving  amendments  of  the  Lords  were  disagreed 
with.  A  compromise  was  subsequently  effected,  the  Upper 
House  yielding  the  main  point  in  dispute,  and  the  Commons 
accepting,  with  certain  modifications,  the  Scrutiny  clause,  as  well 
as  Lord  Beauchamp's  amendment  making  the  operation  of  the 


THE    ALABAMA    CLAIMS.  435 

bill  temporary.  This  important  measure,  effecting  a  complete 
revolution  in  the  system  of  voting,  then  received  the  JRoyal  assent ; 
and  the  first  elections  conducted  under  its  provisions  were  of  the 
most  orderly  and  satisfactory  character. 

Although  the  ballot  was  the  chief  incident  in  the  domestic 
legislation  of  this  session,  the  question  of  the  Alabama  claims 
more  than  rivalled  it  for  the  excitement  which  it  caused  through- 
out the  country.  In  December,  1871,  there  was  a  formal  meeting 
at  Geneva  of  the  Arbitration  Commission  appointed  to  consider 
these  claims.  The  sittings  were  adjourned  until  the  following 
June.  Meanwhile,  by  January,  1872,  the  agitation  in  England 
had  become  still  more  pronounced  by  the  presentation  of  the 
British  and  American  cases  on  the  20th  of  December.  The 
English  people  learnt  with  amazement  that  enormous  claims  for 
indirect  losses  had  been  introduced  into  the  American  case — which 
losses  were  defined  under  the  heads  of  transfer  of  trade  from 
American  to  British  ships,  increased  rates  of  marine  insurance, 
and  losses  incident  to  the  prolongation  of  the  war.  A  long 
correspondence  ensued  between  the  British  and  American 
Governments,  and  in  April  counter-cases  were  presented  at  Geneva. 
To  have  acceded  to  the  American  claims  as  originally  presented 
would  have  been  to  involve  this  country  in  liabilities  which  no 
nation  could  possibly  have  accepted. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  having  discovered  that  certain  observations 
which  he  had  made  upon  this  subject,  during  the  debate  on  the 
Address  in  answer  to  the  Queen's  Speech,  had  been  misinter- 
preted, wrote  as  follows  to  the  London  Correspondent  of  the 
New  York  World: — 

'  Permit  me  to  assure  you  it  is  an  entire  mistake  to  suppose  I  have  ever  said 
that  "  every  rational  mind  "  must  see  but  one  meaning  in  the  Treaty  of  Washing- 
ton. Nothing  could  have  induced  me  to  use  such  an  expression.  The  limit  of  my 
assertion,  stated  briefly,  was,  and  is,  as  follows : — 

I  believe  the  meaning  of  the  Treaty  to  be  clear  and  unambiguous,  according  to 
any  legitimate  test  whatever  which  can  bo  applied  to  it.  This  proposition  I  am, 
of  course,  ready  to  sustain  in  argument.  But  every  other  person  is  equally  entitled 
to  think,  if  he  see  cause,  that  what  I  hold  to  be  clear  and  unambiguous  is  dark 
and  doubtful ;  or,  that  it  is  clear  and  unambiguous  in  the  sense  contradictory  to 
inine.  What  I  trust  is  that  others,  upon  a  close  examination,  will  not  see  cause  to 
think  any  such  thing.  This  point  a  little  time  and  patience  cannot  fail  thoroughly 
to  elucidate. 

Setting  aside  the  remark  which  I  did  not  use,  and  which  I  think  open  to  severe 
animadversion,  I  have  always  understood,  and  still  understand,  that  any  man  is 
at  liberty  to  hold  and  to  state  with  the  utmost  confidence  an  opinion  as  to  the 
meaning  of  a  document  (and  this  1  have  done),  without  being  open  to  the  charge 
of  what  I  conceive  to  be  a  gross  offence,  vi/,.,  his  presuming  to  restrain  for  others 
the  liberty  which  he  claims  himself .  Indeed,  speaking  according  to  the  usages  and 
habits  of  English  public  life,  I  feel  as  if  the  utterance  of  such  a  proposition  were 
not  so  much  atruth  as  a  truism. 

If,  however,  this  truth  or  truism  be  applicable  to  documents  in  general,  it  requires 
but  a  moderate  share  of  modesty  to  adopt  it  in  the  case  of  documents  such  as  a 
treaty  and  its  protocols.' 

F  F2 


4$(J  WILLIAM    EWARf    GLADSTONE. 

In  May,  a  draft  supplementary  treaty  was  drawn  up,  bj  which 
both  nations  agreed  in  future  to  abstain  from  claims  for  indirect 
losses.  This  treaty  was  presented  to  the  American  Senate,  and 
approved.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  27th  of  May,  Mr. 
Disraeli  put  several  questions  to  the  Prime  Minister  upon  the  state 
of  the  negotiations.  Mr.  Gladstone  replied  that  the  American 
Senate  had  agreed,  by  a  large  majority,  to  the  last  article  which 
had  been  prepared  by  her  Majesty's  Government,  but  with  certain 
verbal  amendments.  The  English  Cabinet,  which  had  only  met 
an  hour  and  a  half  ago,  had  not  yet  been  able  to  transmit  its 
final  argument  to  the  American  Minister.  He  was,  therefore, 
not  prepared  at  present  to  state  the  proposed  modifications ;  they 
were  strictly  confidential  between  the  two  Governments,  and  could 
not  be  disclosed  until  the  disclosure  might  be  made  without  dis- 
advantage to  the  important  interests  involved.  As  to  ratification, 
before  that  could  take  place  the  conditions  must  be  transmitted 
across  the  water.  He  considered  it  would  be  premature  to  make 
any  announcement  in  Parliament  with  respect  to  the  steps  which 
might  be  taken  at  Geneva  until  they  had  been  able  to  conclude 
the  business  then  in  hand  as  to  the  supplementary  enactments. 
The  proceedings  at  Geneva  must  depend  in  a  material  degree 
upon  the  result  of  these  negotiations.  If  an  enlargement  of 
time  should  become  necessary,  power  could  be  given  by  agree- 
ment between  the  two  Governments.  The  Government  appre- 
ciated the  importance  of  the  element  of  time  as  respected  Geneva, 
but  they  were  still  more  impressed  with  its  importance  as 
regarded  the  negotiations  now  going  on ;  and  on  behalf  of  his 
colleagues  and  himself,  he  assured  the  House  that  not  one  moment 
would  be  lost  in  returning  their  reply  to  the  last  proposal  of  the 
American  Government,  so  as  to  make  their  contribution  towards 
producing  the  consummation  which  both  nations  so  ardently 
desired. 

The  British  Government  having  objected  to  certain  modifica- 
tions in  the  supplementary  article,  a  lengthened  correspondence 
ensued,  and  the  feeling  of  the  country  found  vent  in  debates  in 
Parliament.  On  the  meeting  of  the  Congress  in  June,  differences 
arose  as  to  the  mode  of  procedure.  The  arbitration  tribunal,  how- 
ever, commenced  its  sittings,  and  was  constituted  as  follows : — 
Count  Frederick  Sclopis,  for  Italy,  president  ;  Baron  Stsempfli, 
for  Switzerland  ;  Vicomte  d'  Itajuba,  for  Brazil ;  Mr.  G.  F.  Adams, 
for  the  United  States ;  and  Sir  Alexander  E.  Cockburn,  for  Great 
Britain.  After  several  adjournments,  the  arbitrators  voluntarily 
declared  that  the  indirect  claims  were  invalid,  and  contrary  to 
international  law ;  whereupon  President  Grant  consented  to  their 
withdrawal.  On  the  14th  of  September,  at  a  final  meeting,  the 


arbitrators  agreed  upon  their  award.  All  the  arbitrators  found 
Great  Britain  liable  for  damages  for  the  injuries  done  by  the 
Alabama;  four  mulcted  us  for  those  done  by  the  Florida ;  and 
three  for  those  done  by  the  Shenandoah.  The  liability  in  the 
case  of  these  vessels  was  to  extend  to  the  tenders  as  well  as  the 
cruisers  to  which  they  were  attached.  Great  Britain,  however, 
was  held  not  to  be  responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  Georgia,,  or  of  any 
of  the  Confederate  cruisers  beyond  the  three  above-named.  The 
arbitrators  likewise  rejected  altogether  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  Government  for  expenditure  incurred  in  the  pursuit  and 
capture  of  the  cruisers.  The  practical  or  pecuniary  result  of  the 
award  was,  that  England  was  adjudged  to  pay  a  gross  sum  of 
15,500,000  dollars  in  gold  (about  £3,229,166)  in  satisfaction 
and  final  settlement  of  all  claims,  including  interest.  The 
amount  of  claims  preferred  before  the  tribunal  by  the  United 
States  in  the  revised  statement  presented  in  April,  1872,  was 
19,739,095  dollars  in  gold,  to  which  was  added  a  claim  for 
expenses  of  pursuit  and  capture  to  the  amount  of  7,080,478 
dollars,  with  interest  at  seven  per  cent,  on  the  whole  amount  for 
about  ten  years,  or,  in  all,  45,500,000  dollars  in  gold,  being 
about  £9,479,166  sterling. 

Sir  Alexander  Cockburn  differed  from  the  rest  of  the  arbitrators, 
and  published  his  reasons  for  so  doing.  This  document,  which 
did  not  assume  the  nature  of  a  formal  judgment,  occupied  nearly 
three  hundred  pages  of  the  London  Gazette,  being  one  of  the 
most  elaborate  official  papers  on  record.  The  English  represen- 
tative made  a  powerful  reply  to  the  unjust  aspersions  which  had 
been  cast  upon  this  country,  but  admitted  the  justice  of  the  award 
for  the  Alabama.  While  strongly  opposing  the  other  awards,  he 
counselled  the  acceptance  by  the  British  people  of  the  judgment 
of  a  tribunal  by  whose  award  they  had  freely  consented  to  abide ; 
and  he  hoped  that  in  time  to  come,  as  the  result  of  the  Geneva 
arbitration,  '  no  sense  of  past  wrong  unredeemed  would  stand  in 
the  way  of  the  friendly  and  harmonious  intercourse  which  should 
subsist  between  two  great  and  kindred  nations.'  Some  time 
afterwards  a  final  settlement  was  effected  of  this  great  difficulty 
on  the  basis  indicated  in  the  award. 

Though  the  session  of  1872  could  scarcely  vie  with  some  of  its 
predecessors  in  the  matter  of  its  legislative  acts,  it  is  yet  not 
without  its  title  to  remembrance.  Besides  the  satisfactory  adjust-' 
ment  of  the  A  labama  claims  and  the  conclusion  of  a  new  French 
treaty,  the  following  measures  of  great  domestic  importance  were 
jcis.sed:  — The  Ballot  Act,  the  Scotch  Education  Act,  two  Acts 
relating  to  the  Regulation  of  Mines,  the  Licensing  Act,  the  Public 
Health  Act,  and  the  Adulteration  Act.  These  measures  at  least 


433  WILLIAM    EWART  GLADSTONE. 

demonstrated  that  the  welfare  of  the  people  was  not  neglected  by 
the  Government. 

Ireland — a  name  associated  with  the  most  brilliant  legislative 
triumphs  of  the  Government — was  fated  also  to  be  its  most 
serious  stumbling-block.  The  Irish  University  question  had  long 
awaited  a  settlement,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  himself  to 
the  task  at  an  early  period  in  the  session  of  1873.  Successfully 
to  have  grappled  with  this  difficulty  would  have  justified  Mr. 
Gladstone's  boast  that,  in  its  effects,  as  well  as  its  magnitude, 
his  proposed  scheme  was  in  no  wise  inferior  to  the  Irish  Church 
and  the  Irish  Land  Acts.  But  so  many  considerations  were 
involved  in  dealing  with  this  subject,  that  the  country  was 
scarcely  surprised  when  the  Premier  ultimately  failed  in  his 
purpose.  Of  all  questions  upon  which  a  perfect  unanimity  of 
sentiment  was  essential,  that  of  university  education  stood  fore- 
most, and  it  was  found  that  this  sentiment  was  lacking.  On  the 
13th  of  February,  the  Ministerial  scheme  was  unfolded.  The 
Premier  said  that  for  the  third  time  he  now  endeavoured  to 
discharge  a  duty  vital  not  only  to  the  honour  and  existence  of  the 
Government,  but  to  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  Ireland.  He 
emphatically  declared  on  the  part  of  the  Ministry  that  they  did 
not  share  in  the  opinion  held  in  some  quarters  that  Ireland 
offered  but  a  barren  field  for  these  efforts  of  legislation.  Industry 
flourished  in  Ireland,  the  wealth  of  the  community  was  increasing, 
order  was  respected,  ordinary  crime  was  less  than  in  England, 
agrarian  crime  had  greatly  diminished,  and  treasonable  crime  had 
disappeared.  After  bespeaking  indulgence  for  the  intricate  and 
complex  details  into  which  he  should  be  obliged  to  enter,  and 
observing  that  though  the  Government  admitted  the  urgent 
necessity  for  dealing  with  intermediary  education,  they  yet 
did  not  intend  to  mix  up  that  question  with  university 
education,  Mr.  Gladstone  referred  in  a  sarcastic  vein  to  the 
anticipatory  criticisms  in  one  of  the  daily  journals  upon  his 
measure,  and  repelled  energetically  the  insinuation  that  it  would 
be  tinged  with  Ultramontane  influence.  So  far  from  this  being 
the  fact,  the  Government  had  not  even  communicated  with  any  of 
the  bodies  interested  in  university  education,  and  the  measure 
appealed  for  support  solely  to  the  equity  and  justice  on  which  it 
was  based.  At  the  same  time,  he  could  not  wonder  that  apprehen- 
sions with  respect  to  Ultramontane  influence  should  enter  into 
the  minds  of  the  British  public  whenever  legislation  affecting  the 
position  of  Roman  Catholics  in  Ireland  was  projected ;  and  the 
House  could  not  be  surprised  that  the  influences  which  prevailed 
within  the  Roman  communion  should  be  regarded  by  a  very 
great  portion  of  the  people  of  this  country  with  aversion,  and  by 


IRISH    UNIVERSITY    EDUCATION.  439 

some  portion  of  them  even  with  unnecessary  dread.  '  It  appears 
to  us,  however,'  continued  the  speaker,  t  that  we  have  one  course, 
and  one  course  only  to  take,  one  decision  and  one  only  to  arrive 
at,  with  respect  to  our  Koman  Catholic  fellow-subjects.  Do  we 
intend,  or  do  we  not  intend,  to  extend  to  them  the  full  benefit  of 
civil  equality  on  a  footing  exactly  the  same  as  that  on  which  it  is 
granted  to  members  of  other  religious,  persuasions  ?  If  we  do  not, 
the  conclusion  is  a  most  grave  one ;  but,  if  the  House  be  of 
opinion,  as  the  Government  are  of  opinion,  that  it  is  neither 
generous  nor  politic,  whatever  we  may  think  of  this  ecclesias- 
tical influence  within  the  Roman  Church,  to  draw  distinctions, 
in  matters  purely  civil,  adverse  to  our  Roman  Catholic  fellow- 
countrymen — if  we  hold  that  opinion,  let  us  hold  it  frankly 
and  boldly ;  and,  having  determined  to  grant  measures  of  equality 
as  far  as  it  may  be  in  our  power  to  do  so,  do  not  let  us  attempt 
to  stint  our  action  in  that  sense  when  we  come  to  the  execution 
of  that  which  we  have  announced  to  be  our  design.'  Mr.  Glad- 
stone next  examined  the  alternatives  which  had  been  offered  to  the 
Government  or  imputed  to  them,  and  declared  that  with  regard 
to  denominational  endowment,  they  Avere  not  only  precluded  from 
proposing  it  by  their  own  pledges,  but  by  a  sincere  belief  that  it 
would  be  unwise.  The  '  Supplemental  Charter '  scheme  had 
entirely  gone  by,  and  was  not  equal  to  the  present  emergency, 
and  to  set  up  another  university  by  the  side  of  the  Dublin 
University  and  the  Queen's  University  would  be  no  settlement  of 
the  question.  Defining  the  principles  on  which  the  Government 
had  decided  to  act,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  started  from  the 
proposition  that  the  exclusion  of  the  Roman  Catholics  from 
university  education  in  Ireland  constituted  a  religious  grievance-  - 
a  civil  disability,  imposed  for  religious  opinions.  That  both  Roman 
Catholics  and  Presbyterians  were  debarred  from  the  benefits  of 
university  education  by  their  unwillingness  to  send  their  children 
to  places  where  religion  was  not  taught  on  authority  as  part  of 
the  system  of  training  was  a  fact  which,  however  some  might 
deplore  it,  must  be  dealt  with  as  a  fact  that  could  not  be  altered. 
In  proof  of  this  Mr.  Gladstone  quoted  returns  showing  that  there 
were  only  145  Roman  Catholic  students  in  Arts  at  the  Dublin  and 
Queen's  Universities — a  state  of  things  which  he  described  as 
miserably  and  scandalously  bad.  Again,  the  total  number  of 
students  in  Arts  in  Ireland  was  1,179.  So  that  the  Roman 
Catholics — with  more  than  two-thirds,  nearly  three-fourths  in 
fact,  of  the  population — suj  t  lied  only  an  eighth  part  of  the 
students  in  Arts.  He  therefore  considered  that  he  had  shown 
there  was  a  great  religious  grievance  in  Ireland.  Had  he  been 
able  to  point  to  a  state  of  things  in  which  the  movement  was  in 


440  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

the  other  direction — in  which,  instead  of  an  almost  constant 
decrease  of  Koman  Catholic  attendance  at  the  Queen's  Colleges, 
there  was  a  steady,  healthy,  and  progressive  increase — the  case 
would  have  been  greatly  different.  Quitting  the  topic  of  the 
religious  grievance,  Mr.  Gladstone  stated,  from  the  most  recent 
statistics,  that  the  whole  number  of  university  students  in  Ireland 
amounted  to  the  very  poor  and  scanty  figure  of  1,634,  of  whom  less 
than  one-half  were  university  students  in  the  English  or  in  the 
Scottish  sense  of  the  word.  Of  students  in  that  sense  in  Ireland 
there  were  but  784,  against  4,000  whom  Scotland,  with  not  much 
more  than  half  the  population  sent  to  her  universities.  That  was 
a  pretty  strong  case  as  regarded  the  absolute  supply  of  university 
and  academic  training  in  Ireland.  But  the  case  was  stronger  still 
when  they  considered  the  comparative  state  of  the  academical  sup- 
ply. Figures  demonstrated  that  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of 
Parliament,  notwithstanding  the  general  increase  of  education, 
notwithstanding  the  opening  of  Queen's  Colleges  with  large  en- 
dowments, the  university  students  of  Ireland  in  the  proper  sense 
— that  is,  the  students  in  Arts — were  fewer  at  that  moment  than 
they  were  forty  years  before,  when  no  Queen's  Colleges  were  in 
existence.  At  that  moment,  the  students  in  Arts  in  Ireland,  even 
including  men  who  were  merely  examined  and  who  did  not  attend 
lectures,  only  numbered — as  he  had  already  remarked — 1,179  ; 
while  in  1832  the  students  in  Arts  at  Trinity  College  alone 
numbered  1,461. 

Coming  to  the  second  cause  of  the  demand  for  academical 
reform,  Mr.  Gladstone  dwelt  upon  the  anomalous  position  of  the 
university,  and  the  strange  inversion  of  the  relations  between  it 
and  Trinity  College.  After  a  long  retrospect  of  the  history  of 
the  university,  he  drew  the  conclusion  that  by  its  original  design 
it  was  always  intended  to  include  several  colleges — and  that,  in 
fact,  various  colleges  had  from  time  to  time*  existed,  although 
none  had  survived  but  Trinity  College.  He  therefore  based  the 
main  principle  of  his  bill  on  this  historical  conclusion — that  the 
University  of  Dublin — as  distinct  from  Trinity  College — was  the 
ancient  historical  University  of  Ireland,  and  that  within  its 
precincts  should  be  effected  the  academical  reform  which  was 
needed.  There  was  also  a  collateral  proposition  which  he  had  to 
mention,  viz.,  that  the  Queen's  Colleges  of  Belfast  and  Cork 
would  be  retained,  that  the'  Galway  College  would  be  wound  up 
by  1876,  and  that  it  would  be  proposed  to  merge  the  Queen's 
University  into  Dublin  University.  On  this  last  point,  however, 
the  Government  were  not  unwilling  to  defer  to  the  judgment  of 
the  House.  The  principles  which  had  been  already  applied  to  the 
reform  of  the  English  universities  distinguished  the  present  bill 


IRISH    UNIVERSITY    EDUCATION.  441 

> — that  is  to  say,  tests  would  be  abolished,  the  university  emanci- 
pated from  the  colleges,  members  would  be  introduced  into  the 
university  not  belonging  to  any  of  the  colleges,  and  the  colleges 
would  be  taxed  for  the  benefit  of  the  university.      There  were 
some  points  on  which  it  would  be  necessary  to  depart  from  the 
English   precedent — for   example,   a   limit  must  be  placed  on 
academical  teaching ;  and  for  a  time,  at  least,  the  governing  body 
must  be  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  Crown  and  Parliament. 
The  bill  contemplated  three  periods.     On  January  1st,  1875,  the 
powers  exercised  by  the  Provost  and  the  seven  Senior  Fellows  of 
Trinity  College  in  relation  to  the  university,  would  be  handed 
over  to  the  new  governing  body ;  then  would  follow  a  provisional 
period,  during  which  certain  special  arrangements  would  prevail ; 
and  after  1885,  when  the  new  system  had  been  fully  developed, 
the  permanent  rules  would  come  into  force.     With  regard  to  the 
changes  to  be  made  in  the  existing  position  of  the  university, 
first  of  all  the  University  of  Dublin  would  be  incorporated,  which 
it  had  never  been  yet ;  the  Theological  Faculty  would  be  separated 
from  Trinity  College   and   handed  over  to  the  Representative 
Body  of  the  Disestablished  Church,  with  compensation  for  vested 
interests  and  a  charge  for  its   maintenance.      The  Chancellor 
would  be  appointed  by  the  Crown,  and  would  retain  his  present 
function  of  Visitor  of  Trinity  College ;  and  the  Vice-Chancellor 
would  be  elected  by  the  governing  body.      The  Queen's  Col- 
leges of  Cork  and  Belfast,  the  Roman  Catholic  University,  and 
the  Magee  College,  would  become  colleges  of  the  university ;  as 
would   probably   other   institutions  also.      With  regard  to  the 
very  important  change  in  the  constitution  of  the  new  govern- 
ing body  of  the  University  of  Dublin,  Mr.  Gladstone  stated  that 
there  would  be,  in  the  first  place,  twenty-eight  ordinary  members, 
to  be  nominated   in   the  Act,  all  vacancies  to  be  filled  alter- 
nately by  the  Crown  and  by  co-optation  during  the  preliminary 
period  of  ten  years,  and  afterwards  four  members  would  retire 
annually — one  successor  to  be  filled  up  by  the  Crown,  one  by  the 
council,  one  by  the  professors,  and  one  by  the  senate.     In  addi- 
tion to  these  ordinary  members,  every  college  which  had  fifty 
students  in  statu  pupiUari  matriculated  in  the  university,  would 
be  allowed  to  elect  one  member  of  council,  and  each  college  which 
had  150  such  students  might  elect  two  members.     The  senate 
would  consist  of  all  Doctors  and  Masters  of  Arts  who  kept  their 
names  on  the  books,  and  would  include  both  those  now  qualified 
in  Dublin  and  the  Queen's  University  ;  with  special  powers  during 
the  first  three  years  after  1875,  for  the  admission  of  persons  who 
resided  for  a  sufficiently  long  time  in  the  other  colleges.     The  new 
university  would  be  a  teaching  as  well  as  an  examining  body,  and 


442  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

in  describing  the  securities  for  conscience  which  would  be  taken, 
the  Premier  said  there  would  be  no  chairs  in  theology,  moral 
philosophy,  or  in  modern  history.  With  regard  to  the  two  latter 
subjects,  no  student  would  be  examined  in  them  against  his  will, 
and  these  subjects  would  be  completely  excluded  from  examinations 
for  emoluments.  The  main  security  for  the  rights  of  conscience, 
on  which  the  Government  relied,  was  such  a  representation 
of  all  parties,  within  moderate  and  safe  limits,  in  the  body  of 
the  council,  as  could  be  usefully  and  beneficially  introduced  into 
its  constitution. 

The  next  and  the  last  of  the  difficult  subjects  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  to  lay  before  the  House  was  that  concerned  with  the  financial 
arrangements  of  this  comprehensive  scheme.  The  general  result 
of  his  investigations  was,  that  from  the  present  revenues  of  Trinity 
College  would  be  taken  the  cost  of  providing  for  vested  interests, 
and  a  contribution  of  £12,000  a-year  to  the  new  university. 
This  would  still  leave  Trinity,  he  observed,  the  richest  college  in 
Christendom  ;  and  for  its  consolation,  he  added  that  in  all  proba- 
bility it  would  be  necessary  to  apply  the  same  treatment  to  some 
of  the  colleges  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  when  the  commission 
then  prosecuting  its  inquiries  had  reported.  The  Premier 
estimated  the  expenses  of  the  extended  university  at  £50,000 : 
viz.,  £25,000  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  thus  divided : — 
ten  fellowships  annually  of  £200  each,  tenable  for  five  years; 
twenty-five  exhibitions  annually  of  £50,  and  one  hundred 
bursaries  annually  of  £25  each,  tenable  for  four  years ;  £20,000 
a-year  for  the  staff  of  professois  ;  and  £5,000  for  examinations, 
buildings,  and  general  expenses.  It  was  proposed  to  provide  this 
sum  as  follows: — £12,000  by  Trinity  College,  £10,000  from  the 
Consolidated  Fund,  £5,000  from  fees,  and  the  remainder  from 
the  surplus  of  the  ecclesiastical  property  of  Ireland.  Mr.  Glad- 
stone further  mentioned  that  powers  would  be  given  to  Trinity 
College  to  form  a  scheme  for  its  own  self-government.  The 
other  colleges,  also,  would  have  the  same  powers ;.  and  as  to  the 
preponderance  of  lay  or  ecclesiastical  influence  in  them,  each 
must  settle  that  for  itself;  all  that  the  Legislature  could  do  was 
to  give  them  an  open  career  and  fair  play.  The  Premier  paid  a 
warm  tribute  to  Trinity  College,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  for 
generations  and  for  ages  it  would  continue  to  dispense  more 
unrestrainedly  than  ever  the  blessings  of  a  liberal  culture.  He 
also  indicated  additional  advantages  which  the  college  would 
possess  under  the  new  regime.  As  regarded  the  voluntary  colleges, 
they  would  enjoy  an  entire  freedom  of  internal  government. 
Kemarking  upon  the  important,  he  might  almost  say — from  the 
many  classes  it  concerned  and  the  many  topics  it  involved — the 


IRISH    UNIVERSITY  EDUCATION.  443 

solemn  nature  of  his  subject,  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  concluded  his 
lengthened  address : — 

'We  have  not  spared  labour  and  application  in  the  preparation  of  this  certainly 
complicated,  and,  1  venture  to  hope,  also,  comprehensive  plan.  We  have  sought  to 
provide  a  complete  remedy  for  what  we  thought,  and  for  what  we  have  long 
marked  and  held  up  to  public  attention  as  a  palpable  grievance — a  grievance  of  con- 
science. But  we  have  not  thought  that,  in  removing  that  grievance,  we  were  dis- 
t 'hiii -ging  either  the  whole  or  the  main  part  of  our  duty.  It  is  one  thing  to  clear 
ol  >st  ructions  from  the  ground  ;  it  is  another  to  raise  the  fabric.  And  the  fabric 
which  we  seek  to  raise  is  a  substantive,  organised  system,  under  which  all  the  sons 
of  Ireland,  be  their  professions,  be  their  opinions  what  they  may,  may  freely  meet 
in  their  own  ancient,  noble,  historic  university  for  the  advancement  of  learning  in 
that  country.  The  removal  of  grievance  is  the  negative  portion  of  the  project ;  the 
substantive  and  positive  part  of  it,  academic  reform.  We  do  not  ask  the  House  to 
embark  upon  a  scheme  which  can  be  described  as  one  of  mere  innovation.  We  ask 
you  now  to  give  to  Ireland  that  which  has  long  been  desired,  which  has  been  often 
attempted,  but  which  has  never  been  attained ;  and  we  ask  you  to  give  it  to  Ireland, 
founding  the  measure  upon  the  principles  on  which  you  have  already  acted  in  the 
universities  of  England.  We  commit  the  plan  to  the  prudence  and  the  patriotism 
of  this  House,  which  we  have  so  often  experienced,  and  in  which  the  country  places, 
as  we  well  know,  an  entire  confidence.  I  will  not  lay  stress  upon  the  evils  which 
will  flow  from  its  failure,  from  its  rejection,  in  prolonging  and  embittering  the  con- 
troversies which  have  for  many,  for  too  niany,  years  been  suffered  to  exist.  I 
would  rather  dwell  upon  a  more  pleasing  prospect — upon  my  hope,  even  upon  my 
belief,  that  this  plan  in  its  essential  features  may  meet  with  the  approval  of  the 
House  and  of  the  country.  At  any  rate,  I  am  convinced  that  if  it  be  your  pleasure 
to  adopt  it,  you  will  by  its  means  enable  Irishmen  to  raise  their  country  to  a  height 
in  the  sphere  of  human  culture,  such  as  will  be  worthy  of  the  genius  of  the  people, 
and  such  as  may,  perhaps,  emulate  those  oldest,  and  possibly  best,  traditions  of 
her  history  upon  which  Ireland  still  so  fondly  dwells.' 

It  was  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  the  leaders  of  the  Opposi- 
tion would  be  prepared  to  discuss  proposals  of  such  magnitude 
immediately  upon  their  introduction  ;  and  Mr.  Disraeli  asked — 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Irish  Church  Act — that  a  period  of  three 
weeks  might,  elapse  before  the  second  reading  of  the  bill.  Mr. 
Gladstone  consented  to  fix  the  second  reading  for  the  3rd  of 
March.  Meanwhile,  the  House  and  the  country  had  leisure  to 
digest  the  provisions  of  the  scheme.  In  the  outset,  it  seemed  as 
though  the  bill  would  please  all  those  parties  whom  the  Ministry 
had  chiefly  in  view  in  its  construction.  But  this  hope  speedily 
gave  way  to  an  opposite  feeling,  and  it  became  evident  before 
many  days  had  elapsed  that  an  amicable  settlement  of  university 
education  in  Ireland  was  as  far  off  as  ever.  The  Roman  Catholic 
bishops  strongly  denounced  the  measure,  and,  while  not  unpre- 
pared to  take  what  it  offered,  left  it  to  be  sufficiently  understood 
that  they  claimed  much  more.  The  advanced  Liberals  also  passed 
an  adverse  judgment  upon  the  bill.  Objection  was  likewise 
strongly  taken  to  the  exclusion  of  mental  and  moral  science  from 
the  course  of  study.  The  appointment  of  the  ordinary  members 
of  the  council  was  another  important  matter,  and  as  the  Govern- 
ment did  not  state  the  names  of  these  members,  the  scheme 
encountered  the  hostility  of  the  Protestant-Conservative  section  of 


444  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  House.  Irish  members  whom  it  was  thought  the  bill  would 
conciliate  were  its  chief  opponents  when  it  came  on  for  discus- 
sion ;  and  the  chorus  of  disapproval  showed  the  Ministerial  scheme 
to  be  in  danger. 

In  moving  the  second  reading,  Mr.  Gladstone  did  not  remain 
content  with  formally  rising  for  that  purpose,  but  availed  him- 
self of  the  opportunity  offered  for  correcting  some  of  the  preju- 
dices created  against  the  bill.  He  announced,  however,  several 
minor  changes  which  he  proposed  to  make.  Accepting  the  sug- 
gestion made  by  Queen's  College,  Cork,  the  power  of  affiliating 
new  colleges  would  be  vested  in  the  Crown,  acting  on  the 
inquiries  and  recommendations  of  the  governing  body.  As  to  the 
alleged  insufficient  provision  for  vested  interests,  the  speaker 
had  no  doubt  the  House  would  be  disposed  to  act  liberally  both 
as  to  money  and  status.  Changes  would  be  introduced  into  the 
definition  of  persons  in  statu  pupillari.,  and  also  in  the  powers 
of  the  council  to  divide  students  in  Arts  into  different  branches 
for  the  purposes  of  examination.  Anticipating  the  amendment 
to  be  moved  by  Mr.  Bourke,  Mr.  Gladstone  admitted  that  the 
anxiety  of  the  House  to  learn  the  constitution  of  the  governing 
body  was  excusable,  but  what  the  hon  member  asked  was  impos- 
sible. He  pointed  out  that  it  was  contrary  to  all  precedents — to 
the  course  taken  on  the  English  University  Bills,  on  the  Reform 
Bill  of  1867,  and  the  Irish  Church  Bill  of  1870.  It  was  the 
desire  of  the  Government  to  select  men  of  the  greatest  weight 
to  serve  on  the  council,  without  reference  to  their  political 
opinions  or  the  course  they  might  have  taken  in  regard  to  this 
bill ;  but  it  would  be  impossible  to  ask  such  men  to  undertake 
the  duty  until  the  bill  had  made  some  way  in  committee,  and  it 
was  obvious  that  if  they  were  willing  to  serve  before  they  knew 
what  shape  the  bill  would  take  they  would  not  be  fit  for  the 
position.  *  Are  we  to  be  told,'  demanded  the  Premier,  '  that  the 
House  of  Commons  is  to  be  asked  to  pass  a  vote  of  censure  on 
the  Government  for  not  having  attempted  what  it  would  be  ridicu- 
lous to  attempt  and  impossible  to  form  ?  That  such  a  vote  of 
censure  would  be  passed  I  am  not  going  to  assume,  but  that  such 
a  vote  should  be  asked  for  is  worthy  of  commemoration  in  the 
annals  of  Parliament.' 

The  opposition  to  the  bill,  as  already  intimated,  was  remark- 
able both  for  the  diverse  politics  of  the  speakers,  and  the 
arguments  they  advanced  against  the  Ministerial  scheme.  Many 
of  the  strong  points  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  case,  however,  were  left 
untouched.  Mr.  Bourke  having  moved  his  amendment  expressing 
the  regret  of  the  House  that  the  Government  had  not  stated  to 
the  House  the  names  of  the  twenty-eight  ordinary  members  of 


IRISH   UNIVERSITY  EDUCATION.  445 

the  council,  Lord  E.  Fitzmaurice  seconded  the  resolution,  strongly 
condemning  the  'gagging  clauses,'  and  maintaining  that  the  bill 
would  destroy  Protestant  separate  education,  and  the  mixed  system 
of  education,  in  order  ultimately  to  give  the  Roman  Catholics  the 
monopoly  of  a  second-rate  article.  Mr.  C.  E.  Lewis  combated 
the  arithmetical  arguments  upon  which  Mr.  Gladstone  had  built 
up  his  measure,  and  the  O'Donoghue  opposed  the  bill,  not  for  the 
benefits  which  it  conferred  on  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians, 
but  because  it  did  nothing  for  the  Roman  Catholics.  The  latter 
would  be  content  with  nothing  but  a: separate  Catholic  university. 
Lord  R.  Montagu  said  that  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Ireland 
would  continue  to  agitate  for  denominational  education  until 
Parliament  complied  with  their  demands,  and  Sir  M.  Hicks  Beach 
remarked  that  though  he  was  not  particularly  friendly  to  Mr. 
Fawcett's  bill,  he  preferred  that  settlement  of  the  question  to  this. 
Mr.  Fawcett,  however,  pronounced  the  strongest  condemnation  of 
the  scheme,  in  language  sometimes  open  to  animadversion.  He 
maintained  that  it  would  make  the  condition  of  university  educa- 
tion in  Ireland  more  unsatisfactory  than  ever,  and  would  create 
worse  evils  than  those  with  which  it  was  meant  to  deal.  It  was  a 
mere  compromise  intended  to  please  everybody,  but  which  pleased 
nobody.  He  entered  an  emphatic  protest  against  the  abolition  of 
the  Queen's  University  and  the  Galway  College,  took  exception 
to  the  constitution  of  the  governing  body,  and  denounced  the 
'  gagging  clauses,'  and  the  degrading  censorship  of  professorial 
teaching  which  they  involved.  The  bill  would  lead  to  no  other 
conclusion  but  the  establishment  of  denominational  education  in 
Ireland,  and  he  hoped  the  House  would  reject  it  on  its  merits 
without  reference  to  the  collateral  issue  of  a  Ministerial  crisis. 
On  the  first  night  of  the  discussion,  the  only  speakers  in  defence 
of  the  Government  University  scheme  were  the  Marquis  of  Hart- 
ington  and  Mr.  Osborne  Morgan ;  and  upon  the  resumption  of 
the  debate,  Mr.  Horsman  created  some  astonishment  by  delivering 
a  clever  but  bitter  diatribe  against  the  bill,  which  he  had  at  first 
welcomed  as  a  settlement  of  the  question.  He  alleged  in  justifi- 
cation of  this  change  of  opinion  the  demands  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Bishops,  and  asked,  '  Why  does  not  the  Government 
withdraw  the  bill?  Nobody  wants  it — nobody  accepts  it — it 
settles  nothing,  but  unsettles  everybody.  Had  any  English  or 
Scotch  member  ever  gone  through  the  hypocrisy  of  proposing  to 
feel  confidence  in  the  Government  on  this  question  ?  To  ask  for 
such  a  vote  was  a  piece  of  effrontery  worthy  of  a  cartoon  in 
Punch?  Such  a  vote,  continued  the  right  hon.  gentleman,  would 
be  regarded  by  the  country  as  a  vote  of  confidence  in  Cardinal 
Cull  en  and  the  priests.  The  measure  was  defended  by  Mr 


446  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Chichester  Fortescue,  and  opposed,  in  able  speeches,  by  Dr.  Play- 
fair  and  Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  nevertheless,  came  to  the 
support  of  the  Ministerial  scheme  in  an  address,  which,  for  the 
moment,  seemed  as  though  it  would  do  much  to  retrieve  the 
fortunes  of  the  Government.  Remarking,  with  respect  to  the 
*  gagging  clauses,'  that  they  were  not  of  the  essence  of  the  bill, 
Mr.  Lowe  showed  that  their  meaning  had  been  entirely  misap- 
prehended. A  number  of  objections  urged  against  the  essential 
principle  of  the  measure  arose  from  the  ambiguous  use  of  the 
words  *  university'  and  i  college.'  While  *  college '  -only  implied 
teaching  provision,  '  university,'  as  well  as  teaching,  implied  the 
power  of  giving  degrees,  and  he  maintained,  therefore,  that  while 
colleges  could  not  be  over-multiplied,  a  university  ought  to  have 
as  nearly  as  possible  a  monopoly.  He  justified  the  scheme  of  the 
bill  on  this  ground — the  collection  of  a  number  of  colleges  under  a 
single  university.  The  present  necessity  for  legislation  arose 
from  three  causes :  the  imperfect  constitution  of  Trinity  College, 
the  insufficient  education  given  at  the  Queen's  Colleges,  and  the 
refusal  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishops  to  allow  their  youth  to 
seek  a  degree  either  at  Trinity  College  or  the  Queen's  Colleges. 
He  expressed  his  regret  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishops  had 
signified  their  disapproval  of  the  bill,  but  that  event  must  be 
treated  as  an  earthquake,  or  any  other  natural  calamity  which 
could  not  be  helped.  While  admitting  that  the  Government  had 
met  with  more  hostile  criticism  than  they  anticipated,  he  never- 
theless maintained  that  this  bill  was  the  only  means  of  applying 
a  real  remedy  to  the  grievance.* 

*  The  happiest  passage  in  Mr.  Lowe's  speech  was  its  conclusion,  in  which,  amid 
continuous  cheers  and  laughter,  he  retorted  thus  effectively  upon  Mr.  Horsman : — 
'There  are  Abdiels  who  will  not  leave  their  friend.  There  is  one  member  of  the 
House  whose  sympathy  with  us  I  feel  unequal  to  express,  and  would,  therefore, 
for  that  purpose,  take  the  liberty  of  resorting  to  the  words  of  a  bard  of  Erin  : — 

"  Come  rest  in  this  bosom,  my  own  stricken  deer, 
Though  the  herd  have  all  fled  thy  home  is  still  here; 
Here  still  is  a  smile  that  no  cloud  can  oVrcast, 
And  a  hand  and  a  heart  thine  own  to  the  last." 

The  House  will  see  that  I  am  not  too  high-flown  in  the  panegyric  I  give,  when  I 
read  a  brief  extract  from  this  letter : — "  Mr.  Gladstone  has  introduced  a  measure  of 
university  education  that  does  him  great  honour,  and  when  perfected  by  amend- 
ment in  committee,  and  it  takes  its  place  on  the  Statute  Book,  it  will  be  a  noble 
crowning  to  the  work  of  the  present  Parliament.  We  must  all  resume  its  considera- 
tion with  an  earnest  desire  to  acknowledge  the  large  and  generous  spirit  with  which 
the  Government  has  addressed  itself  to  the  subject.and  co-operate  w  ith  the  high  pur- 
poses it  has  in  view  ;  and  as  the  erroneous  impression  conveyed  by  Mr.  Gladstone's 
allusion  to  Sir  Robert  Inglis  and  the  Pope  could  not  pass  without  notice,  I  have 
•written  this  letter  with  a  view  of  getting  it  out  of  the  way  before  we  come  to  the 
real  business." '  Mr.  Horsman—'  What  is  the  date  of  that  letter  ? '  '  The  date  is 
7,  Richmond  Terrace,  Feb.  15,  and  it  is  signed  "  Edward  Horsman."  I  have  read 
the  House  the  letter,  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening  they  have  been  furnished 
with  the  comment.  And  now  I  will  say  this — Whatever  faults  you  may  find  with 


IRISH  UNIVERSITY  EDUCATION.  447 

The  fact  that  the  Government  were  willing  to  give  up  the 
*  gagging  clauses,'  combined  with  the  admission  that  they  had 
never  intended  to  sanction  the  wholesale  affiliation  of  diocesan 
colleges,  afforded  a  momentary  but  delusive  hope  that  the 
measure  might  ultimately  weather  the  storm. 

Sir  W.  Harcourt,  who  spoke  on  the  third  night  of  the  discus- 
sion, supported  the  bill,  though  he  was  far  from  admitting  thai, 
it  was  a  successful  specimen  of  legislating  according  to  Irish 
ideas.  Dr.  Ball  vigorously  attacked  the  measure,  and  Mr.  Bernal 
Osborne  expressed  his  surprise  that  a  Cabinet  with  eight  double 
first-class  Oxford  men  in  it  could  have  so  blundered  in  a  matter 
of  education.  Mr.  Cardwell  said  that  all  the  points  which  had 
been  objected  to  were  open  for  discussion  in  committee,  and  there 
was  nothing  to  bind  the  House  to  abide  by  the  bill  as  it  stood. 

This  admission  had  the  unfortunate  effect  of  damaging  instead 
of  aiding  the  cause  of  the  Government.  While  it  alienated  the 
Ultramontane  interest,  it  failed  to  conciliate  the  wavering  alle- 
giance of  the  discontented  Liberals.  The  close  of  the  debate  was 
therefore  looked  forward  to  with  augmented  interest.  On  the 
fourth  night,  about  half-past  ten,  Mr.  Disraeli  rose,  and  delivered 
a  speech  which,  in  some  parts,  was  unusually  brilliant,  but  equally 
irrelevant.  Although  they  had  been  assured,  he  said,  that  those 
points  which  were  not  of  '  the  essence  of  the  bill '  were  dead,  and 
Mr.  Cardwell  had  spoken  in  the  direction  of  surrender,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone had  disclaimed  this  meaning,  and  declared  that  the  only 
concession  was  that  these  points  should  be  fully  discussed.  Having 
no  proof,  therefore,  that  the  Government  had  withdrawn  any  of 
the  clauses,  he  (Mr.  Disraeli)  would  discuss  the  Bill  on  its  merits. 
First,  he  objected  to  it  because  it  proposed  to  institute  a  univer- 
sity that  was  not  universal.  He  also  objected  strongly  to  the 
transfer  of  the  Theological  Faculty  to  the  disestablished  Church, 
and  as  to  the  proposed  exclusion  of  mental  and  moral  philosophy 
and  modern  history,  it  was  an  astounding  proposal  to  come  from 
the  leader  of  the  Liberal  party  at  this  day.  The  speaker  next 
demanded  some  information  upon  the  composition  of  the  'despotic 
and  anonymous  council,'  and  observed  that,  arguing  from  previous 
experience,  it  would  be  like  the  House  of  Commons,  and  would 
consist  of  two  well-organised  parties  arrayed  against  each  other, 

this  bill,  I  believe  it  will  be  recognised  by  the  country  as  an  nttempt  to  deal 
thoroughly  with  what  nppnnrs  to  me  to  be  a  great  and  crying  evil,  and  one  which 
ought  no  longer  to  be  allowed  to  exist.  We  have  encountered  a  great  deal  of 
opposition,  and  shall,  no  doubt,  have  to  encounter  still  more  ;  but  I  am  very  much 
mistaken  if  behind  this  storm  we  do  not  receive  an  acknowledgement  from  the 
people  of  these  islands  of  the  honesty  and  fairness  of  the  intention  of  this  bill — 
an  acknowledgment  which  will  brush  aside  all  captious  criticism,  and  help  to 
make  it,  in  the  language  of  my  right  hon.  friend  the  member  foif  Liskeard,  "  the 
crowning  work  of  the  present  Parliament." 


448  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

with  a  few  trimmers  inclining  the  balance.  Discussing  the  situation 
of  the  Koman  Catholics,  Mr.  Disraeli  said  he  pitied  their  position, 
but  it  was  their  own  doing.  His  own  Government  had  entered 
into  negotiations  with  the  Koman  Catholic  bishops,  and  while 
vindicating  the  principle  of  concurrent  endowment,  the  House 
knew  that  it  was  held  to  be  dead.  Mr.  Gladstone  had  capped  his 
negotiations  with  the  policy  of  confiscation.  The  Eoman  Catho- 
lics fell  into  the  trap,  and  lost  sight  of  university  education  in  the 
prospect  of  destroying  a  Protestant  Church.  But  the  country  had 
had  enough  of  this  policy  of  confiscation,  and  he  hoped  that  that 
night's  vote  would  show  that  it  was  suffering  the  inconveniences 
of  satiety.  He  had  no  desire  to  disturb  the  Premier,  but  he  should 
vote  against  the  bill,  believing  it  to  be  monstrous  in  its  principle, 
pernicious  in  many  of  its  details,  and  utterly  futile  as  a  measure 
of  practical  legislation. 

Before  the  vehement  cheering  on  the  Opposition  benches  had 
subsided,  Mr.  Gladstone  had  risen  to  reply  to  Mr.  Disraeli,  and 
wind  up  the  debate.  In  the  opening  of  his  speech  the  Premier 
drew  forth  prolonged  applause  from  his  supporters  by  calling 
upon  the  House  to  note  that,  though  the  leader  of  the  Opposition 
had  declared  concurrent  endowment  to  be  dead,  it  yet  lived  in 
his  mind,  and  might  revive  under  his  magical  touch.  After 
explaining  that  the  attitude  of  the  Government  on  this  question 
was  not  due  to  any  words  of  his,  and  deprecating  the  introduc- 
tion of  religious  heat  and  party  temper  into  its  discussion,  he 
repeated  once  more  the  grounds  on  which  the  measure  had  been 
introduced,  viz.,  the  grievance  of  the  Eoman  Catholics,  and  the 
necessity  for  academic  reform  in  Ireland.  The  history  of  the  bill 
had  some  dramatic  features ;  it  had  suffered  a  catastrophe  ;  on  its 
introduction  all  the  '  waiters  on  providence '  in  London  were  in 
favour  of  it,  but  now  not  an  individual  of  the  species  had  a  word 
to  say  for  it.  The  question,  however,  was,  Should  the  House  go 
into  committee  on  the  bill  ?  In  deciding  that,  the  House  ought 
to  have  no  other  motive  but  to  endeavour  to  do  that  now  which 
a  few  years  hence  it  would  regret  it  had  not  done.  He  denied 
that  the  bill  would  lower  the  standard  of  education,  and  reminded 
the  House  that  the  London  University — a  mere  examining  body 
—had  certainly  raised  education.  They  had  been  told  the  bill 
should  be  given  up  on  account  of  the  opposition  in  Ireland  ;  but 
that  opposition  had  been  most  inaccurately  stated  in  the  House. 
Yet  even  if  the  opposition  had  not  been  exaggerated  and  misre- 
presented, in  dealing  with  a  measure  like  this  it  would  be  impolitic 
and  unparliamentary  on  that  account  to  withdraw  the  bill  before 
it  had  been  considered  in  committee.  The  general  effect  of  the 
speech  of  Mr.  Cardwell — with  which  he  entirely  agreed — was  to 


IRISH  UNIVERSITY  EDUCATION.  449 

show  that  it  was  a  wise  course  in  a  question  of  this  character, 
where  it  was  difficult  to  retrieve  ground  once  lost,  to  go  into 
committee,  to  compare  their  several  notions  and  demands  at  close 
quarters,  and  to  see  what  they  could  effect  towards  bringing  them 
into  harmony.    Mr.  Gladstone  then  cited — against  Mr.  Disraeli's 
condemnation  of  going  into  committee  on  the  ground  that  a 
measure  came  out  substantially  the  same — the  precedent  set  by 
the  right  hon.  gentleman  himself  as  regarded  the  Reform  Bill  of 
1867.     The  history  of  that  bill  in  committee  had  its  lessons. 
Referring  to  the  banishment  of  ethics  and  modern  history  from 
the  curriculum,  and  the  introduction  of  collegiate  members  into 
the  council,  the  Government  would  not  adhere  to  them,  and  there 
were  also  other  points  upon  which  they  wguld  meet  the  House  on 
equal  terms.     Any  amendments  which  were  real  improvements 
would  be  welcomed,  and  even  those  which  were  not  improvements 
•would  be  welcomed  if  deemed  of  importance  by  the  House,  and  if 
they  did  not  touch  the  vitality  of  the  bill.    As  to  the  actual  vital 
principle  of  the  bill,  it  was  this — there  must  be  a  complete  removal 
of  the  admitted  religious  grievance  by  opening  degrees  under 
an  impartial  and  unsectarian  authority  to  men  of  all  opinions, 
whether  educated  under  the  mixed   or  separate  system.     The 
university  must  be  relieved  from  the  monopoly  of  Trinity  College, 
and  must  have  an  independent  governing  body  and  a  competent 
endowment,  and  the  faculty  of  theology  must  be  separated  from 
it.   Mr.  Gladstone  next  proceeded  to  condemn  the  principle  of  con- 
current endowment,  observing  that  he  wished  to  leave  on  record 
the  strong  conviction  he  entertained  that  it  would  be  a  grave 
and  serious  error  on  the  part  of  the  House  were  they  to  give  the 
slightest  encouragement  to  the  demand  that  was  made  for  intro- 
ducing into  Ireland  the  system  of  separate  endowment  for  separate 
religious  institutions  for  academic  purposes,  and  thereby  to  dis- 
tinctly renounce  and  repudiate  the  policy  of  1869,  to  which  the 
great  majority  of  that  House  were  parties.     Having  alluded  to 
the  concord  which  had  for  the  moment  been  established  between 
the  Conservatives  and  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  further  entreat- 
ing the  House  to  remove  the  grievance  rather  than  follow  Mr. 
Disraeli's  alternative  of  withdrawing  from  the  task,  Mr.  Gladstone 
thus  concluded  his  powerful  speech : — 

'  For  the  House,  for  us  all,  for  the  country,  I  ask  what  is  to  be  the  policy  that 
is  to  follow  the  rejection  of  this  bill  ?  What  is  to  be  the  policy  adopted  in  Ireland  ? 
Perhaps  the  bill  of  my  hon.  friend  the  member  for  Brighton  will  find  favour,  which 
leaves  the  University  of  Dublin  in  the  hands  of  Trinity  College,  and  which,  I  pre- 
sume, if  passed,  will  only  be  the  harbinger  of  an  agitation  fiercer  still  than  that 
which  we  are  told  would  follow  the  passing  of  the  present  bill.  It  will  still  leave 
the  Roman  Catholic  in  this  condition,  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  obtain  a  degree  in 
Ireland  without  going  either  to  the  Queen's  College,  to  which  he  objects,  or  phrin- 
himself  under  examinations  and  a  system  of  discipline  managed  and  conducted  by 

G  G 


450  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

a  Protestant  board— a  board  composed  of  eight  gentlemen,  of  whom  six  are  clergy- 
men of  the  disestablished  Church  of  Ireland.  The  other  alternative  will  be  the 
adopting  for  Ireland  of  a  new  set  of  principles,  which  Parliament  has  repudiated 
in  Ireland  and  has  disclaimed  for  Great  Britain,  not  only  treating  the  Roman 
Catholic  majority  in  Ireland  as  being  tlie  Irish  nation,  but  likewise  adopting  for 
that  Irish  nation  the  principles  which  we  have  ourselves  overthrown  even  within 
the  limits  of  our  own  generation.  I  know  not  with  what  satisfaction  we  can  look 
forward  to  these  prospects.  It  is  dangerous  to  tamper  with  objects  of  this  kind. 
We  have  presented  to  you  our  plan,  for  which  we  are  responsible.  We  are  not 
afraid,  I  am  not  afraid,  of  the  charge  of  my  right  hon.  friend  that  we  have  served 
the  priests.  (Mr.  Horsman  :  I  did  not  say  so.)  I  am  glad  to  hear  it.  I  am  ready 
to  serve  the  priests  or  any  other  man  as  far  as  justice  dictates.  I  am  not  ready  to 
go  an  inch  further  for  them  or  for  any  other  man  ;  and  if  the  labours  of  1869  and 
1870  are  to  be  forgotten  in  Ireland — if  where  we  have  earnestly  sought  and  toiled 
for  peace  we  find  only  contention — if  our  tenders  of  relief  are  thrust  aside  with 
scorn — let  us  still  remember  that  there  is  a  voice  which  is  not  heard  in  the  crack- 
ling of  the  firo,  or  in  the  roaring  of  the  whirlwind  or  the  storm,  but  which  will  and 
must  be  heard  when  they  have  passed  away — the  still  small  voice  of  justice.  To 
mete  out  justice  to  Ireland,  according  to  the  best  view  that  with  human  infirmity 
we  could  form,  has  been  the  work,  I  will  almost  say  the  sacred  work,  of  this  Parlia- 
ment. Having  put  our  hand  to  the  plough,  let  us  not  turn  back.  Let  not  what 
we  think  the  fault  or  perverseness  of  those  whom  we  are  attempting  to  assist  have 
the  slightest  effect  in  turning  us  even  by  a  hair's-breadth  from  the  path  on  which 
we  have  entered.  As  we  have  begun,  so  let  us  persevere  even  to  the  end,  and  with 
firm  and  resolute  hand  let  us  efface  from  the  law  and  the  practice  of  the  country, 
the  last — for  I  believe  it  is  the  last — of  the  religious  and  social  grievances  of 
Ireland.' 

The  amendment  having  being  negatived,  a  division  was  taken 
upon  the  main  question,  that  the  bill  be  read  a  second  time.  A 
scene  of  great  excitement  ensued  when,  upon  the  return  of  the 
tellers,  the  clerk  at  the  table  handed  the  paper  to  Colonel  Taylor, 
the  Conservative  whip.  The  tellers  approached  the  table,  and 
comparative  quiet  having  being  restored,  the  numbers  were 
declared  as  follows : — For  the  bill,  284  ;  against,  287 — majority 
against  the  Government,  3.  Thirty-five  Irish,  eight  English,  and 
two  Scotch  Liberal  members  voted  against  the  Government,  while 
eighteen  Liberals  were  absent,  and  eighteen  paired. 

The  Grovernment  did  not,  of  course,  count  upon  this  defeat  of 
their  measure,  and  were  quite  justified  in  the  hope  that  the 
House  would  support  them  in  removing  the  last  of  the  great 
grievances  of  the  Irish  people.  Some  years  after  the  defeat  of 
his  scheme,  the  ex -Premier  was  questioned  as  to  whether  he  was 
really  surprised  at  the  rejection  of  the  Irish  University  Bill;  or 
whether  he  dealt  with  the  subject  as  a  matter  of  duty,  knowing 
that  he  risked  almost  all  that  followed.  The  right  hon.  gentle- 
man replied,  that  considering  the  extremely  favourable  reception 
which  the  bill  met  with  in  the  outset,  he  was  most  emphatically 
astonished  at  its  ultimate  fate.  He  had  been  most  anxious  to 
dispose  of  this  vexed  question  of  Irish  University  education. 
Had  this  been  happily  accomplished,  in  all  probability  the 
ex-Premier  would  have  brought  forward  some  other  schemes  of 
Irish  legislation. 

Following  his  specifically-declared  intention,  Mr.  Gladstone 


IRISH    UNIVERSITY    EDUCATION.  451 

resigned  office,  whereupon  a  peculiar  difficulty  arose.  The  Premier 
was  unfeignedly  desirous  of  being  relieved  of  his  onerous  duties, 
but  Mr.  Disraeli,  acting  upon  the  wishes  of  the  great  bulk  of  his 
followers,  declined  to  accept  office  with  a  majority  of  the  House 
•of  Commons  against  him.  Some  days  later,  Mr.  Gladstone  made 
a  statement  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  the  effect  that  he  and 
his  colleagues  had  consented  to  resume  their  positions.  He  also 
explained  the  nature  of  the  transactions  which  had  taken  place 
in  the  interregnum.  The  Queen  having  requested  his  advice 
upon  Mr.  Disraeli's  unconditional  refusal  to  take  office,  he  (Mr. 
Gladstone)  submitted  a  statement  to  her  Majesty.  That  was 
made  known  to  Mr.  Disraeli,  and  his  reply  to  it  was  received. 
Perceiving  from  the  unequivocal  nature  of  this  reply  that  there 
was  no  chance  of  a  Government  being  formed  by  the  party 
opposite,  he  had  agreed  to  resume  office.  Referring  to  a  difference 
of  opinion  which  had  arisen  between  himself  and  Mr.  Disraeli 
upon  the  duties  of  an  Opposition  when  it  had  brought  about  the 
fall  of  a  Government,  Mr.  Gladstone  read  an  extract  from  his 
letter  to  the  Queen,  in  which  he  contended  that  his  rival's  sum- 
mary refusal  to  accept  office  was  contrary  to  precedent  and  Parlia- 
mentary usage.  With  regard  to  the  delay  which  had  occurred, 
he  was  not  conscious  of  its  being  due  to  any  personal  reluctance 
to  resume  office,  although  he  did  feel  it,  and  thought  he  had 
earned  a  right  to  rest  so  far  as  it  could  be  earned  by  labour.  That 
which  had  occurred,  however,  he  feared  would  modify  the  rela- 
tions of  the  Government  and  the  Opposition  in  a  manner  not 
likely  to  contribute  to  the  satisfactory  working  of  our  Parlia- 
mentary system.  The  Government  would  endeavour  fully  and 
honourably  to  discharge  their  duty,  and  nothing  had  transpired 
to  shorten  the  existence  of  the  present  Parliament,  either  as 
touching  the  course  of  public  business  or  the  duration  of  time. 
Nothing  could  be  more  injurious  than  the  prevalence  of  opinions 
to  the  contrary  effect.  The  Government  would  endeavour  to 
proceed,  both  with  respect  to  legislation  and  administration,  in 
the  same  manner  and  upon  the  same  principles  as  those  which 
had  heretofore  governed  their  conduct. 

Mr.  Disraeli  then  gave  his  version  of  the  Ministerial  difficulty 
and  the  advice  he  had  tendered  to  the  Queen.  His  speech  was 
in  reality  a  manifesto  to  the  country.  He  pointed  out  that  the 
majority  against  the  Government  had  been  created  by  a  con- 
siderable section  of  the  Liberal  party,  with  whom  he  had  no  bond 
of  union.  He  had  had  experience  of  office  under  such  circum- 
stances as  those  which  had  recently  arisen,  and  it  had  convinced 
him  that  such  an  experiment  weakened  authority  and  destroyed 
public  confidence.  He  had  consequently  prayed  her  Majesty  to 

GG  2 


452  WILLIAM    KWART    GLADSTONE. 

relieve  him  of  the  task.  Upon  the  question  why  ho  had  not 
advised  the  Queen  to  dissolve,  he  remarked  that  although  a 
Minister  in  office  could  perform  it  with  great  promptitude,  it  was 
not  so  with  a  Minister  who  had  to  form  his  Government.  He 
might,  perhaps,  have  been  able  to  dissolve  in  May,  but  what  could- 
he  have  dissolved  upon  ?  The  Irish  University  Bill  was  not  suffi- 
cient, nor  could  a  Government  appeal  to  the  country  without  a 
policy.  The  function  of  the  Opposition  was  essentially  critical, 
and  it  was  totally  impossible  for  them  suddenly  to  have  a  policy 
matured.  Mr.  Disraeli  next  illustrated  in  an  amusing  manner 
the  difficulties  of  a  Government  which  endeavoured  to  carry  on 
public  business  in  the  face  of  a  hostile  majority.  After  stating 
that  the  Queen  had  given  him  permission  to  dissolve  if  it  would 
assist  him,  Mr.  Disraeli — with  a  view  of  showing  that  he  had 
exhausted  all  means  before  refusing  office — read  an  extract  from 
his  letter  to  her  Majesty,  in  which  he  stated  he  had  represented  to 
her  Majesty  that  Mr.  Gladstone  had  resigned  on  very  inadequate 
grounds,  and  that  his  honour  having  been  satisfied  by  a  resigna- 
tion, his  return  to  office  was  the  best  solution  of  the  difficulty. 
Mr.  Disraeli  concluded  by  predicting  for  the  Tory  party  a  noble 
and  a  triumphant  career,  when  other  topics  pressing  to  the  front 
would  become  '  great  and  burning  questions.' 

Thus  closed  a  remarkable  episode  in  the  history  of  Irish  uni- 
versity education.  Although  much  of  the  time  of  the  session  of 
1873  was  devoted  to  this  important  scheme,  some  measures  of 
great  value  were  passed.  Foremost  of  these  was  Lord  Selborne's 
Judicature  Bill.  Mr.  Forster  brought  forward  in  the  Commons  a 
bill  transferring  from  the  school  boards  to  the  guardians  of  the 
poor  the  duty  of  determining  whether  the  fees  of  indigent  children 
should  be  paid  out  of  the  rates  ;  and  t  his  bill  passed.  Mr.  Lowe 
was  not  so  successful  with  his  financial  measures  as  the  chief  of 
the  Government  had  been  in  former  years,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  came 
to  his  assistance  in  the  debate  on  Mr.  W.  II.  Smith's  motion  upon 
the  subject  of  local  taxation,  which  the  Premier  said  was  aimed 
at  all  indirect  taxes.  The  resolution  was  negatived  without  a 
division.  Mr.  Fawcett  carried  his  bill  for  the  reform  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Dublin,  but  it  was  so  changed  as  to  become  a  simple 
measure  for  the  abolition  of  tests.  Mr.  Miall's  motion  for  the  dis- 
establishment of  the  Church  of  England  was  defeated  by  356  to 
61  votes,  Mr.  Gladstone  delivering  the  most  important  speech 
against  it.  He  said  that  he  not  only  opposed  the  motion  on  its 
merits,  but  because  it  was  ill-timed  and  incapable  of  present  dis- 
cussion. The  popular  feeling  was  not  favourable  to  the  proposal, 
and  if  a  general  election  were  to  occur  he  believed  a  House  would 
be  returned  much  less  disposed  to  entertain  the  question  than 


IRISH    UNIVERSITY    EDUCATION.  453 

the  existing  one,  Mr.  Gladstone  also  opposed  Mr.  Covvper- 
Temple's  proposal  for  the  delivery  of  sermons  in  churches  by 
laymen  and  Dissenters.  The  principle  of  extending  household 
suffrage  to  counties  received  the  personal  adhesion  of  the  Premier 
this  session.  In  proposing  the  usual  grant  on  the  approaching 
marriage  of  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  to  the  Grand  Duchess  Marie 
Alexandrovna  of  Eussia,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  the  union  would  be 
one  of  affection,  and  expressed  his  trust  that  the  day  had  gone 
by  when  royal  personages  connected  with  this  country  were 
required  to  enter  into  matrimonial  engagements  'without  the 
consecrating  element  of  personal  attachment,  which  was  the 
solemn  basis  on  which  this  union  was  founded.' 

Several  Ministerial  changes  of  an  important  character  occurred 
shortly  after  the  close  of  the  session.  Mr.  Lowe  having  resigned 
the  Chancellorship  of  the  Exchequer,  Mr.  Gladstone  took  up  the 
duties  himself,  and  filled  the  double  offices  of  Premier  and 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  Lord  Eipon,  Mr.  Childers,  and 
Mr.  Baxter  retired  from  the  Government,  and  Mr.  Bright 
re-entered  it  as  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster. 

Vigorous  speeches  in  defence  of  the  Ministerial  policy  were 
made  during  the  recess,  but  (he  Government  failed  to  recover  its 
once  overw)j<  Iming  popularity. 


CHAPTER  XXn 

FALL  OF  MR.   GLADSTONE'S  MINISTRY. 

Mr.  Disraeli  on  the  Policy  of  the  Government — Reaction  against  the  Liberal 
Ministry — The  Premier's  Manifesto  to  the  Electors  of  Greenwich — Dissolution 
of  Parliament — Reasons  for  the  Step — A  Record  of  distinguished  Service — Mr. 
Gladstone's  Proposals — Public  Opinion  on  the  Manifesto — Mr.  Disraeli's  Counter- 
blast— The  Straits  of  Malacca — A  Geographical  Quarrel — Result  of  the  General 
Election — Resignation  of  Mr.  Gladstone — Character  and  Labours  of  his  Adminis- 
tration. 

THE  autumn  of  1873  was  a  time  of  strange  transition  in  the 
political  feeling  of  the  country.  The  people  clearly  demonstrating 
that  they  no  longer  desired  to  keep  up  with  the  reforming  zeal  of 
the  Government,  Mr.  Disraeli  stepped  in,  and  cleverly  guided  the 
public  sentiment  to  the  advantage  of  the  Opposition.  Writing 
to  his  '  dear  Grey,'  in  October,  he  observed  that  '  for  nearly  five 
years  the  present  Ministers  have  harassed  every  trade,  worried 
every  profession,  and  assailed  or  menaced  every  class,  institution, 
and  species  of  property  in  the  country.  Occasionally  they  have 
varied  this  state  of  civil  warfare  by  perpetrating  some  job  which 
outraged  public  opinion,  or  by  stumbling  into  mistakes  which 
have  been  always  discreditable,  and  sometimes  ruinous.  All  this 
they  call  a  policy  and  seem  quite  proud  of  it ;  but  the  country 
has,  I  think,  made  up  its  mind  to  close  this  career  of  plundering 
and  blundering.'  This  strongly-exaggerated  description  of  the 
Premier's  policy  had  the  effect  of  fanning  the  popular  discontent. 
The  bye-elections  which  had  recently  occurred  had  mostly  proved 
substantial  Conservative  victories,  and  indications  were  not 
wanting  that  many  Liberal  members  who  had  long  endorsed  Mr. 
Gladstone's  action  were  falling  away  from  him.  The  Bible  was 
affirmed  to  be  in  danger  ;  and  when  it  came  to  '  beer '  as  well, 
amongst  other  things,  the  work  of  revolution  was  pronounced  by 
many  powerful  classes  as  certainly  going  too  far.  The  joint  flag 
of  « Beer  and  Bible '  having  been  hoisted,  the  cry  against  the 
Ministry  became  irresistible. 

Something  must  be  done.  That  which  was  done  was  an  equal 
surprise  to  both  political  parties.  The  Premier — assured  by  the 
press  that  the  people  whom  he  had  so  long  and  so  faithfully  served 


FALL    OF    Mfc.    GLADSTONE'S    MINISTRY.  455 

had  turned  their  backs  upon  him,  and  weary  of  the  half-hearted 
support  of  his  own  party  — resolved  to  take  the  direct  judgment  of 
the  country  itself  upon  the  aspect  of  public  affairs.  Accordingly, 
on  the  23rd  of  January,  he  issued  a  lengthy  manifesto  to  the  electors 
of  Greenwich,  announcing  that  the  existing  Parliament  would 
be  dissolved,  and  a  new  one  summoned  to  meet  without  delay.  The 
excitement  of  the  people  was  intense  when  they  learnt  that  the 
Parliament  of  1868  —the  Parliament  which  had  disestablished 
the  Irish  Church,  settled  the  Irish  land  question,  abolished  Pur- 
chase in  the  Army,  founded  a  system  of  National  Education,  and 
established  the  Ballot — was  declared,  as  Cromwell  once  declared 
a  Parliament,  to  be  no  longer  a  Parliament. 

In  the  fullest  and  frankest  manner,  Mr.  Gladstone — in  a 
document  entitled  to  rank  as  a  State  paper,  from  its  political  and 
historical  importance — stated  his  reasons  for  what  was  regarded 
in  many  quarters  as  a  political  coup  d'etat.  After  observing 
that  the  welfare  of  the  country  can  never  be  effectually  promoted 
by  a  Government  which  is  not  invested  with  adequate  authority, 
he. wrote: — 'In the  month  of  March  last  the  Government  were 
defeated  in  their  effort  to  settle  upon  just  and  enlarged  principles 
the  long-disputed  question  of  the  higher  education  in  Ireland,  if 
not  by  a  combined,  yet  concurrent  effort  of  the  leader  of  the 
Opposition  and  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  prelacy  of  Ireland.  Upon 
suffering  this  defeat  the  Government,  according  to  the  practice 
of  our  Constitution,  placed  their  resignation  in  the  hands  of  the 
Sovereign.  Her  Majesty,  in  the  just  and  wise  exercise  of  her  high 
office,  applied  to  the  leader  of  the  Opposition.  He,  however,  declar- 
ing that  he  was  not  prepared  with  a  policy,  and  could  not  govern 
in  the  existing  Parliament,  declined  to  fill  the  void  which  he  had 
made.  Under  these  circumstances,  we  thought  ourselves  bound 
by  loyalty  to  the  Queen  not  to  decline  the  resumption  of  our  offices. 
But  this  step  we  took  with  an  avowed  reluctance.  We  felt  that, 
in  consequence  of  what  had  happened,  both  the  Crown  and  coun- 
try were  placed  at  a  disadvantage,  as  it  was  established  that, 
during  the  existence  of  the  present  Parliament,  one  party  only 
could  govern,  and  must,  therefore,  govern  without  appeal.  Wo 
also  felt  that  a  precedent  had  been  set,  which  both  diminished 
our  strength  and  weakened  the  general  guarantees  for  the 
responsibility  and  integrity  of  Parliamentary  opposition.  Of 
this  diminution  of  strength  we  were  painfully  and  sensibly 
reminded  during  the  session  by  the  summary  and  rapid  dismissal , 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  of  measures  which  had  cost  much  time 
and  labour  to  the  House  of  Commons.  But  we  remembered 
that  in  the  years  1868  and  1870,  when  the  mind  of  the  country 
was  unambiguously  expressed,  the  House  of  Lords  had,  much  to 


456  WILLIAM   EWAR11   GLADSTONE. 

its  honour,  deferred  to  that  expression  upon  matters  of  great 
moment ;  and  I  cannot  doubt  that  it  would  have  continued  in 
this  course  had  the  isolated  and  less  certain,  but  still  frequent 
and  fresh,  indications  of  public  opinion  at  single  elections  con- 
tinued to  be  in  harmony  with  the  powerful  and  authentic,  but 
now  more  remote,  judgment  of  1868.' 

This  state  of  things  not  having  improved,  however,  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  recess,  the  Administration  desired  to  pass  from 
a  condition  thus  fitful  and  casual,  to  one  in  which  the  nation 
would  have  full  opportunity  of  expressing  its  will  and  choice  as 
between  the  two  political  parties.  The  Government  of  the  day, 
whatever  it  might  be,  would  thus  be  armed  with  the  just  means 
of  authority.  Mr.  Gladstone  next  reviewed  the  measures  of  his 
Ministry,  and  claimed  a  renewal  of  confidence.  He  promised  a 
diminution  of  local  taxation  and  the  total  repeal  of  the  income- 
tax,  for  which  the  surplus  of  upwards  of  four  millions  which  he 
would  have  to  show  would  afford  justification.  He  observed  that 
the  income-tax  had  been  borne  with  exemplary  patience,  mainly 
on  the  ground  of  the  great  work  of  liberation  which  had  been 
achieved  by  its  aid.  But  no  Government  had  ever  been  able  to 
make  it  perpetual.  The  proceeds  of  the  income-tax  for  the  present 
year  were  expected  to  be  between  £5,000,000  and  £6,000,000, 
and  at  a  sacrifice  for  the  financial  year  of  something  less  than 
£5,500,000,  the  country  might  enjoy  the  advantage  and  relief  of 
its  total  repeal.  He  declared  that  this  advantage  was  in  present 
circumstances  practicable,  but  added  that  it  was  manifest  they 
ought  not  to  aid  the  rates,  and  remove  the  income-tax,  without 
giving  to  the  general  consumer,  and  giving  him  simultaneously, 
some  marked  relief  in  the  class  of  articles  of  popular  consumption. 

The  Premier  next  pointed  out  that  the  changes  indicated 
would  dispose  of  considerably  more  than  the  surplus  named, 
but  there  was  nothing  to  preclude  the  Government  from  asking 
Parliament  to  consider,  in  conjunction  with  those  great  remis- 
sions, what  moderate  assistance  could  be  had  from  judicious 
adjustments  of  existing  taxes.  Pointing  to  his  own  declarations 
of  1 868,  he  affirmed  that  he  could  not  belong  to  a  Government 
which  did  not  on  every  occasion  seek  to  enlarge  its  resources  by 
a  wise  economy.  As  some  earnest  of  his  sincerity  in  this  matter, 
he  added, '  The  policy  of  the  Government  for  the  last  five  years  in 
particular,  the  character  and  opinions  of  my  colleagues,  and  the 
financial  and  commercial  legislation  with  which  I  may  say  that, 
since  1 842, 1  have  been  associated,  are  before  you-.'  In  conclud- 
ing, Mr-  Gladstone  referred  to  the  charge  sometimes  made  that 
the  Liberal  Government,  and  party  bad  endangered  the  institu- 
tions and  worried  all  the  interests  of  the  country.  As  to  t.h« 


FALL    OF    ME.    GLADSTONE'S    MINISTEY.  457 

interests,  he  was  aware  of  no  one  that  had  been  injured,  and  if 
unhappily  they  had  offended  any,  it  was  not  their  intention  or 
wish,  but  in  consequence  of  their  anxiety  to  consult  the  highest 
interest  of  all — the  interest  of  the  nation.  '  As  to  the  institu- 
tions of  the  country,  gentlemen,  the  charge  is  the  very  same  that 
you  have  been  accustomed  to  hear  urged  against  Liberal  Govern- 
ments in  general  for  the  last  forty  years.  It  is  time  to  test  by  a 
general  survey  of  the  past  this  trite  and  vague  allegation.  Now, 
there  has  elapsed  a  period  of  forty,  or  more  exactly  a  period  of 
forty-three,  years  since  the  Liberal  party  acquired  the  main 
direction  of  public  affairs.  This  followed  another  period  of  about 
forty  years,  beginning  with  the  outbreak  of  the  Eevolutionary 
War,  during  which  there  had  been  an  almost  unbroken  rule  of 
their  opponents,  who  claimed,  and  were  reputed  to  be  the  great 
preservers  of  the  institutions  of  the  country.  But  I  ask  you  to 
judge  the  men  by  the  general  results.  I  fear  we  must  admit  that 
the  term  of  forty  years  of  Tory  rule  which  closed  in  1830,  and  to 
which  you  are  invited  to  return,  left  the  institutions  of  the  country 
weaker,  ay,  even  in  its  peace  and  order  less  secure,  than  at  the 
commencement  of  the  period  it  had  found  them.  I  ain  confident 
that  if  now  the  present  Government  be  dismissed  from  the  service 
of  their  Gracious  Mistress  and  of  the  country,  the  Liberal  party, 
which  they  represent,  may  at  least  challenge  contradiction  when 
they  say  that  their  term  of  forty  years  leaves  the  throne,  the  laws, 
and  the  institutions  of  the  country  not  weaker,  but  stronger  than 
it  found  them.  Such,  gentlemen,  is  the  issue  placed  before  you, 
and  before  the  nation,  for  your  decision.  If  the  trust  of  this 
Administration  be  by  the  effect  of  the  present  elections  virtually 
renewed,  I,  for  one,  will  serve  you,  for  what  remains  of  my  time, 
faithfully ;  if  the  confidence  of  the  country  be  taken  from  us  and 
handed  over  to  others  whom  you  may  judge  more  worthy,  I,  for 
one,  shall  accept  cheerfully  my  dismissal.'  * 

*  The  opinions  of  the  press  upon  Mr.  Gladstone's  Address  of  course  varied  in 
tone.  Tha  Times  wrote : — '  The  Prime  Minister  descends  upon  Greenwich  amid  a 
shower  of  gold,  and  must  needs  prove  as  irrresistible  as  the  Father  of  the  Gods. 
The  benefits  lie  proposes  to  confer  upon  the  tax-payers  of  the  country  will  seem  to 
them  miraculous,  as  they  will  feel  at  first  some  difficulty  in  understanding  how  so 
much  relief  from  taxation  can  be  got  out  of  even  £5,000,000.  Upon  this  head,  how- 
ever, they  will  reassure  themselves  by  remembering  that  few  venture  to  assail  Mr. 
Gladstone's  arithmetic,  and  even  if  it  should  prove  necessary,  as  Mr.  Gladstone 
hints,  that  some  moderate  assistance  to  the  revenue,  through  judicious  adjustments 
of  existing  taxes,  should  accompany  these  great  remissions,  there  must  still  be  a 
vast  balance  of  relief  in  their  favour.  .  .  .  The  issue  is  before  the  country,  and 
Mr.  Gladstone  is  to  be  approved  for  no  longer  delaying  it.'  The  Daily  News  said: — 
'  Here  is  a  full  and  attractive  programme  of  Liberal  policy.  The  Liberal  party  are, 
in  fact,  invited  to  open  a  fresh  chapter  of  their  history.  .  .  .  Whatever  may  be 
said  of  the  time  or  manner  of  the  dissolution,  it  is,  beyond  all  dispute,  a  policy  to 
awaken — or,  if  anybody  will  have  it  so,  to  revive — the,  enthusiasm  of  the  Liberal 
party,  and  to  benefit  the  country.'  '  Mr.  Gladstone,'  said  the  Standard, '  prolmbly 
finds  that  he  could  not  meet  the  present  Parliament,  for  all  his  nominal  majority, 


458  WILLIAM    EWART  GLADSTONE 

The  lender  of  the  Opposition  lost  no  time  in  issuing  a  counter- 
blast to  the  Prime  Minister's  address.  On  the  very  day  upon 
which  the  document  which  we  have  just  summarised  appeared, 
Mr.  Disraeli  indited  an  epistle  to  the  electors  of  Buckinghamshire. 
Its  phraseology,  if  in  some  parts  brusque,  was  undoubtedly  clever. 
This  brief  definition,  nevertheless,  exhausts  its  merits.  Com- 
mencing with  a  reference  to-  the  dissolution,  he  said,  '  Whether 
this  step  has  been  taken  as  a  means  of  avoiding  the  humbling 
confession  by  the  Prime  Minister  that  he  has,  in  a  fresh  violation 
of  constitutional  law,  persisted  in  retaining  for  several  months  a 
seat  to  which  he  was  no  longer  entitled,  or  has  been  resorted  to 
by  his  Government  in  order  to  postpone  or  evade  the  day  of 
reckoning  for  a  war  carried  on  without  communication  with 

without  sustaining  an  immediate  and  decisive  defeat.  .  .  .  We  have  condemned, 
as  the  country  will  condemn,  a  policy  which  must  be  described  as  one  of  surprise 
and  intrigue.'  The  Daily  Teleyraph  thus  expressed  itself  : — '  It  is  an  admirable 
record  of  success,  and  it  will  remain  for  others  to  celebrate  his  share  in  the  work. 
The  country  will  not  forget  that  share  when  it  pronounces  judgment  in  the  present 
House  of  Commons  on  the  Liberal  party.  Mr.  Gladstone  has  given  it  the  materials 
for  a  mature  verdict.  But  the  all-important  necessity  is  that  the  House  of  Com- 
mons should  again  be  brought  into  harmony  with  the  country,  and  be  endowed 
with  new  vigour.  ...  If  the  nation  should  express  its  trust  in  Mr.  Gladstone,  he 
will  be  able  to  proceed  with  the  great  financial  work  in  hand  as  vigorously  as  he 
did  when  he  took  office  at  the  head  of  a  great  majority  in  1868.'  The  Morning  Post 
remarked  that,  '  Taken  altogether  in  its  general  bearings,  it  must  be  allowed  that 
the  address  to  the  electors  of  Greenwicli  is  a  very  able  apology  for  the  Adminis- 
tration, and  does  great  credit  by  the  boldness  of  its  language,  if  not  by  its  lavish 
bids  for  support,  to  the  statesman  who  penned  it.  Whether  it  will  stand  analysis 
remains  to  be  seen.'  The  Pall  Mall  Gazette  took  the  following  review  of  the  Pre- 
mier's appeal  for  a  renewal  of  confidence : — '  The  authority  which  he  wants  and 
openly  asks  for  is  a  personal  authority,  renewed  and  confirmed  by  a  plebiscite 
"  Unambiguously  express  your  opinions  once  more,  or,  in  other  words,  make  me 
again  personally  supreme  and  paramount  over  the  other  branch  of  the  Legislature. 
Make  me  again  the  absolute  ruler  I  was  five  years  ago,  confirm  the  powerful  and. 
authentic,  but  now  more  remote  judgment  of  1868,  and  I  in  return  will  remit  you 
the  income-tax,  lighten  your  local  burdens,  and  free  your  breakfast  tables."  Such 
is  the  offer ;  and,  whatever  we  think  of  its  terms  or  its  morality,  its  candour  is 
undeniable.'  '  The  issue  upon  which  attention  must  be  concentrated,'  contended  the 
Globe, '  is  that  upon  which  lies  the  appeal  to  the  country.  .  .  .  Accepting  Mr. 
Gladstone's  account  of  the  situation,  we  deem  it  the  most  humiliating  a  Prime 
Minister  could  voluntarily  assume ;  and  while  we  appreciate  the  wisdom  of  his 
appeal  to  hope  instead  of  gratitude,  we  have  little  doubt  the  country  will  discount 
his  draft  on  its  confidence  on  the  terms  he  has  himself  established,  as  o<y  reason- 
able and  only  safe.'  The  Echo  observed  that, '  Whatever  difference  of  opinion  may 
agitate  the  country  for  the  next  few  weeks,  we  are  confident  there  will  be  but 
one  as  regards  the  illustrious  statesman  whose  address  we  are  now  considering. 
No  one  of  his  opponents  will  advocate  the  repeal  of  any  one  of  the  great  measures 
by  which  his  Administration  has  been  signalised,  while  his  supporters  will  remem- 
ber that  no  other  five  years  have  been  equally  fruitful  in  wise,  just,  and  beneficial 
legislation.'  Coming  to  the  weekly  journals,  we  find  the  Saturday  Review  opposed 
to  the  spirit  of  the  manifesto.  •  The  Liberal  party  has  done  great  things  in  the 
last  forty  years,  and  some  of  the  greatest  have  been  done  since  Mr.  Gladstone  has 
been  Prime  Minister.  But  although  we  may  honour  statesmen  for  what  they  have 
done  in  the  past,  we  are  obliged  to  judge  their  present  policy  by  its  own  special 
character,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  anything  in  this  sudden  dissolution,  and  in  Mr. 
Gladstone's  bargaining  for  the  price  of  a  financial  secret,  which  raises  the  repu- 
tation of  the  Liberal  party,  or  adds  to  the  benefits  it  has  conferred  on  the  country.' 
The  Spectator  was  more  just  in  its  view  as  to  the  rights  of  a  statesman  at  a  critical 


FALL    OF    ME.    GLADSTONE'S    MINISTRY.  450 

Parliament,  and  the  expenditure  for  which  Parliament  has  not 
sanctioned,  it  is  unnecessary  to  consider.'  The  right  hon. 
gentleman  then  described  the  Prime  Minister's  address  as  'a 
prolix  narrative,  in  which  he  mentions  many  of  the  questions 
that  have  occupied,  or  may  occupy,  public  attention,  but  in  which 
I  find  nothing  definite  as  to  the  policy  he  would  pursue  except 
this,  that,  having  the  prospect  of  a  large  surplus,  he  will,  if 
retained  in  power,  devote  that  surplus  to  the  remission  of  taxation 
which  would  be  the  course  of  any  party  or  any  Ministry.'  Mr. 
Disraeli  next  declared  that  he  had  always  endeavoured,  and  would 
continue  to  endeavour,  to  propose  or  support  all  measures  calcu- 
lated to  improve  the  condition  of  the  people ;  but  he  did  not 
think  this  great  end  could  be  attained  by  incessant  and  harassing 
legislation.  '  By  an  act  of  folly  or  of  ignorance  rarely  equalled,' 
he  continued,  'the  present  Ministry  relinquished  a  treaty  which 
secured  us  the  freedom  of  the  Straits  of  Malacca  for  our  trade  with 
China  and  Japan,  and  they  at  the  same  time  entering,  on  the 
West  Coast  of  Africa,  into  those  equivocal  and  entangling  engage- 
ments, which  the  Prime  Minister  now  deprecates,  involved  us  in 
the  Ashantee  War.  The  honour  of  the  country  now  requires  that 
we  should  prosecute  that  war  with  a  vigour  necessary  to  ensure 
success,  but,  when  that  honour  is  vindicated,  it  will  be  the  duty 
of  Parliament  to  inquire  by  what  means  we  were  led  into  a  costly 
and  destructive  contest,  which  neither  the  Parliament  nor  the 
country  have  sanctioned,  and  of  the  necessity  or  justice  of  which, 
in  its  origin,  they  have  not  been  made  aware.'  *  Mr.  Disraeli,  in 
concluding  an  address  whose  flippancy  contrasted  strangely  with 
the  dignity  and  gravity  of  that  of  his  rival,  pronounced  against 
the  extension  of  household  suffrage  to  the  counties,  criticised 
adversely  the  more  prominent  features  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  policy, 

moment  to  appeal  to  a  long  record  of  distinguished  services,  and  more  generous  in 
its  recognition  of  those  services.  '  No  sincere  Liberal  will  doubt  that  Mr.  Gladstone's 
appeal  to  the  people  of  England  ought  to  meet  with  a  cordial  and  grateful  lesponse. 
This  Government  has  been  distinguished  above  all  other  Liberal  Governments  for 
the  honesty  and  earnestness  with  which  it  has  redeemed  its  pledges,  instead  of 
using  them  mainly  as  baits  to  catch  votes.  It  has  been  a  steady,  and  an  upright, 
and  a  Liberal  Government,  not  a  Conservative  Government  with  a  Liberal  name, 
and  has  done  more  to  gain  for  the  people  of  the  United  Kingdom  some  addition  to 
that  stock  of  human  happiness  which,  as  Mr.  Gladstone,  as  truly  as  pathetically 
pays,  is  never  too  abundant,  tlian  any  Government  of  the  present  generation. 
The  genuine  Liberals,  who  see  its  shortcomings  best,  will  also  see  best  its  immea- 
surable superiority  to  anything  likely  to  replace  it.'  The  Examiner  took  the 
advanced  Radical  view,  and  cared  little  whether  Mr.  Gladstone  was  accepted  or 
rejected  at  Greenwich,  or  whether  ho  or  Mr.  Disraeli  came  into  power.  The 
Konconfontiist,  while  exhorting  Nonconformists  throughout  the  country  to  close  up 
their  ranks  and  to  act  upon  the  maxim'  Measures  not  men,'  observed  of  the  Govern- 
ment, 'We  have  nothing  to  say  against  their  being  upheld.  They  are  very  much  to 
be  preferred  to  any  Conservative  Government  of  which  we  can  conceive.' 

*  With  an  alteration  of  names,  these  expressions  of  opinion  may  bo  com- 
mended to  the  consideration  of  the  Administration  of  which  their  writer  is  now  the 
chief. 


460  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

and  assured  the  electors  that,  if  again  returned,  he  would  resist 
every  proposal  which  might  impair  the  strength  and  stability  of 
England. 

Parliament  was  dissolved  on  the  26th  of  January,  and  the  new 
House  was  summoned  to  meet  on  the  5th  of  March.  The  elec- 
tioneering campaign  at  once  began  in  earnest.  Mr.  Gladstone's 
general  adherence  to  the  principles  of  the  educational  policy 
pursued  during  the  past  four  years  caused  the  Nonconformist 
Committee  to  pass  a  resolution  declaring  it  to  be  the  immediate 
duty  of  all  who  desired  to  restore  union  and  vigour  to  the  Liberal 
party,  to  insist  that  all  candidates  for  their  support  should  pledge 
themselves  against  the  further  development  of  the  denominational 
system.  There  were  many  difficulties,  in  addition  to  this,  in  the 
way  of  Liberal  union.  On  the  28th  Mr.  Gladstone  met  his  con- 
stituents on  Blackheath.  After  alluding  to  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  Ministry  resigned  in  the  previous  March,  he 
replied  to  the  election  address  of  Mr.  Disraeli.  He  warned  his 
hearers  that  when  they  were  asked  to  divert  their  attention  from 
domestic  affairs  to  foreign  policy,  they  were  called  upon  to  run 
away  from  what  they  had  the  power  of  comprehending,  to  discuss 
that  which  was  extremely  difficult  adequately  to  study  and 
comprehend.  The  Premier  then  defended  those  points  of  the 
foreign  policy  of  the  Government  which  had  been  attacked,  and 
thus  took  up  the  reference  by  the  leader  of  the  Opposition  to  the 
Straits  of  Malacca : — '  Such  is  his  poverty  and  destitution  of 
points  to  make  against  the  Government,  although  he  travels  all  the 
way  to  the  Straits  of  Malacca  for  the  purpose,  that  he  manufactures 
his  charge  out  of  an  act  which  is  not  a  bad  act,  but  a  good  act, 
and  an  act  which  was  not  done  by  us.  but  done  by  the  colleagues 
of  Mr.  Disraeli,  and  by  the  Government  to  which  he  belonged. 
Understand  me,  gentlemen,  when  I  say  it  was  done,  I  mean  this : 
the  draft  of  the  treaty  concluded  by  us  was  forwarded  by  Lord 
Derby  in  the  month  of  September  or  August,  1868.  He  deserved 
the  main  credit  for  it,  and  credit — not  discredit — is  what  is  due. 
And  so,  gentlemen,  I  will  leave  the  leader  of  the  Opposition  for 
the  present  floundering  and  foundering  in  the  Straits  of  Malacca.' 
Mr.  Gladstone  then  reiterated  that  economy  and  reduction  of 
taxation  were  the  great  objects  which  the  success  of  the  Liberal 
party  would  secure.  At  the  same  time,  he  did  not  believe  that 
it  was  in  his  power  to  serve  them  unless  they  were  a  united 
Liberal  party. 

At  Aylesbury,  on  the  31st,  Mr.  Disraeli  returned  to  the  charge 
with  regard  to  the  Straits  of  Malacca,  affirming  that  the  conduct 
of  the  Government  over  which  he  presided  was  exactly  the  reverse 
of  that  which  the  Prime  Minister  had  alleged  against  them.  Mr, 


FALL    Otf    ME.    GLADSTONE'S    MINISTRY.  461 

Gladstone,  however,  was  determined  to  have  the  last  word  upon 
the  subject — save  for  the  avalanche  of  geographical  ignorance 
which  descended  upon  the  press  in  relation  to  these  Straits  of 
Malacca.  Delivering  the  last  of  his  eloquent  election  addresses 
at  Deptford,  the  Premier  denied  that  his  Administration  ever 
advised  the  recall  of  the  late  Lord  Mayo  from  the  Governor- 
Generalship  of  India,  and  then  took  up  the  Malacca  question. 
'  The  real  Straits  of  Malacca,'  he  said,  '  are  but  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  broad.  But  no.  says  Mr.  Disraeli,  the  Straits  of  Malacca 
are  between  Acheen  and  the  Continent,  where  the  sea  is  150  miles 
wide.  Mr.  Disraeli — I  have  no  doubt  quite  unintentionally — 
has  fallen  into  a  sad  error,  which  I  will  endeavour  to  expose. 
The  narrow  part  of  the  Straits  near  the  Island  of  Sumatra  is 
bordered  by  the  kingdom  of  Siak.  It  was  with  regard  to  Siak 
I  stated  that  Lord  Malmesbury  had  accepted  with  thanks  the 
treaty  transmitted  by  the  Dutch  announcing  that  they  had  assumed 
the  control  of  Siak.  I  stated  also  that  the  kingdom  of  Siak  was 
the  part  of  Sumatra  which  was  important  with  respect  to  the 
Straits.'  Mr.  Gladstone  next  defended  his  Irish  policy,  and  con- 
tended that  the  Land  Act  had  removed  a  great  scandal.  He 
further  reminded  the  meeting  of  the  remaining  principal  achieve- 
ments of  the  Government,  and  concluded  by  expressing  his  belief 
that  the  Liberal  party,  once  more  joining  hand  in  hand  and 
setting  shoulder  to  shoulder,  would  carry  forward  the  banner  they 
so  long  bore  in  hope,  and  which  for  nearly  forty  years  they  had 
borne  on  to  victory,  and  would  achieve  results  worthy  of  the  past, 
and  full  of  national  benefit  for  the  future. 

Mr.  Disraeli,  speaking  subsequently  at  Newport  Pagnell,  said 
that  although  he  was  quite  as  anxious  as  the  Premier  to  abolish 
the  income-tax,  he  yet  felt  there  were  occasions,  such  as  a  sudden 
war,  or  a  reform  of  the  tariff,  when  it  would  be  necessary  to  have 
recourse  to  this  impost.  He  declined  to  pledge  himself  to  any 
specific  course,  either  with  regard  to  the  income  tax  or  indirect 
taxation. 

With  these  declarations  of  policy  before  them,  the  constitu- 
encies went  to  the  poll ;  and  the  first  general  election  held  under 
the  ballot  was  conducted  in  a  peaceable  and  creditable  manner. 
A  few  riots  occurred,  but,  on  the  whole,  the  elections  passed  off 
with  orderliness  and  quietude.  The  result  proved  to  be  most 
disastrous  to  the  Liberal  party.  Out  of  652  members  (the  com- 
plete number  of  the  House,  six  members  being  otherwise  accounted 
for)  the  Conservatives  returned  349  and  the  Liberals  303,  thus 
giving  the  former  a  majority  of  46  votes.  The  Liberals  lost 
95  seats  and  gained  39,  so  that  their  net  loss  was  56  seats,  being 
equivalent  to  112  votes  on  a  division.  The  licensed  victuallers 


462  WILLIAM    EWAftT    GLADSTONE. 

had  thrown  in  their  interest  with  the  Conservatives,  and  '  Bung ' 
was  everywhere  triumphant ;  even  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  so  far 
succumbed  to  his  influence  as  to  occupy  an  inferior  position 
upon  the  Greenwich  poll.  Other  interests,  acting  under  the  belief 
that  the  Ministry  were  their  oppressors,  also  declared  against 
them.  In  no  instance  was  this  more  conspicuous  than  in  the 
case  of  the  dockyardsmen.  Greenwich,  Chatham,  Portsmouth,  and 
Devonport,  exasperated  with  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  allured  by  the 
promises  of  friendship  held  out  by  the  Conservatives,  swelled  the 
Tory  reaction.  The  curious  in  such  matters  may  readily  discover 
what  the  dockyard  employes  have  reaped  by  these  changes  under 
the  new  regime.  The  farmers,  the  licensed  victuallers,  the  dock- 
yardsmen, the  civil  service,  and  the  Church  all  pronounced  in 
favour  of  Mr.  Disraeli,  and  all  with  expectation  of  immediate 
legislation  for  their  benefit.  The  leader  of  the  Opposition  was 
so  far  grateful  to  the  licensed  victuallers  that  legislation  was  set 
on  foot  on  their  behalf,  while  the  clergy  were  understood  to  be 
temporarily  satisfied  when  Mr.  Disraeli  affirmed  that  the  country 
had  emphatically  declared  that  education  must  be  preserved 
upon  a  strictly  religious  basis. 

As  soon  as  the  national  verdict  was  known,  Mr.  Gladstone 
went  to  Windsor  and  tendered  his  resignation  and  that  of  his 
colleagues  to  the  Queen.  The  great  Liberal  leader  surrendered 
his  functions  after  a  term  of  office  which,  while  not  very  protracted, 
was  distinguished  for  wise  and  memorable  acts  of  legislation. 
Having  faithfully  served  his  Sovereign  and  his  country,  he  now 
made  room  for  his  successors.  In  stepping  down  from  his  high 
position — overshadowed  but  not  disgraced — we  can  find  no  words 
more  appropriate  in  which  to  describe  him  than  those  once  used 
by  Lord  Beaconsfield  concerning  Sir  Eobert  Peel : — l  Placed  in 
an  age  of  rapid  civilisation  and  rapid  transition,  he  had  adapted 
the  practical  character  of  his  measures  to  the  condition  of  the 
times.  He  had  never  employed  his  influence  for  factious  purposes, 
and  had  never  been  stimulated  in  his  exertions  by  a  disordered 
desire  of  obtaining  office;  above  all,  he  had  never  carried  himself  to 
the  opposite  benches  by  making  propositions  by  which  he  was  not 
ready  to  abide.'  *  The  only  grave  charge  made  against  Mr. 
Gladstone  as  a  political  leader  was  his  alleged  want  of  tact  in 
the  management  of  the  House  of  Commons.  It  may  be  that,  in 
the  superabundance  of  other  gifts,  he  had  not  all  the  qualities 
best  suited  to  this  task,  but  to  these  objectors  a  comparison 

*  This  juster  estimate  of  Sir  Robert  Peel — both  in  the  eyes  of  his  contemporaries 
and  of  posterity — than  that  which  Lord  Beaconsfield  subsequently  formed,  was 
pronounced  during  the  debate  on  the  '  no  confidence '  motion  in  the  Ministry,  May 
27th,  1841. 


PALL    OF    MR.    GLADSTONE'S    MINISTRY.  463 

may  well  be  suggested  between  Mr.  Gladstone's  management  of 
the  House  of  Commons  and  that  of  the  sessions  of  1878  and 
1879.  Let  it  at  once  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  Gladstone 
Ministry  had  its  failures,  which  were  mainly  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  Premier's  ablest  lieutenants  were  most  conspicuous  for 
their  lack  of  practical  adaptability.  What  ha.d  much  more  to  do 
with  the  failure  of  the  Government  was  its  misfortune  in  stirring 
up  an  antagonism  in  many  of  the  most  powerful  classes  of  society. 
How  much  of  the  blame  attached  to  them,  and  how  much  to  the 
classes  against  whom  they  were  supposed  to  wage  war,  we  need 
not  attempt  to  determine.  It  was  well  said  by  a  writer  of  the 
time  that  'a  great  many  people  entertain  towards  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Government  the  same  sort  of  sentiment  as  that  which 
worthy  Mrs.  Bertram,  in  Scott's  romance,  felt  for  the  energetic 
revenue  officer  who  would  persist  in  doing  his  duty,  instead  of 
following  the  example  of  his  predecessor,  who  sang  his  song,  and 
took  his  drink,  and  drew  his  salary  without  troubling  any  one.' 

But  the  record  which  the  Gladstone  Administration  has  left  in 
the  Statute  Book  might  well  atone  for  blunders  far  more  stupen- 
dous than  those  with  which  it  was  fairly  chargeable.  Its  errors 
were  few  and  trivial  by  comparison  ;  its  services  were  conspicuous 
and  enduring.  It  is  worthy  of  equal  remembrance  with  any 
Ministry  of  the  century,  for  in  its  legislation  it  touched  higher 
grounds  than  those  of  mere  material  comfort  and  prosperity 
(though  in  a  remarkable  degree  it  considered  these  also):  it 
satisfied  the  claims  of  conscience,  and  met — in  so  far  as  the  time 
of  its  duration  permitted — those  demands  of  justice,  in  relation 
to  Ireland,  which  had  hitherto  been  ignored— demands  which  had 
been  the  sport  of  circumstances  and  of  Governments,  and  for 
whose  redress  their  advocates  had  long  knocked  at  the  doors  of 
the  British  Legislature  in  vain. 


o 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

SPEECHES  ON  PUBLIC  WORSHIP  AND  EDUCATION. 

The  new  Premier — Mr.  Gladstone  partially  retires  from  the  Liberal  Leadership — 
Letter  to  Lord  Granville — Debate  on  the  Address — Church  Patronage  of  Scotland 
Bill — Opposed  by  Mr.  Gladstone — His  Speech  on  the  Public  Worship  Regulation 
Bill — The  ex-Premier's  Six  Resolutions — Reasons  for  their  Withdrawal — The  En- 
dowed Schools  Act  Amendment  Bill — a  retrograde  Measure — Strongly  attacked 
by  Mr.  Gladstone — Strange  Confession  of  the  Premier — The  Bill  passes  in  a 
mutilated  Form — Mr.  Gladstone  on  Education — Reply  to  Dr.  Strauss's  Work,  The 
Old  Belief  and  the  New — Address  to  tlie  Working  Classes — Friendly  Societies, 
Trades  Unions,  &c. — Facilities  for  Intellectual  Improvement — The  ex-Premier  at 
Mill  Hill  School— Advice  to  the  Students— The  Higher  Culture.. 

BORNE  into  office  by  a  strong  current  of  public  opinion,  Mr. 
Disraeli,  for  the  first  time  in  his  Parliamentary  career,  now  com- 
manded a  majority.  It  seemed  — to  change  the  simile — as  though 
some  brilliant  but  erratic  comet,  arrested  in  mid-course,  had 
suddenly  been  given  the  elements  of  stability.  The  talents  of  the 
new  Premier  had  always  commanded  the  admiration  of  his  sup- 
porters (and  to  a  large  extent  of  his  opponents),  but  with  this 
admiration  there  mingled  in  many  quarters  little  of  the  sentiment 
of  sincere  esteem.  By  the  admission  "of  members  of  his  own  side 
of  the  House,  the  leader  of  the  Conservative  party  had  never 
evoked  amongst  his  followers  that  feeling  of  implicit  trust  and 
affection  with  which  his  predecessor,  Lord  Derby,  had  been  le- 
garded.  Amongst  the  strongest  denunciations  of  his  policy  were 
those  pronounced  by  men  long  the  occupants  of  the  same  benches 
with  himself;  and  perhaps  the  most  crushing  indictment  of  nis 
career  is  to  be  found,  not  in  the  party  journals,  nor  yet  in  the 
addresses  of  Liberal  politicians,  but  in  the  speeches  of  one  who 
afterwards  became  his  most  trusted  friend  and  colleague. 

But  Mr.  Disraeli  was  now  in  power,  and  the  question  that  arose 
was,  *  What  will  he  do  with  it  ?  Whatever  chances  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  once  possessed  of  righting  himself  with  the  House  had 
vanished  with  the  general  election.  It  was  said  that  if  he  had  met 
Parliament,  and  brought  forward  his  budget  announcing  the  repeal 
of  the  income-tax,  all  would  have  been  well.  Sucu  speculations 
were  now  useless.  He  had  taken  the  hazard  of  the  die,  and  for- 
tune had  been  against  him ;  and  there  were  not  wanting  members 


PUBLIC  WORSHIP  AND  EDUCATION.  465 

of  both  Houses,  supposed  to  have  been  in  sympathy  with  him,  who 
could  even  grow  jocular  upon  his  fall.  With  Buckingham,  the 
ex- Premier  might  have  said : — 

4  Those  you  make  friends 

And  give  your  hearts  to,  when  they  once  perceive 
The  least  rub  in  your  fortunes,  fall  away 
Like  water  from  ye,  never  found  again 
But  where  they  mean  to  sink  ye.'  * 

Lord  Selborne  j  ustly  and  severely  rebuked  a  certain  noble  duke  for 
his  flippancies  at  the  expense  of  the  fallen  Minister.  It  was  the 
old  story  transferred  into  political  life  of  a  reverse  of  fortune 
testing  friendship,  and  the  flocking  of  the  multitude  after  its 
new  idol.  We  pass  by  these  exhibitions  of  feeling,  as  both  painful 
and  humiliating. 

Shortly  before  the  House  met  for  active  business,  the  Liberal 
party  were  astonished  at  finding  themselves  practically  without  a 
leader.  In  one  of  the  speeches  delivered  before  his  constituents, 
Mr,  Gladstone  had  intimated  that  if  the  country  resolved  upon 
the  dismissal  of  the  Liberal  Ministry,  he  should  reserve  to  himself 
the  right  of  limiting  his  future  services  to  his  party  as  he  might 
think  fit.  He  was  sincerely  desirous  of  enjoying  that  period  of 
repose  which  he  had  fairly  earned,  though  there  were  not  lacking 
opponents  who  attributed  his  comparative  retirement  from  Parlia- 
mentary life  to  personal  pique.  His  letter  to  Lord  Granville, 
however,  dated  11,  Carlton  House  Terrace,  March  12,  fully 
explained  the  reasons  for  that  step  which  took  the  House  and 
the  country  somewhat  by  surprise : — 

4  My  clear  Granville, — I  have  issued  a  circular  to  members  of  Parliament  of  the 
Liberal  party  on  tlie  occasion  of  the  opening  of  Parliamentary  business.  But  I 
feel  it  to  be  necessary  that,  while  discharging  this  duty,  I  should  explain  what  a 
circular  could  not  convey  with  regard  to  my  individual  position  at  the  present 
time.  I  need  not  apologise  for  addressing  these  explanations  to  you.  Indepen- 
dently of  other  reasons  for  so  troubling  you,  it  is  enough  to  observe  that  you  have 
very  long  represented  the  Liberal  party,  and  have  also  acted  on  behalf  of  the  late 
Government,  from  its  commencement  to  its  close,  in  the  House  of  Lords. 

For  a  variety  of  reasons  personal  to  myself,  I  could  not  contemplate  any  un- 
limited extension  of  active  political  service;  and  I  am  anxious  that  it  should  be 
clearly  understood  by  those  friends  with  whom  I  have  acted  in  the  direction  of 
affairs,  that  at  my  ago  I  must  reserve  my  entire  freedom  to  divest  myself  of  all  the 
responsibilities  of  leadership  at  no  distant  time.  The  need  of  rest  will  prevent  me 
from  giving  more  than  occasional  attendance  in  the  House  of  Commons  during 
the  present  session. 

I  should  be  desirous,  shortly  before  the  commencement  of  the  session  of  1875,  to 
cnnsidiT  \\  hot  her  there  would  be  advantage  in  my  placing  my  services  for  a  time 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Liberal  party,  or  whether  1  should  then  claim  exemption  from 
the  duties  I  have  hitherto  discharged.  If,  however,  there  should  be  reasonable 
ground  for  believing  that,  instead  of  the  course  which  I  have  sketched,  it  would 
be  preferable,  in  the  view  of  the  party  generally,  for  me  to  assume  at  once  the 
place  of  an  independent  member,  I  should  willingly  adopt  the  latter  alternative. 
But  I  shall  retain  all  that  desire  I  have  hitherto  felt  for  the  welfare  of  the  party, 
<«-nd  if  the  gentlemen  composing  it  should  think  fit  either  to  choose  a  leader  or 

*  Kiwj  Henry  K///.,  Act  ii.,  Scene  i. 

HH 


4C6  WILLIAM    EWAET   GLADSTONE. 

make  provision  ad  interim,  with  a  view  to  the  convenience  of  the  pr(  sent  year,  the 
person  designated  would,  of  course,  command  from  me  any  assistance  which  he 
might  find  occasion  to  seek,  and  which  it  might  be  in  my  power  to  render.' 

The  Liberal  party  accepted  the  offer  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  informal 
and  modified  leadership  for  the  session  of  1874,  and  the  chief 
members  of  the  late  Government  made  the  best  of  the  circum- 
stances in  which  they  were  placed.  The  Ministerialists  indulged 
themselves  in  a  little  pleasantry  at  the  expense  of  an  Opposition 
virtually  without  a  leader,  while  the  latter  felt  more  than  ever 
in  how  essential  a  degree  Mr.  Gladstone  was  necessary  to  the 
party.  The  Liberal  position  was  that  of  the  cast  of  Hamlet 
with  the  Prince  of  Denmark  withdrawn. 

Mr.  Gladstone  met  his  successful  antagonist  fairly,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  debate  upon  the  Address  defended  the  conduct  of 
the  late  Government  in  dissolving  Parliament.  He  held  that 
the  simple  possession  of  a  Parliamentary  majority  did  not  betoken 
absolute  confidence  in  a  Government,  and  would  not  justify  it  in 
retaining  office  until  the  natural  expiration  of  Parliament.  Ad- 
mitting that  the  verdict  of  the  country  had  been  pronounced  in 
no  uncertain  manner,  and  without  discussing  the  combinations 
which  had  brought  it  about,  he  did  not  regret  the  dissolution  by 
which  it  had  been  evoked,  if  thereby  an  opportunity  had  been  given 
to  the  people  to  express  their  opinion  upon  the  conduct  of  public 
affairs,  and  upon  those  who  ought  to  direct  them  in  the  future. 
The  transfer  of  power  was  made  under  conditions  favourable  to  the 
late  Government ;  but  the  majority  of  the  constituencies  had 
rejected  their  proposals,  and  as  this  was  the  act  of  the  country,  the 
new  Government  was  entitled  to  a  fair  trial,  and  open  space  for 
the  development  of  their  plans  and  the  application  of  their  prin- 
ciples. Everything  like  factious  opposition  should  be  avoided,  and 
full  opportunity  should  be  given  to  the  various  departments  to 
develop  their  plans  and  apply  their  principles.  It  was  but  right 
that  the  country  should  have  the  opportunity  of  judging  of  those 
plans  and  principles  ;  and  whether  the  result  should  be  the  con- 
tinuance in  power  of  gentlemen  opposite  or  the  contrary,  the 
Constitution  would  provide  a  remedy  for  any  conceivable  state  of 
things. 

Now  was  witnessed  for  a.  short  time  the  unusual  spectacle  of  a 
perfectly  friendly  and  peaceful  House  of  Commons.  The  Govern- 
ment, making  no  pretensions  to  an  original  policy,  resolved  on 
following  the  example  of  their  predecessors.  Mr.  Smollett  pro- 
posed a  vote  of  censure  upon  the  late  Government  in  connection 
with  the  dissolution,  but  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  his  reply,  completely 
annihilated  the  arguments  of  the  hon.  gentleman,  and  the  motion 
collapsed.  The  Premier  would  hear  nothing  against  the  Liberal 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP  AND   EDUCATION.  467 

chief,  while  Sir  Stafford  Northcote  confessed  that  the  financial 
calculations  of  the  ex- Prime  Minister  were  quite  correct,  and 
that  there  was  a  surplus  of  five  millions  and  a  half.  All,  in  fact, 
went '  merry  as  a  marriage  bell '  until  the  introduction  of  several 
important  religious  measures  by  the  Government. 

The  first  of  these  measures  was  the  Church  Patronage  of 
Scotland  Bill.  Brought  forward  in  the  House  of  Lords  by  the 
Duke  of  Eichmond  on  behalf  of  the  Government,  the  object  of 
this  bill  was  to  abolish  the  system  of  lay  patronage  in  the 
Established  Kirk,  and  to  make  it  over  to  the  congregation.  The 
question  of  patronage  had  agitated  the  people  of  Scotland  for  the 
last  three  hundred  years,  and  the  General  Assembly  had  passed 
various  resolutions  expressing  dissatisfaction  with  the  existing 
condition  of  things.  The  bill,  which  was  exceedingly  short, 
proposed  to  abolish  all  Church  patronage  from  the  Crown  down- 
wards, and  to  create  a  constituency  by  whom  the  minister  of  a 
congregation  might  be  selected.  The  qualification  taken  would 
be  that  which  existed  in  other  Presbyterian  bodies  in  Scotland, 
and  the  patronage  would  be  vested  in  the  male  communicants. 
The  bill  would  enact,  as  regarded  compensation  to  patrons,  that 
it  should  not  exceed  one  year's  stipend  ;  and  it  was  believed  that 
in  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  patrons  would  not  require 
compensation  at  all. 

The  Duke  of  Argyll  and  some  other  Liberal  peers  supported  the 
bill,  but  on  the  motion  for  its  second  reading  in  the  Commons, 
Mr.  Baxter  proposed  an  amendment  to  the  effect  that  the  House 
considered  it  inexpedient  to  legislate  on  the  subject  of  patronage 
in  the  Church  of  Scotland  without  further  inquiry  and  informa- 
tion. The  chief  feature  of  the  debate  was  a  vigorous  speech  by 
Mr.  Gladstone  in  opposition  to  the  bill.  The  right  hon.  gentle- 
man's re-appearance  in  the  House  after  a  considerable  absence  was 
the  signal  for  an  unanimous  outburst  of  cheering  from  the  Liberal 
benches.  His  presence  for  some  time  escaped  notice,  but  when  it 
became  known,  his  greeting  was  of  the  warmest  and  most  flatter- 
ing character.  Mr.  Gladstone  at  once  grappled  with  the  subject 
with  that  facility  which  in  other  men  we  should  call  eloquence. 
Regretting  to  find  himself  engaged  in  a  new  ecclesiastical  con- 
troversy, yet  admitting  at  the  same  time  that  the  motive  of  the 
bill  was  laudable,  the  ex-Premier  said  its  details  were  so  objection- 
able, and  its  production  was  so  inopportune  and  premature,  that 
he  was  constrained  to  support  Mr.  Baxter's  amendment.  He  based 
his  opposition  to  the  bill  on  three  grounds  —  the  exclusion  of 
i  heritors  '  from  all  share,  as  such,  in  the  election  of  ministers ;  the 
omission  of  any  provision  calculated  to  meet  the  case  of  the  High- 
land parishes;  and  the  alleged  injustice  which  the  abolition  of 

HH  2 


4C8  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

patronage  would  do  to  the  Free  Church.  The  bill  amounted  to  a 
cry  of  Peccavi ;  and  he  asked  what  they  were  going  to  do  for 
those  people  whom  they  had  driven  out  of  the  Established  Church, 
and  compelled  to  find  ministers  for  themselves,  to  build  churches, 
manses,  and  schools,  and  in  fact  to  organise  and  pay  for  the 
establishment  of  a  complete  system  of  Church  government.  If 
they  would  receive  them  back  in  bodies,  he  would  withdraw  his 
opposition  to  the  bill.  If  the  General  Assembly  would,  on  terms 
of  fraternal  equality,  communicate  with  the  Dissenting  bodies, 
and  endeavour  to  bring  about  an  union  of  equality,  he  would 
assist  them  to  the  full  extent  of  his  power ;  but  the  present  bill 
was  neither  fair  nor  generous.  He  wanted  to  know  what  the 
General  Assembly  had  done  towards  reuniting  itself  to  bodies 
which  it  turned  out  holding  the  view  which  formed  the  basis  of 
the  present  bill.  Mr.  Gladstone  finally  discussed  the  effects 
which  the  measure  had  already  produced : — 

'  There  was  scarcely  any  disestablishment  movement  in  Scotland  until  the  date 
of  the  introduction  of  this,  I  do  not  call  it  bad,  but  crude,  premature,  and  insuffi- 
ciently considered  bill.  But  is  it  true  that  there  is  no  promise  of  a  disestablishment 
movement  in  Scotland  now  ?  What  has  happened  since  the  announcement  of  this 
bill?  The  representatives  of  1,200,000  of  the  Scottish  people  have, in  their  General 
Assembly,  declared  for  disestablishment.  .  .  .  There  were  295,  as  I  under- 
stand the  number,  against  98,  those  98  not  voting  in  favour  of  establishment,  but 
for  the  previous  question.  I  do  not  wish  myself  to  be  responsible  for  raising  the 
question  of  disestablishment  in  Scotland.  I  am  not  an  idolater  of  establishments.' 

Here  Mr.  Gladstone  was  interrupted  by  an  ironical  cheer  from 
the  Ministerial  benches,  but  he  continued  amid  the  counter 
cheering  of  his  own  supporters  : — 

*  Neither  am  I  one  of  those  who  would  wish  to  raise  a  controversy  of  that  kind, 
excepting  under  very  strong  justifying  circumstances,  and  excepting  with  a  per- 
fect preparedness  to  abide  the  issue  of  that  contest.  If  the  cheer  we  have  just 
heard — and  it  was,  perhaps,  a  very  fair,  natural,  and  legitimate  cheer — was  intended 
to  imply  that  I  am  a  great  enemy  of  establishments,  because  I  used  every  effort  in 
my  power  to  put  an  end  to  an  establishment  in  Ireland,  I  must  say,  in  answer  to  that 
cheer,  that  I  do  not  repent  the  part  I  took.  So  far  from  repenting  it,  if  I  am  to 
have  a  character  with  posterity  at  all — supposing  posterity  is  ever  to  know 
that  such  a  person  as  myself  existed  in  this  country — I  am  perfectly  willing 
that  my  character  should  be  tried  simply  and  solely  by  the  proceedings  to  which  I 
was  a  party  with  regard  to  the  Irish  Church  Establishment.  I  would,  however,  in 
this  case  recognise  distinctions  that  are  founded  in  the  nature  of  things.  In  Scot- 
land there  has  been  no  general  movement  of  principle  towards  disestablishment; 
and  although  an  established  Church  in  a  minority  is  an  anomaly,  it  is-an  anomaly 
which  I  was  well  content  to  tolerate,  and  which  the  masses  of  the  people  of  Scot- 
land were  justly  and  wisely  prepared  to  tolerate,  and  not  to  be  guided  by  abstract 
principles,  but  by  a  careful  regard  to  the  state  of  facts.  But  when  in  that  state  of 
things  the  Government  throws  down  the  challenge  before  them  ;  proposes  to  invest 
this  ecclesiastical  body,  or  even  the  committee  or  commission  of  it,  with  powers 
never  before  entrusted  to  an  ecclesiastical  body,  but  which  will  infallibly  be  quoted 
in  support  of  high  clerical  pretensions  in  other  quarters;  and  when  in  doing  that, 
it  does  it,  as  the  right  hon.  and  learned  lord  says,  in  the  sense  of  strengthening  the 
Established  Church,  but  declining  to  recognise,  for  every  practical  purpose,  the 
existence  of  those  great  Presbyterian  communities  whom  you  drove  out  and  com- 
pelled to  become  Dissenters,  entirely  declining  to  recognise  them,  except  a£  bodies 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP    AND    EDUCATION.  469 

from  whom  you  make  a  certain  profit  by  withdrawing  one  adherent  from  them 
here,  and  another  from  them  there — that  is  a  challenge,  I  think,  to  them  to  take 
up  a  question  of  the  public  and  national  endowment  of  religion  such  as  was  never 
before  issued  by  a  Governmentunder  any  circumstances,  and  such  as,  in  my  opinion, 
it  is  totally  inconsistent  with  prudence  and  wisdom  to  issue.  If  we  have  been 
rash — which  I  do  not  admit — our  rashness  will  certainly  fade  into  utter  insignifi- 
cance  by  the  side  f>i  the  gratuitous  hardihood  of  the  Government,  which,  as  it 
appears  to  me,  determines  to  initiate  a  religious  war  in  Scotland  under  the  influence 
of  the  best  motives,  but  under  circumstances  the  most  slippery  and  dangerous.' 

Mr.  Disraeli,  by  whom,  in  the  conduct  of  business,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's absence  had  been  especially  felt,  congratulated  the  right 
hon.  gentleman  upon  his  re-appearance,  and  expressed  the  general 
feeling  of  the  House,  when  he  said  that  all  had  missed  him.  He 
hoped  his  appearance  that  night  would  not  be  a  solitary  one. 
Eeplying  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  arguments,  he  denied  that  this  was 
an  abolition  of  patronage ;  it  was  merely  an  alteration  in  the 
mode  of  selecting  ministers,  and  in  what  they  had  done  the 
Government  had  acted  upon  precedent.  With  reference  to  Mr. 
Gladstone's  defence  of  his  Irish  Church  policy,  the  Premier 
expressed  a  hope  that  his  epitaph  would  not  include  the  disestab- 
lishment of  any  other  church.  The  second  reading  of  the  bill  was 
carried  by  307  to  109  votes. 

The  next  important  speech  by  Mr.  Gladstone  this  session  was 
that  delivered  on  the  Public  Worship  Eegulation  Bill,  This 
measure,  as  introduced  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  into 
the  House  of  Lords,  in  its  amended  form,  provided  that  to  the 
bishop  should  be  given  that  directory  power  as  to  worship  which, 
from  sundry  places  in  the  Canons  and  in  the  Prayer  Book,  would 
seem  to  have  been  intended  in  the  constitution  of  the  church.  He 
was  to  be  guided  by  the  advice  of  a  board  of  assessors,  clerical  and 
lay.  Supposing  that  any  one  parishioner,  or  the  rural  dean,  or 
the  archdeacon,  should  think  that  the  practices  of  a  given  incum- 
bent with  regard  to  public  worship  amounted  to  a  grievance,  he 
should  have  a  right  to  go  to  the  bishop  and  state  it  as  such.  If 
the  bishop  should  think  it  was  a  matter  that  ought  to  be  inquired 
into,  he  should  call  his  assessors  together ;  and  if  that  tribunal 
should  condemn  the  act  or  acts  in  question,  the  bishop  would  issue 
his  monition.  But  the  incumbent  might  be  allowed  an  appeal  to 
the  archbishop  with  a  board  of  assessors,  whose  decision  should  be 
final. 

Having  passed  the  Lords,  the  bill  came  down  to  the  Commons, 
and  its  second  reading^  was  moved  by  Mr.  Russell  Gurney. 
During  the  first  night  of  the  debate,  Mr.  Gladstone  rose  and 
addressed  the  House  in  a  speech  which,  according  to  the  daily 
journals,  fairly  electrified  the  assembly.  He  began  by  the  declara- 
tion that  he  had  never  approached  any  question  with  more 
embarrassment  than  this,  and  he  had  been  constrained  to  quit 


470  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

his  retirement  to  point  out  the  false  issue  which  had  been 
before  Parliament,  and  to  dispel  the  delusions  and  the  ignorance 
•which  prevailed  throughout  the  country  in  regard  to  this  bill. 
The  difficulty  under  which  Parliament  laboured  was  increased  by 
the  history  of  the  bill,  which  he  traced  from  the.  first  announce- 
ment of  it  by  some  '  clever  fellow '  in  the  columns  of  a  daily 
paper,  and  also  by  the  departure  from  the  usual  practice  that  the 
heads  of  the  Church  and  of  the  State  should  concur  in  any  legis- 
lation for  the  Church.  His  great  objection,  however,  to  the  bill 
was  its  interference  with  liberty  and  with  the  variety  of  customs 
which  had  grown  up  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  though  he 
also  took  exception  to  the  omission  of  the  bishops  from  the  bill, 
and  to  the  payment  of.  the  Judge's  salary  from  the  funds  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  Commissioners.  He  considered  that  Ritualism  was 
the  smallest  part  of  the  question,  and  with  regard  to  the  eighth 
clause  of  the  bill,  which  denned  the  offences  to  be  dealt  with,  he 
insisted  that  by  strictly  and  uniformly  enforcing  the  Rubrics, 
any  indiscreet  or  fussy  bishop  would  be  enabled  to  root  out  local 
usages,  traditions,  and  customs  in  the  celebration  of  public 
worship ;  and  the  variations  from  the  Rubric,  whether  of  omission 
or  commission,  he  maintained  ought  not  to  be  interfered  with. 
Mr.  Gladstone  enlarged  upon  the  inconveniences  of  enforcing 
strict  uniformity.  For  example,  the  Rubric  required  the  cate- 
chising of  children  at  the  afternoon  service,  it  required  the 
Athanasian  creed  to  be  read  thirteen  times  in  the  year,  and  it 
was  very  doubtful  whether  the  present  Hymnology  of  the  Church 
was  in  accordance  with  the  Rubrics.  The  right  hon.  gentleman 
also  mentioned  the  separate  or  single  administration  of  the  con- 
secrated elements  as  another  matter  in  which  strict  uniformity 
could  not  be  enforced.  Then  followed  this  passage,  perhaps  the 
most  striking  in  the  speech : — 

'  I,  for  one,  will  make  no  objection  to  any  expenditure  of  time  which  the  House 
is  prepared  to  make  in  order  to  discuss  the  question  ;  I  will  not  be  the  man  to 
raise  the  cry  of  difficulty  or  inconvenience  ;  but  I  shall  be  the  man  from  stage  to 
stage  of  the  bill,  as  far  as  it  may  be  necessary,  to  point  out  the  real  nature  of 
the  work  we  are  doing,  to  endeavour  to  assist  the  House  in  sifting  these  proposals 
to  the  bottom,  and  in  dissipating  and  dispelling  the  gross  illusions  which  possess 
the  country,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  as  it  appears  to  me,  the  mind  of  the  right  hon. 
and  learned  gentleman,  with  regard  to  the  provisions  and  probable  operation  of 
the  bill.  ...  I  think  I  have  shown  the  House  that  inconvenience  must 
arise  from  the  very  first  slip  of  judgment  on  the  part  of  a  bishop  who  may  allow 
an  improper  suit  to  proceed.  Well,  then,  the  House  may  say  fairly — "  Do  not  you 
think  something  ought  to  be  done?"  and  I  think  the  idea  that  something  ought 
to  be  done  is  what  weighs  upon  the  minds  of  most  men.  I  will  tell  you  what  I 
think  ought  to  be  done  in  principle.  The  House  can  do  nothing  without  acknow- 
ledging how  much  we  owe  to  the  great  mass  of  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England 
for  their  zeal  and  devotion.  For  eighteen  years  I  was  a  servant  of  a  very  large 
body  of  them.  My  place  is  now  most  worthily  occupied  by  another  ;  but  I  have 
not  forgotten,  and  never  can  forget,  the  many  sacrifices  they  were  always  ready  to 
make,  and  the  real  liberality  of  mind  which  upon  a  thousand  occasions  they  have 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP    AND    EDUCATION.  471 

shown.  But  even  that  is  a  thing  totally  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the  work 
which  they  are  doing.  You  talk  of  the  observance  of  the  law.  Why,  sir,  every 
day  and  night  the  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  by  the  spirit  he  diffuses 
around  him,  by  the  lessons  he  imparts,  lays  the  nation  under  a  load  of  obligation  to 
him.  The  eccentricities  of  a  handful  of  men,  therefore,  can  never  make  me  forget 
the  illustrious  merit  of  the  services  done  by  the  mass  of  the  clergy  in  an  age  which  is 
beyond  all  others  luxurious,  and,  I  fear,  selfish  and  worldly.  These  are  the  men  who 
hold  up  to  us  a  banner  on  which  is  written  the  motto  of  Eternal  Life,  and  of  the 
care  for  things  unseen  which  must  remain  the  cliief  hope  of  man  through  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  his  mortal  life.' 

After  this  eloquent  tribute  to  the  clergy,  Mr.  Gladstone  observed 
that  there  was  imposed  on  him  the  duty  of  saying  something  about 
what  ought  to  be  done  in  this  matter — at  least  in  principle.  He 
had  accordingly  embodied  his  ideas  on  the  subject  into  six  reso- 
lutions, which  he  proceeded  to  read  to  the  Honse  as  follows : — 

'  1.  That  in  proceeding  to  consider  the  provisions  of  the  bill  for  the  Regulation  of 
Public  Worship,  this  House  cannot  do  otherwise  than  take  into  view  the  lapse  of 
more  than  two  centuries  since  the  enactment  of  the  present  Rubrics  of  the 
Common  Prayer  Book  of  the  Church  of  England;  the  multitude  of  particulars 
embraced  in  the  conduct  of  Divine  service  under  their  provisions ;  the  doubts 
occasionally  attaching  to  their  interpretation,  and  the  number  of  points  they 
are  thought  to  leave  undecided  ;  the  diversities  of  local  custom  which  under  these 
circumstances  have  long  prevailed ;  and  the  unreasonableness  of  proscribing  all 
varieties  of  opinion  and  usage  among  the  many  thousands  of  congregations  of 
the  Church  distributed  throughout  the  land. 

2.  That  this  House  is  therefore  reluctant  to  place  in  the  hands  of  every  single 
bishop,  on  the  motion  of  one  or  of  three  persons  howsoever  defined,  greatly 
increased  facilities  towards  procuring  an  absolute  ruling  of  many  points  hitherto 
left  open  and  reasonably  allowing  of  diversity,  and  thereby  towards  the  establish- 
ment of  an  inflexible  rule  of  uniformity  throughout  the  land,  to  the  prejudice,  in 
matters  indifferent,  of  the  liberty  now  practically  existing. 

3.  That  the  House  willingly  acknowledges  the  great  and  exemplary  devotion  of 
the  clergy  in  general  to  their  sacred  calling,  but  is  not  on  that  account  the  less 
disposed  to  guard  against  the  indiscretion,  or  thirst  for  power,  or  other  faults  of 
individuals. 

4.  That  the  House  is  therefore  willing  to  lend  its  best  assistance  to  any  measure 
recommended  by  adequate  authority,  with  a  view  to  provide  more   effectual 
securities  against  any  neglect  of  or  departure  from  strict  law  which  may  give 
evidence  of  a  design  to  alter,  without  the  consent  of  the  nation,  the  spirit  or 
substance  of  the  established  religion. 

5.  That,  in  the  opinion  of  the  House,  it  is  also  to  be  desired  that  the  members  of 
the  Church,  having  a  legitimate  interest  in  her  services,  should  receive  ample 
protection  against  precipitate  and  arbitrary  changes  of  established  customs  by  the 
sole  will  of  the  clergyman  and  against  the  wishes  locally  prevalent  among  them ; 
and  that  such  protection  does  not  appear  to  be  afforded  by  the  provisions  of  the 
bill  now  before  the  House. 

6.  That  the  House  attaches  a  high  value  to  the  concurrence  of  her  Majesty's 
Government  with  the  ecclesiast'o il    authorities  in  the  initiative  of  legislation 
affecting  the  established  Church.' 

Sir  William  Harcourt  said  they  had  all  been  under  the  wand 
of  the  Great  Enchanter,  and  had  listened  with  rapt  attention  as 
he  poured  forth  the  wealth  of  his  incomparable  eloquence ;  but 
the  speech  they  had  just  heard  could  only  be  described  as  a 
powerful  plea  for  universal  Nonconformity,  or  optional  con- 
formity. The  chief  thing  to  be  done  was  to  reassert  the  unalterable 
attachment  of  the  people  of  England  to  the  principles  of  the 
Keformation.  The  debate  was  adjourned,  and  on  the  13th  Mr. 


472  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Disraeli  said  that  Mr.  Gladstone's  resolutions  could  only  point  to 
one  conclusion — the  abolition  of  that  religious  settlement  which 
had  prevailed  in  this  country  for  more  than  two  centuries,  and 
on  which  depended  much  of  our  civil  liberty.  Such  propositions 
ought  at  once  to  be  brought  under  discussion,  and  if  the  second 
reading  of  the  bill  were  voted  after  the  conclusion  of  the  pending 
debate,  he  would  give  Mr.  Gladstone  an  opportunity  of  bringing 
forward  his  six  resolutions  on  the  motion  for  going  into  com- 
mittee. The  debate  was  resumed  on  the  15th.  Mr.  Walter 
thought  that  the  grievances  of  which  Mr.  Gladstone  complained 
— even  the  compulsion  to  read  the  Athanasian  Creed  and  the 
,  Prayer  for  the  Church  Militant — were  as  nothing  compared  with 
the  Ritualistic  practices  against  which  the  bill  was  directed.  The 
discussion  was  closed  by  Mr.  Disraeli,  who  said  that  the  object 
of  the  bill  was  to  put  down  Ritualism  ;  and  if  Mr.  Gladstone  did 
not  know  what  Ritualism  was,  he  was  in  a  very  isolated  position. 

The  Government  thus  clearly  adopted  the  bill,  and  the  second 
reading  was  carried  without  a  division.  It  soon  became  evident 
that  Mr.  Gladstone's  resolutions  were  distasteful  to  the  bulk  of 
his  own  supporters,  the  whole  House  in  fact  being  practically 
unanimous  in  its  desire  to  arrest  the  progress  of  Ritualism.  On 
the  following  day,  accordingly,  Mr.  Gladstone  announced  the 
withdrawal  of  his  resolutions.  The  House  having  passed  the 
second  reading  of  the  bill  without  a  division,  he  could  not  in 
fairness,  he  said,  do  otherwise  than  accept  that  decision  as  an 
expression  of  the  desire  of  the  House  to  proceed  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  bill  in  committee,  without  raising  any  of  those  broad 
questions  relating  to  the  grounds  and  proper  limits  of  legislation 
which  undoubtedly  were  raised  in  the  resolutions  of  which  he 
had  given  notice.  Notice  had  also  been  given  of  important 
amendments  which  tended  greatly  to  the  improvement  of  the 
bill.  He  therefore  did  not  intend  to  move  his  resolutions.  A 
collision  arose  with  the  Lords  upon  an  amendment  carried  in  the 
Commons.  The  chief  incidents  in  the  debate  in  the  Lower  House 
were  Sir  Wm.  Harcourt's  passage  of  arms  with  his  former  chief, 
and  Mr.  Disraeli's  description  of  the  Marquis  of  Salisbury  as  a 
man  who  never  measured  his  phrases,  but  was  '  a  great  master  of 
gibes,  and  flouts,  and  sneers.'  Eventually  the  Commons  did  not 
insist  upon  their  amendment,  and  the  bill  was  read  a  third  time 
on  the  3rd  of  August. 

The  Public  Worship  Regulation  Bill  became  law,  but  how 
inoperative  it  has  been  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  Ritual- 
istic practices  in  the  Church  are  at  this  moment  more  flourishing 
than  ever,  and  in  most  dioceses  are  practically  suffered  to  go 
unchecked. 


PUBLIC    WOESHIP    AND    EDUCATION.  473 

Mr.  Gladstone  strongly  opposed  the  Endowed  Schools  Act 
Amendment  Bill,  introduced  by  Lord  Sandou.  The  object  of  this 
measure  was  the  transference  to  the  Charity  Commissioners  of  the 
powers  held  by  the  Endowed  Schools  Commissioners,  appointed 
by  the  Act  of  1689  ;  powers  which  at  the  close  of  the  session  of 
1873  it  had  been  agreed  to  prolong  for  another  twelve  months, 
the  original  term  of  three  years  having  expired.  It  was  further 
proposed  to  alter  the  definitions  contained  in  the  former  Act,  so 
as  to  restore  to  the  Church  of  England  the  administration  of 
numerous  schools  in  cases  where  the  founder  had  recognised  the 
authority  of  a  bishop,  or  had  directed  attendance  on  the  service 
of  the  Church,  or  had  required  that  the  masters  should  be  in  holy 
orders.  This  bill  was  regarded  by  the  Liberal  party  as  the  first 
distinct  attempt  to  reverse  recent  legislation,  and  to  the  Noncon- 
formists it  was  especially  obnoxious  ;  for  it  practically  gave  to  one 
great  religious  body  the  control  of  schools  that  were  thrown  open 
to  the  whole  nation  by  the  policy  of  the  last  Parliament.  The 
principles  of  the  measure — which  thus  went  far  beyond  the  transfer 
of  the  powers  of  the  Endowed  Schools  Commissioners  to  the 
Charity  Commissioners — gave  rise  to  considerable  agitation. 

Accordingly,  when  the  order  for  the  second  reading  came  on, 
Mr.  Forster  moved  the  rejection  of  the  bill.  The  more  he  studied 
it,  he  said,  the  more  he  felt  convinced  that  it  was  a  step  backward. 
He  could  adduce  arguments  which  even  hon.  gentlemen  opposite 
could  hardly  disregard,  to  show  that  the  change  of  policy  pro- 
posed was  unwise,  reactionary,  and  unjust,  and  the  change  in 
administration  inexpedient  and  needless,  if  not  dangerous.  He 
was  convinced  that  the  noble  lord  was  attempting  to  claim  for 
the  Established  Church — which,  after  all,  was  only  a  denomina- 
tion, although  the  largest — schools  which  really  belonged  to  the 
nation,  and  that  he  was  striving  so  to  arrange  things  that  mem- 
bers of  that  Church  should  have  exclusive  control  over  schools 
which  ought  to  be  open  to  all  classes  of  her  Majesty's  subjects. 
Out  of  1,082  grammar  schools,  584  were  founded  before  the 
Toleration  Act ;  35  were  pre-Keforrnation  schools  ;  and  44  were 
founded  during  the  Commonwealth.  Mr.  Forster  paid  a  strong 
tribute  to  the  Commissioners  for  their  services  in  the  cause  of 
education,  only  ten  of  their  schemes  having  been  challenged  in 
Parliament. 

This  measure,  inequitable,  unusual,  and  unwise  as  it  was,  drew 
forth  a  strong  condemnation  from  Mr.  Gladstone.  The  Church, 
he  held,  had  no  title  to  the  endowments  bestowed  on  her  between 
1530  and  1660 — when  no  man  could  live  outside  her  pale  ;  and 
her  title  was  in  no  way  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  founder 
had  directed  Church  instruction  to  be  given  to  the  children. 


474  WILLIAM   EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

This  retrograde  legislation  was  unusual  and  unwise ;  for  it  was  a 
bill  for  undoing  part  of  the  work  of  the  last  Parliament.  The 
party  which  sat  opposite  possessed,  after  having  been  many  years 
in  a  minority,  a  large  majority  ;  '  but,'  continued  Mr.  Gladstone, 
'  what  I  wish  to  point  out  is  this,  that  the  history  of  our  country 
for  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years  presents  to  us,  as  a  general  rule, 
this  remarkable  picture :  The  initiative  of  policy  in  almost  every 
instance — I  do  not  know  of  even  one  exception — both  of  adminis- 
trative and  legislative,  was  supplied  by  the  Liberal  party,  and 
subsequently  adopted  in  prudence  and  in  honesty  by  the  party 
which  is  called  Conservative.  Take  the  financial,  take  the  colo- 
nial, take  any  of  the  departments ;  and  I  will  venture  to  say 
you  will  find  that  this  is  a  true  description  of  the  history  of  which 
we  have  all  been  witnesses.  When  the  Conservative  Government 
came  into  power  in  1834,  and  again  in  1841,  after  the  first 
Reform  Act  had  been  the  subject  of  a  long  dispute  and  much 
contention,  there  was  absolute  security  in  the  mind  of  the  country, 
and  full  conviction  that  the  party  coming  into  office  would  not 
be  so  unwise  and  so  unpatriotic  as  to  retrace  the  steps  taken  by 
their  predecessors.  This  is  the  first  instance  on  record,  so  far  as 
I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  of  any  deliberate  attempt  being 
made  by  a  Ministry  at  retrogression.' 

The  speaker,  nevertheless,  went  on  to  make  allusion  to  the  case 
of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  which  had  been  placed  in 
possession  of  ecclesiastical  patronage  in  Scotland  in  the  time  of 
William  III.  A  Tory  Ministry  subsequently  came  into  power, 
which  made  an  attempt  at  passing  a  reactionary  bill.  This 
Ministry  introduced  the  measure  for  the  establishment  of  patron- 
age in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  which  involved  the  repeal  of  the 
previous  Act  of  William  III.  This  was  the  one  solitary  instance 
to  which  her  Majesty's  Government  could  refer.  And  what  an 
instance ! — an  instance  that  brought  about  the  passage  of  the 
Act  which  the  same  party  now  proposed  to  repeal,  because  it 
was  an  Act  of  retrogression,  and  because  it  interfered  with  the 
integrity  of  the  Presbyterian  constitution.  That  was  the  only 
instance  of  any  similar  course  that  could  be  adduced  in  support 
of  the  ill-omened  bill  they  were  now  invited  to  vote  for.  If  that 
were  so — if  it  were  a  most  unusual  step — it  was  also  as  unwise 
as  it  was  unusual.  Mr.  Gladstone  asked  in  conclusion : — 

'  What  does  this  bill  amount  to  ?  The  right  hon.  gentleman  who  has  just  sat  down 
(Mr.  R.  A.  Cross)  has  said  that  this  is  one  of  the  legacies  which  have  been  left  by 
the  Liberal  Government.  Yes ;  there  have  been  a  great  many  legacies  left  by  the 
Liberal  Government.  The  policy  which  at  present  governs  every  department  of 
the  State  is  part  of  a  legacy  left  by  the  Liberal  Government.  The  right  hon.  gent  le- 
man  and  his  party  ought  to  be  more  grateful  for  those  Liberal  legacies  on  which 
they  will  have  to  live  as  a  Ministry.  What  are  we  now  asked  to  do  ?  I  he  majority 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP    AND    EDUCATION.  475 

of  this  Parliament  is  invited  to  undo  the  work  of  their  predecessors  in  offi&J,  in 
defiance  of  precedents,  which  I  should  weary  the  House  by  enumerating,  so  great 
are  their  numbers  and  uniformity.  It  is  rather  remarkable  that  what  is  now  the 
majority  is  about  to  undo  an  Act  which  they  had  never  opposed  in  its  passage.  I 
believe  that  the  conditions  with  reference  to  schools  before  the  Toleration  Act  and 
before  the  Reformation  were  carried  in  this  House  without  a  division.  I  believe 
I  am  even  strictly  correct  in  saying  that  this  provision  was  not  only  agreed  to 
without  a  division,  but  without  an  adverse  voice  when  the  question  was  put  from 
the  Chair.  Yet  they  now  avail  themselves  of  the  first  opportunity  they  have  to 
attempt  to.  repeal  what  they  did  not  object  to  when  it  was  before  Parliament.  Is 
this  wise?  Is  it  politic  ?  Is  it  favourable  to  the  true  interests  of  the  Established 
Church  ?  .  .  .  What  has  been  the  judgment  generally  passed  upon  us  by  foreign 
authors,  men  of  the  highest  weight  and  importance  in  their  respective  countries  ? 
They  have  often  told  truths  of  which  we  should  not  be  fully  aware  from  our  own 
observation.  What  have  they  told  us  of  their  judgment  of  the  course  and  conduct 
of  the  British  Legislature  ?  If  you  consult  any  one  of  those  great  political  writers 
who  adorn  the  literature  of  their  own  countries,  you  will  find  their  language 
respecting  us  uniform.  When  they  look  at  our  political  constitution  they  are  struck 
by  the  multitude  of  obstructions  which  for  the  defence  of  minorities  we  allow  to  be 
placed  in  the  way  of  legislation.  They  are  struck  by  observing  that  the  immediate 
result  is  great  slowness  in  the  steps  we  take;  but  when  they  refer  to  the  consequences 
of  this  slowness  they 'find  one  grant  »nd  powerful  compensation,  and  it  is  that  in 
England  all  progress  is  sure.  Vestigia  nulla  retrorsum.  Whatever  has  been  once 
decided,  whatever  has  once  taken  its  place  in  the  Statute  Book,  or  has  been  adopted 
in  our  Administration,  no  feelings  of  party  and  no  vicissitudes  of  majorities  or 
minorities  are  allowed  to  draw  the  nation  into'the  dangerous,  though  they  may  be 
the  seductive,  paths  of  retrogression.  That  is  the  principle  to  which  we  appeal, 
antl  even  were  the  rights  of  the  case  less  clear,  even  were  it  equitable  instead  of 
inequitable,  for  the  Church  to  make  the  claims  which  are  made  in  her  behalf  by 
Ihe  Government,  most  unwise  would  it  be  on  the  part  of  any  Administration — 
and,  of  all  others,  most  unwise  on  the  part  of  the  Conservative  Administration — 
to  give  a  shock  to  one  of  the  great  guiding  principles  and  laws  which  have 
governed  the  policy  of  this  country  throughout  a  course  of  many  generations, 
and  the  solidity  and  security  of  which  is  one  of  the  main  guarantees  of  the  interests 
we  possess  and  the  liberty  we  enjoy.' 

Notwithstanding  this  effective  attack  upon  its  leading  principle, 
the  bill  passed  its  second  stage  by  a  large  majority.  The  numbers 
were — For  the  second  reading,  291  ;  against,  209 — majority  for 
the  Government,  82.  The  Opposition,  however,  were  determined 
not  to  let  the  matter  rest.  They  brought  forward  a  hostile 
motion  on  the  proposal  for  going  into  committee,  but  this  was 
defeated  by  262  to  193.  Yet  though  the  bill  went  into  com- 
mittee, the  Prime  Minister  speedily  found  that  it  would  be  hotly 
contested,  and  deemed  it  unwise  to  proceed  with  it  in  its  primal 
shape.  He  accordingly  announced  the  abandonment  of  the 
foundation  clauses,  and  the  restriction  of  the  measure  to  the 
mere  abolition  of  the  Endowed  Schools  Commissioners  and  the 
transfer  of  their  powers  to  the  Charity  Commissioners.  Making 
a  confession  that  might  almost  seem  to  prove  his  incapacity  to 
fill  the  position  he  occupied,  he  admitted  that  after  hours  of 
anxious  consideration,  the  disputed  clauses  were  unintelligible  to 
him.  Some  days  later,  in  giving  the  names  of  the  Commissioners 
who  were  to  take  the  Endowed  Schools  business  upon  them,  Mr. 
Disraeli  assumed  personally  the  responsibility  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  bill. 


47C  WILLIAM    EWART  GLADSTONE. 

The  weakness  of  the  Premier's  position  being  thus  exposed, 
Mr.  Gladstone  retorted  upon  him  with  great  spirit.  The  nature 
of  a  Conservative  policy,  he  observed,  was  now  clearly  seen.  Mr. 
Disraeli  had  said  that  some  of  the  clauses  of  the  bill  were  un- 
intelligible to  him  ;  this  was  an  important  discovery,  and  it  was  a 
pity  that  it  had  not  been  made  earlier,  as  the  charge  of  obstructive 
conduct  might  not  then  have  been  brought  against  members  on 
the  Opposition  side  of  the  House.  The  pledge  of  the  Premier  to 
call  attention  to  this  subject  anew  in  another  session  of  Parliament 
was  a  pledge  dictated  by  Ministerial  exigencies  and  by  the  state 
of  the  relations  *f  those  in  the  Cabinet,  far  more  than  by  any 
well-weighed  consideration  of  what  was  to  take  place  in  the  future. 
If  that  was  so  he  thought  the  Nonconformists,  and  not  they  only, 
but  those  who  attached  an  enormous  value  to  the  principles  and 
methods  of  stable  legislation,  had  good  reason  to  congratulate 
themselves  upon  the  present  situation.  In  closing  his  address 
Mr.  Gladstone  said,  '  When  a  great  host  attempted  the  invasion 
of  an  enemy's  country,  and  was  beset  by  storms,  and  baffled  by 
adverse  winds,  the  practice  was  to  erect  an  altar,  and  to  put  the 
knife  to  the  throat  of  the  victim.  The  Commissioners  of  the 
Endowed  Schools  are,  on  this  occasion,  those  who  have  been 
called  upon  to  submit  to  the  sacrificial  knife ;  and  these  three 
gentlemen — most  guilty  in  the  opinion  of  some  who  have  spoken 
and  whom  they  have  perhaps  offended  ;  but  most  innocent,  most 
meritorious,  and  most  patriotic  in  the  judgment  of  others — are 
to  give  up  their  official  existence  as  an  atonement  and  reconcilia- 
tion for  others,  and  the  great  mass  of  Nonconformist  interests 
throughout  the  country  are,  I  rejoice  to  say,  to  enjoy  an  absolute 
immunity  from  danger ;  the  only  price  that  is  paid  for  all  this 
being  the  official  life  of  Lord  Lyttelton  and  his  colleagues.  In 
saying  that,  I  am  very  sorry  for  what  the  right  hon.  gentleman 
calls  the  policy  of  her  Majesty's  Government.  The  policy  of  her 
Majesty's  Government  with  regard  to  the  Endowed  Schools  of  the 
country  has  received  this  most  striking,  this  most  triumphant 
attestation —that  three  gentlemen  who,  as  the  noble  lord  says, 
are  our  friends,  are  to  be  displaced  from  their  office  in  order  that 
three  gentlemen  who  are  his  friends  may  be  put  into  office,  in 
order  to  prosecute,  with  bated  hopes  and  weakened  forces,  the 
difficult  duties  imposed  on  them  by  the  country.' 

The  Endowed  Schools  Act  Amendment  Bill,  in  its  mutilated 
form,  received  the  Eoyal  assent  in  the  month  of  August.  It  was 
not  a  measure  to  reflect  credit  upon  its  authors  ;  and  seeing  that 
its  original  scope  had  been  greatly  narrowed,  the  Government 
would  have  done  wisely  in  abandoning  it  altogether.  But  this 
was  one  of  the  earliest  indications  of  a  determination,  on  the 


PUBLIC    WORSHIP    AND    EDUCATION.  4/7 

part  of  the  Conservative  majority,  to  exercise  its  power — not 
always  with  consideration. 

We  now  come  to  several  addresses  which  Mr.  Gladstone  has 
delivered  in  recent  years  on  the  subject  of  education.  They  are 
typical  of  other  speeches  which  the  right  hon.  gentleman  has  at 
various  times  made  upon  the  same  question,  and  show  the  speaker 
in  the  favourable  light  of  a  friend  to  liberal  culture, — a  character 
to  which  he  has  been  steadfast  since  he  addressed  the  students  of 
Liverpool  College,  at  a  very  early  stage  in  his  career.  The  first  of 
these  addresses,  which  formed,  perhaps,  the  most  interesting  extra- 
Parliamentary  utterance  of  the  recess  of  1872,  was  delivered  on 
the  occasion  of  the  distribution  of  the  prizes  to  the  pupils  of  Liver- 
pool College.  We  have  already  had  occasion,  in  the  earlier  part 
of  this  work,  to  make  a  brief  extract  from  that  address,  but  it 
now  demands  some  further  notice.  The  Premier  entered  a  strong 
plea  on  behalf  of  higher  education,  and  then  passed  on  to  refer  to 
the  extraordinary  and  boastful  manifestation  in  this  age  of  ours 
for  the  extremest  forms  of  unbelief.  After  a  searching  examina- 
tion of  Dr.  Strauss's  recently  published  work,  The  Old  Belief  and 
the  New,  Mr.  Gladstone  tendered  this  counsel  to  the  students  : — 

'  You  will  hear  much  to  the  effect  that  the  divisions  among  Christians  render 
it  impossible  to  say  what  Christianity  is,  and  so  destroy  the  certainty  of  religion. 
But  if  the  divisions  among  Christians  are  remarkable,  not  less  so  is  tlieir  unity  in 
tlie  great  doctrines  which  they  hold.  Well  nigh  fifteen  hundred  years — years  of  a 
more  sustained  activity  than  the  world  has  over  before  seen — have  passed  away 
since  the  great  controversies  respecting  the  Deity  and  tiie  Person  of  the  Redeemer 
were,  after  a  long  agony,  determined.  As  before  that  time  in  a  manner  less  denned 
but  adequate  for  their  day,  so  ever  since  th  it  time,  amid  all  chance  and  change, 
more,  ay,  many  more  than  ninety-nine  in  every  hundred  Christians  have  with  one 
•will  confessed  the  Deity  and  incarnation  of  our  Lord  as  the  cardinal  and  central 
truth?  of  our  religion.  Surely  there  is  some  comfort  here,  some  sense  of  brother- 
hood, some  glory  in  the  past,  some  hope  for  the  times  that  are  to  come.  On  one 
and  oaly  one  more  of  the  favourite  fallacies  of  the  day  I  will  yet  presume  to  touch. 
It  is  the  opinion  and  boast  of  some  that  man  is  not  responsible  for  his  belief. 
Lord  Brougham  was  at  one  time  stated  to  have  given  utterance  to  this  opinion, 
•whether  truly  I  know  not.  But  this  I  know,  it  was  my  privilege  to  hear  from  his 
own  lips  the  needful  and  due  limitation  of  that  proposition.  "  Man  "  he  said,  "  is 
not  responsible  to  man  for  Ids  belief."  But  as  before  God  one  and  the  same  law 
applies  to  opinions  and  to  acts,  or  rather  to  inward  and  to  outer  acts,  for  opinions  are 
inward  acts.  Many  a  wrong  opinion  maybe  guiltless  because  formed  in  ignorance, 
and  because  that  ignorance  may  not  be  our  fault ;  but  who  shall  presume  to  say  them 
is  no  mercy  for  wrong  actions  also  when  they,  too,  have  boon  duo  to  ignorance, 
and  that  ignorance  has  not  been  guilty  ?  The  question  is  not  whether  judg- 
ments and  actions  are  in  the  same  degree  influenced  by  the  condition  of  the 
moral  motives.  If  it  is  undeniable  that  self-love  and  passion  have  an  influence 
upon  both,  then,  so  far  as  that  influence  goes,  for  both  we  must  bo  prepared  to 
answer.  Should  we,  in  common  life,  ask  a  body  of  swindlers  for  an  opinion  upon 
swindling,  or  of  gamblers  fur  an  opinion  upon  gambling,  or  of  misers  upon  bounty  ? 
And  if  in  matters  <>!'  religion  wo  allow  pride  and  perversoness  to  raise  a  cloud 
between  us  and  the  truth,  so  that  wo  see  it  not,  the  false  opinion  that  we  form  is 
but  the  index  of  that  perverseness  and  that  pride,  and  both  for  them,  and  for  it  as 
their  offspring,  we  shall  be  justly  held  responsible.  Who  they  are  upon  whom  this 
responsibility  will  fall  it  is  not  ours  to  judge.  These  laws  are  given  to  us,  not  to 
apply  presumptuously  to  others,  but  to  enforce  honestly  against  ouraelvea,  Next  to 
a  ftwristian  life,  my  friends,  you  will  find  your  best  defence  against  reckless  novelty 


478  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

of  speculation  in  sobriety  of  temper,  and  in  sound  intellectual  habits.  Be  slow  to  stir 
inquiries  which  you  do  not  mean  particularly  to  pursue  to  their  proper  end.  Be 
not  afraid  to  suspend  your  judgment,  or  feel  and  admit  to  yourselves  how  narrow 
are  the  bounds  of  knowledge.  Do  not  too  readily  assume  that  to  us  have  been 
opened  royal  roads  to  truth,  which  were  heretofore  hidden  from  the  whole  family  of 
man ;  for  the  opening  of  such  roads  would  not  be  so  much  favour  as  caprice.  If  it  is 
bad  to  yield  a  blind  submission  to  authority,  it  is  not  less  an  error  to  deny  to  it  its 
reasonable  weight.  Eschewing  a  servile  adherence  to  the  past,  regard  it  with  rever- 
ence and  gratitude,  nnd  accept  its  accumulations  in  inward  as  well  as  outward  things 
as  the  patrimony  which  it  is  your  part  in  life  both  to  preserve  and  to  improve.' 

For  the  catholicity  of  its  sentiments,  however,  and  the  excel- 
lence of  its  counsel,  one  of  the  best  addresses  Mr.  Gladstone  ever 
delivered  was  that  spoken  in  aid  of  the  Buckley  Institute  and 
Reading-room,  in  the  recess  of  1878.  It  was  specially  directed 
to  the  working  classes.  The  address  covered  a  wide  range  of 
topics,  and  we  can  only  touch  upon  those  possessing  a  permanent 
interest.  Referring  to  the  friendly  and  benefit  societies  which 
abound  throughout  the  country,  Mr.  Gladstone  eulogised  them 
for  enabling  the  working  population  of  this  country  to  realise 
that  idea  of  independence  and  self-support,  which,  while  very 
desirable  for  all  men,  was  most  of  all  honourable,  and  even  noble, 
in  those  who  depended  upon  their  daily  labour  for  their  daily 
bread.  The  only  thing  he  exhorted  them  jealously  to  watch  over 
was  that  the  societies  were  based  upon  principles  of  sound  calcula- 
tion, so  that  those  who  had  supported  them  in  their  youth  and 
maturity,  should  not  find  in  old  age  that  their  funds  had  dis- 
appeared. Mr.  Gladstone's  warning  derived  additional  point  from 
the  fact  that  reports  had  been  published  of  societies  unsound  in 
this  respect.  Touching  upon  co-operative  societies,  he  hoped 
that  in  proportion  as  the  retail  dealers  of  the  country  came  more 
and  more  to  understand  the  best  mode  of  carrying  on  their  busi- 
ness— that  is  to  say,  of  working  it  upon  ready-money  principles, 
instead  of  long  credit — they  would  be  able  to  compete  advan- 
tageously with  these  societies.  There  were  also  societies  for 
manufacturing  productions,  and  some  for  carrying  on  farms, 
which  would  be  beneficial  by  putting,  to  a  certain  extent,  the 
working  man  in  the  position  of  the  capitalist. 

There  was  a  broad  liberality  of  view  in  the  speaker's  utterances 
upon  the  subject  of  trades  unions,  and  also  on  the  question  of 
the  employment  of  women.  '  What  I  would  always  desire,'  he 
said,  '  in  trades  unions,  and  what  I  look  upon  as  essential  to  their 
full  utility  is,  that  those  who  enter  into  such  combinations  shall 
fully  and  absolutely  respect  the  liberty  of  those  who  do  not  wish 
to  enter  them,  and  further,  that  they  shall,  although  it  is  a 
difficult  lesson  for  them,  adopt  large  and  liberal  principles  with 
regard  to  all  the  points  that  touch  them  in  the  exercise  of  their 
professions.  Questions  such  as  the  employment  of  women,  the 


PUBLIC    WOESHIP   AND    EDUCATION.  4*73 

employment  of  boys  and  young  men,  piecework,  &c, — on  the 
whole  of  these  questions  they  should  get  rid  of  narrow  and  selfish 
views,  and  should  adopt  sound  ones.  I  am  bound  to  say  that  I 
think  they  are  often  lectured  upon  these  narrow  and  selfish  views 
by  other  people  in  higher  stations  who  are  very  apt  to  act  upon 
naiTow  and  selfish  views  themselves  when  they  can.  But  that 
is  not  the  question.  Is  it  the  best  for  themselves  ?  I  am  con- 
vinced that  they  should  be  large  and  liberal  in  all  their  views 
with  regard  to  the  employment  of  labour,  because,  after  all,  when 
men  choose  to  put  unnatural  and  unnecessary  restrictions  on  the 
labour  of  women  and  children,  what  is  that  but  putting  it  on 
the  members  of  their  own  family,  for  these  women  and  children 
are  persons  in  intimate  associations  with  them  ?' 

Mr.  Gladstone  recognised  the  necessity  for  recreation  and 
relaxation,  and  after  alluding  to  the  provision  for  games  and 
refreshments,  which  were  natural  and  proper,  he  touched  upon 
the  question  of  debate.  He  believed  it  to  be  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  members  of  the  community  at  large  were  not  fit  to  meet 
together  and  debate  like  men  those  matters  in  which  they  were 
able  to  feel  an  interest.  If  they  had  the  truth  of  confidence  in 
their  opinions,  they  should  not  be  ashamed  or  afraid  to  compare 
them  with  others. 

The  last  topic  dealt  with  related  to  the  greater  facilities  for 
intellectual  improvement  enjoyed  by  the  working  classes  of  the 
present  day  as  compared  with  their  predecessors.  The  materials 
were  better  arid  the  access  to  the  means  of  instruction  far  easier. 

'It  was  said  of  Socrates  that  he  called  down  philosophy  from  heaven,  that  the 
enterprise  of  certain  enlightened  publishers  has  taught  them  to  work  for  tlio 
million,  and  that  is  a  very  important  fact.  •  When  I  was  a  boy  I  used  to  be  fond  of 
looking  into  a  bookseller's  shop,  but  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  there  that  was 
accessible  to  the  working  man  of  that  day.  Take  a  Shakespeare,  for  example.  I 
remember  very  well  that  I  gave  £2  16s.  for  my  first  copy ;  but  you  can  get  an 
admirable  copy  for  3s.  Those  books  are  accessible  now  which  formerly  were 
quite  inaccessible.  We  may  be  told  that  you  want  amusement,  but  that  does  not 
exclude  improvement.  There  are  a  set  of  worthless  books  written  now  and  at 
times  which  you  should  avoid,  which  profess  to  give  amusement ;  but  in  reading 
the  works  of  such  authors  as  Shakespeare  and  Scott  there  is  the  greatest  possible 
amusement  in  its  best  form.  Do  you  suppose  that  when  you  see  men  engaged  in 
study  that  they  dislike  it?  No.  There  is  labour  no  doubt  of  a  certain  kind — 
mental  labour,  but  it  is  so  associated  with  interest  all  along  that  it  is  forgo!  t  en  in 
the  delight  which  it  carries  in  its  performance,  and  no  people  know  that,  better 
than  the  working  classes.  I  want  you  to  understand  that  multitudes  of  books 
now  are  constantly  being  prepared  and  placed  within  reach  of  the  population  at 
large,  for  the  most  part  executed  by  writers  of  a  high  stamp,  having  subjects  of 
the  greatest  interest,  and  which  enable  you  at  a  moderate  price,  not  to  get  a  cheap 
literature  which  is  secondary  in  its  quality,  but  to  go  straight  into  the  very  heart,  if  I 
may  so  say,  into  the  sanctuary  of  the  temple  of  literature — and  become  acquainted 
with  the  greatest  and  best  works  that  the  men  of  our  country  have  produced.  It 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  working  men,  on  coming  homo  from  labour,  are  to 
study  Euclid  and  works  of  that  character ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  desired  unless  in  tho 
case  of  very  special  gifts;  but  what  is  to  bo  desired  is  that,  some  eii'oit  should  bo 
made  by  men  of  all  classes,  and  perhaps  by  none  more  than  by  tho  labouring  class, 


48ft  WILLIAM   EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

to  lift  ourselves  above  the  level  of  what  is  purely  frivolous,  and  to  endeavour  to 
hml  our  amusement  in  making  ourselves  acquainted  with  things  of  real  interest 
and  beauty.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  also  delivered  an  address  of  great  practical  value 
on  the  occasion  of  the  distribution  of  prizes  at  the  Nonconformist 
School  at  Mill  Hill,  in  June,  1879.  In  the  outset,  he  impressed 
two  necessary  lessons  upon  the  pupils.  One  was,  he  said,  that 
those  who  had  received  prizes  must  take  good  care  not  to  be 
inveigled  by  the  first-fruits  of  their  efforts  into  sluggishness,  for 
that  was  a  danger  which  beset  the  young,  and  premature  success 
had  been  a  snare  to  many.  As  for  those  who  had  not  received 
prizes,  the  occasion  which  should  inspire  caution  in  others  should 
inspire  hope  in  them.  It  was  upon  perseverance  that  their  future 
enterprise  would  depend.  He  therefore  exhorted  them  to  bear 
their  disappointment  like  men,  like  Englishmen,  like  Christians. 
In  comparing  the  relative  advantages  of  Mill  Hill  School,  and 
the  great  and  wealthy  seats  of  learning  in  the  country,  the  speaker 
observed : — 

'  Do  not  suppose  for  a  moment  that  I  have  come  here  to  renounce  my  fidelity  to 
those  ancient  schools  whose  interests  are  so  deeply  seated  in  my  heart.  You  may 
not  have  the  advantage — and  it  ought  to  be  an  advantage — of  the  noble  and  ancient 
memories  connected  with  many  great  schools  in  the  country.  They  ought  to 
appeal  with  resistless  force  to  all  those  who  belong  to  them  not  to  prove  unworthy 
of  those  great  memories,  and  I  rejoice  to  say  it  is  so — at  any  rate,  in  many  among 
them.  But,  although  you  must  be  content  with  viewing  in  the  future  that  which 
those  great  institutions  have  been  able  to  do  for  themselves  in  the  present  and  past, 
yet  you  have  your  advantages.  If  you  are  not  sustained  by  ancient  traditions, 
neither  are  you  hampered  by  any  prejudices  which  in  certain  cases  may  prevail. 
All  that  they  have  achieved  is  before  you.  Their  great  experiences  are  at  your 
service  and  command.  You  have  power  to  appropriate  to  yourselves  every  good  rule 
they  have  made,  and  you  have  the  power  where  you  are  not  satisfied  with  the  results 
to  correct  them.  You  have  this  enormous  advantage  under  the  peculiar  conditions 
of  this  age.  You,  the  authorities  of  these  schools,  and  you,  the  boys,  have  not  to 
contend  in  the  same  degree  as  have  the  authorities  and  boys  of  some  of  the  ancient 
schools,  with  the  tremendous  dangers  and  temptations  which  the  overflow  of  money 
associated  with  inadequate  wisdom  produces,  not  the  extravagance  of  the  boys  only, 
but  in  many  instances  the  more  serious  evil  of  parents  giving  to  their  boys  that 
which  they  think  will  contribute  to  their  happiness,  but  which,  in  fact,  tends  to 
weaken  the  fibre  of  character,  to  relax  manly  resolution,  to  anticipate  at  an  early 
age  enjoyments  intended  only  for  manhood.  .  .  .  These  are  great  advantages ; 
and  that  which  others  possess  because  their  fathers  handed  it  down  to  them,  you,  I 
hope,  are  gradually  and  progressively  accumulating  in  order  to  hand  it  over  to  those 
who  may  come  after  you.  However,  it  was  a  great  and  bold  undertaking  to  estab- 
lish a  school  of  this  kind  in  a  field  which  was  already  occupied  by  those  great  insti- 
tutions so  well  known  to  us  as  the  public  schools  of  England.  But  there  was  certainly 
one  reason  which  I  cannot  shrink  from  noticing,  and  which  I  think  constitutes  not 
only  the  high  merit,  but  the  very  high  merit,  of  those  who  set  themselves  about 
founding  Mill  Hill  School.  ...  I  need  not  say  I  pay  them  the  highest  honour 
for  determining  to  give  this  advantage  of  a  public  school  education,  not  on  a 
basis  merely  neutral  or  negative  with  regard  to  religion,  but,  on  a  basis  which 
would  supply  all  their  wants  and  enable  the  pupils,  according  to  the  conscientious 
convictions  their  parents  entertain,  and  in  which  they  have  been  reared,  to  prepare 
themselves  for  that  Christian  life  on  which  they  are  about  to  enter.  I  earnestly 
hope  that  upon  that  basis  on  which  you  have  begun  \TOU  will  continue  to  stand. 
As  you  have  not  been  ashamed  or  afraid  to  face  the  difficult  enterprise  of  founding 


PUBLIC   WORSHIP  AND   EDUCATION.  481 

this  public  school,  so  I  trust  you  will  never  bo  ashamed  or  nfruid  of  recognising 
not  a  generalising  and  neutralising  religion,  but  a  religious  teacliing  fully  equal 
to  all  the  honourable  purposes  of  life. 

Following  this  admirable  passage,  came  a  protest  against  the 
notion  that  education  was  a  merely  mechanical  process  ;  after 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  earnestly  of  the  great  value  and 
importance  attaching  to  the  study  of  natural  history.  Having 
cited  many  other  advantages  to  be  derived  from  it,  among  them 
being  that  power  of  accurate  deduction  which  is  invaluable  in  the 
pursuit  of  every  branch  of  knowledge,  he  observed,  '  We  all  know 
how  much  has  been  done  in  the  researches  of  our  time  by  apply- 
ing the  principle  of  comparison — comparison,  for  example,  of  the 
structure  of  living  bodies  as  the  basis  of  modern  biology,  the 
comparison  of  the  structures  of  languages  as  the  basis  of  philology. 
Depend  upon  it,  then,  that  the  observation  and  analogy  which 
natural  history  is  continually  suggesting,  as  it  is  valuable  for  the 
purposes  of  science,  so  it  has  a  lighter  but  a  most  graceful  and 
civilising  use  in  supplying  those  analogies  taken  from  the  seen 
world  and  applicable  to  the  unseen,  assisting  in  giving  to  every 
work  of  the  mind  that  grace  and  beauty  which  is  just  as  appro- 
priate and  desirable,  though  it  may  not  be  so  indispensable  to  it, 
as  are  the  higher  qualities  of  solidity  and  truth.'  The  concluding 
words  of  the  address  had  reference  to  the  cultivation  of  the  higher 
virtues.  '  I  trust  you  know  what  are  the  qualities  you  ought  to 
esteem  and  cherish — that  your  wish  is  to  lead  a  life  that  is  man- 
ful, modest,  truthful,  active,  diligent,  generous,  and  humble.  You 
ought  to  take  for  your  motto  those  wonderful  words  of  the  Apostle, 
where  he  says,  "  Whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things 
are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure, 
whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report" 
— everything  that  is  good  is  to  be  within  your  view,  and  nothing 
that  is  not  good.  I  am  certain  that  if  you  cherish  those  virtues 
you  will  never  forget  the  basis  of  them,  you  will  never  forget 
where  lies  their  root.  I  do  not  mean  that  in  your  periodical  and 
your  play  you  are  continually  to  be  parading  your  religious  feel- 
ings and  convictions.  These  are  very  deep  and  solemn  subjects, 
and  will  grow  in  the  shade  rather  than  in  the  sunlight.  Let  them 
ever  be  in  your  minds,  as  they  are  indigenous  to  the  root  of  every 
excellence.  Whatever  you  aspire  to,  aspire  above  all  to  be 
Christians  and  to  Christian  perfection.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  in  his  time  has  played  many  parts  ;  but  in  none 
have  his  English  good  sense  and  manliness,  his  sagacity,  and  his 
deep  moral  feeling  been  so  conspicuous  as  in  his  addresses  upon 
education  and  kindred  subjects.  His  political  friends  and  oppo- 
nents alike  find  here  common  ground  upon  which  to  pay  him  just 

II 


482  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

tribute.  To  the  working  classes  especially  have  bis  addresses  been 
most  valuable.  He  has  recalled  them  from  the  pursuit  of  social 
and  industrial  will-o'-the-wisps,  while  he  has  at  the  same  time 
acknowledged  their  right  to  combine  in  every  lawful  manner  for 
their  well-being  and  prosperity.  He  has  striven  to  show  that  labour, 
the  universal  lot  of  man,  is  honourable,  and  that  social  drones  are 
the  most  prolific  source  of  danger  to  the  commonwealth.  And 
while  be  has  thus  enjoined  the  value  and  sacredness  of  labour,  by 
the  wise  and  useful  legislation  which  he  has  initiated,  he  has 
enabled  the  working  man  to  treasure  up  the  fruits  of  that  labour, 
and  to  make  provision  for  old  age.  Moreover,  he  has  insisted 
upon  the  high  and  noble  results  which  follow  from  culture  and 
self-improvement,  counselling  the  toilers  in  our  factories  and 
workshops  that  these  are  to  be  sought  not  alone  for  the  material 
advantages  they  may  bring,  but  for  that  deeper  and  richer  good 
which  follows  upon  the  development  of  the  mental  and  moral 
faculties.  Mr.  Gladstone  has,  in  fine,  ever  urged  the  people 
onward  in  the  path  of  real  progress,  and  has  shown  them  how,  by 
self-denying  and  strenuous  effort,  they  may  enjoy  for  themselves, 
and  extend  to  others,  the  blessings  of  a  robust  and  a  Christian 
civilisation. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

RESIGNATION  OF  THE  LIBERAL  LEADERSHIP. 

Mr.  Gladstone  definitely  resigns  the  Liberal  Leadership — Second  Letter  to  Lord 
Granville — His  Lordship's  Reply — Public  Opinion  on  the  ex-Premier's  Retire- 
ment— Speech  of  Mr.  Forster  at  Bradford — The  Liberal  Party  without  a 
Leader — Claimants  for  the  Post — Election  of  the  Marquis  of  Hartington — 
Mr.  Gladstone's  appearances  in  the  House  of  Commons — He  supports  the  Burials 
Bill— Attacks  the  Budget. 

WE  have  seen,  from  Mr.  Gladstone's  letter  to  Earl  Granville, 
that  the  Liberal  leader  held  himself  at  liberty  to  determine  at 
any  time,  according  as  circumstances  might  dictate  to  him, 
whether  he  could  with  satisfaction  continue  in  his  onerous 
position  as  the  active  chief  of  the  party.  His  friends,  foreseeing 
the  difficulties  which  must  ensue  from  his  withdrawal  from  the 
leadership,  earnestly  desired  his  continuance  in  the  post  where 
none  could  well  follow  him.  But  his  retirement  came  earlier 
than  was  anticipated.  Having  thrown  himself  deeply  into 
literary  and  controversial  studies,  and  finding  in  the  existing 
aspect  of  public  affairs  little  hope  of  being  able  to  render  such 
service  to  the  Liberal  party  and  the  country  as  he  desired,  Mr. 
Gladstone  resolved  on  completing  the  act  of  resignation  to  which 
he  had  some  time  before  referred  as  a  not  distant  possibility. 

Accordingly,  early  in  January,  1875,  he  addressed  a  second  letter 
to  Lord  Granville,  announcing  his  resignation  in  decisive  and 
unmistakable  terms.  '  The  time  has,  I  think,  arrived,'  wrote  the 
ex-Premier,  *  when  I  ought  to  revert  to  the  subject  of  the  letter 
which  I  addressed  to  you  on  March  12.  Before  determining 
whether  I  should  offer  to  assume  a  charge  which  might  extend 
over  a  length  of  time,  I  have  reviewed,  with  all  the  care  in  my 
power,  a  number  of  considerations,  both  public  and  private,  of 
which  a  portion,  and  these  not  by  any  means  insignificant,  were 
not  in  existence  at  the  date  of  that  letter.  The  result  has  been 
that  I  see  no  public  advantage  in  my  continuing  to  act  as  the 
leader  of  the  Liberal  party  ;  and  that,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  and 
after  forty-two  years  of  a  laborious  public  life,  I  think  myselt 
entitled  to  retire  on  the  present  opportunity.  This  retirement 
is  dictated  to  me  by  my  personal  views  as  to  the  best  method  of 

112 


48-J  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

spending  the  closing  years  of  my  life.  I  need  hardly  say  that  my 
conduct  in  Parliament  will  continue  to  be  governed  by  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  I  have  heretofore  acted ;  and,  whatever  arrange- 
ments may  be  made  for  the  treatment  of  general  business,  and  for 
the  advantage  or  convenience  of  the  Liberal  party,  they  will  have 
my  cordial  support.  I  should,  perhaps,  add  that  I  am  at  present, 
and  mean  for  a  short  time  to  be,  engaged  on  a  special  matter, 
which  occupies  me  closely.' 

Such  a  resignation  on  the  part  of  a  great  political  chief  was 
without  precedent ;  but  while  many  lamented  the  step,  none 
challenged  the  right  of  this  eminent  statesman  to  retire  after 
forty-two  years  of  active  service.  Even  with  a  less  brilliant  cata- 
logue of  legislative  achievements  than  his,  it  was  surely  within 
his  own  legitimate  province  to  say  when  the  time  had  come  for 
putting  off  the  political  armour,  and  yielding  the  command  of 
the  Liberal  forces  into  other  hands.  At  the  same  time,  the 
announcement  came  with  so  great  a  surprise  upon  the  country 
that  for  the  moment  it  could  scarcely  be  realised.  That  he  who 
for  a  considerable  period  had  been  the  life  and  soul  of  one  of  the 
two  great  political  parties  in  the  State  should  thus  suddenly 
relinquish  its  control,  carried  something  like  consternation  into 
the  ranks  of  those  who  were  anxiously  looking  for  the  consolida- 
tion of  the  Liberal  party.  Efforts  were  made  to  induce 
Mr.  Gladstone  to  reconsider  his  decision,  but  in  vain ;  and  in 
formally  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  ex-Premier's  letter, 
Earl  Granville  wrote  as  follows  : — '  I  have  communicated  to  you 
in  detail  the  reasons  which  made  me  profoundly  regret  and 
deprecate  the  conclusion  at  which  you  have  arrived.  Your  late 
colleagues  share  these  feelings  to  the  fullest  extent,  and  have 
regretted  the  failure  of  their  endeavour  to  persuade  you  to  come 
to  a  different  decision.  We  have  no  doubt  that  the  Liberal 
party,  both  in  and  out  of  Parliament,  will  feel  as  we  do  on 
the  subject.  The  observations  we  have  addressed  to  you  are 
prompted  by  considerations  of  public  advantage  for  the  future, 
and  not  merely  by  our  sense  of  your  great  services,  and  our 
sentiments  of  personal  admiration  and  attachment.' 

The  daily  and  weekly  press,  both  metropolitan  and  provincial, 
were  all  but  unanimous  in  their  expressions  of  sympathy  and 
regret,  and  in  recognising  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement  a  loss 
to  the  nation.  Many  journals  expressed  a  hope  that  the  resigna- 
tion was  the  result  of  a  temporary  depression,  rather  than  of  a 
lasting  mood  of  mind  ;  and,  while  assuming  that  there  would  be 
many  occasions  when  his  mind  would  revert  to  Westminster, 
they  trusted  also  that  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  nation  would  bring 
him  back  at  recurrent  intervals  to  the  scene  of  so  many  triumphs. 


RESIGNATION    OF    THE    LIBERAL    LEADERSHIP.  485 

Mr.  Bright,  in  addressing  his  constituents  at  Birmingham, 
alluded  to  the  few  disparaging  comments  made  upon  the  Liberal 
leader's  withdrawal — comments  scarcely  noticeable  amid  the 
general  expressions  of  esteem  and  regret.  *  I  will  say  nothing,' 
observed  the  right  hon.  member  for  Birmingham,  *  in  answer  to 
ungenerous  things  that  have  teen  said  and  done.  Of  this  I  am 
well  aware — that  Mr.  Gladstone,  like  an  old  and  a  noble  Koman, 
can  be  content  with  deserving  the  praises  of  his  country,  even 
though  some  of  his  countrymen  should  deny  them  to  him.' 

Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement  did  not,  of  course,  signify  the  end 
of  his  Parliamentary  career.  He  would  still  tender  such  advice 
and  counsel  to  his  party  as  he  was  able,  and  appear  from  time  to 
time  in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Commons.  But  the  nature  and 
meaning  of  the  step  could  not  be  disguised.  The  previous  session 
had  witnessed  a  disorganised  Opposition,  but  another  was  about  to 
open  which  would  find  the  party  in  yet  more  lamentable  plight  — 
without  a  chief  and  without  a  programme.  Tributes  were  paid  to 
the  retiring  leader  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  by  persons  of  all 
shades  and  complexions  of  political  opinion.  But  the  feelings  of 
those  who  most  deeply  felt  his  loss,  and  most  truly  assessed  its 
significance,  were,  perhaps,  best  interpreted  by  Mr.  For&ter,  when 
he  remarked  that  although  every  one  knew  Mr.  Gladstone's 
power  and  eloquence,  it  was  only  those  who  had  been  brought 
into  close  personal  contact  with  him  who  knew  what  an  example 
he  had  set  in  the  absolute  sincerity,  the  absolute  want  of 
selfishness  or  self-seeking  in  the  principles  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  had  conducted  political  life.*  '  It  is  difficult  for  any 
one,'  said  the  member  for  Bradford,  '  who  has  not  been  brought 
into  close  contact  with  him,  and  seen  him  under  occasions  of 
difficulty  such  as  those  in  which  a  colleague  has  seen  him — 
occasions,  I  must  say,  not  only  of  difficulty,  but  even  of  tempta- 
tion— it  is  difficult  for  any  one  who  has  not  been  in  that 
position  thoroughly  to  realise  what  an  example  of  purity,  of  self- 
sacrifice,  and  of  disinterestedness  he  has  set  to  politicians 
throughout  the  country,  and  to  what  an  extent  he,  as  far  as  he 
has  acted,  has  raised  the  tone  of  political  life.  .  .  .  I  have  only  one 
word  to  add,  and  I  think  it  is  not  unfitting  to  mention  even  in 
this  business  assembly,  that,  although  he  has  thought  proper  from 
motives  personal  to  himself,  which  are  sufficient  for  himself  and 
affecting  his  own  personal  life,  to  withdraw  from  the  active 
leadership  of  one  of  the  great  parties  in  the  State,  yet  I  do 
not  for  one  agree  that  that  implies  that  he  will  withdraw  from 
party  or  political  life.  I  am  sure  that,  as  men  of  business — as 
members  of  a  Chamber  of  Commerce — we  should  be  the  last 

*  Speech  delivered  at  a  meeting  of  tho  Bradford  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


486  WILLIAM  UWART  GLADSTONE. 

persons  to  desire  that.  He  has  many  claims  upon  the  gratitude 
of  his  fellow  countrymen  for  the  services  he  has  done  them,  and 
although  perhaps  not  one  of  the  greatest  of  those  claims,  yet  a 
very  great  claim,  is  what  he  has  done  for  commerce  and  men  of 
business,  by  his  advocacy  of  the  true  principles  of  trade,  and  by 
his  introduction  of  principles  of  finance  which  have  had  the 
effect  of  making  the  taxes  less  onerous  upon  tradesmen  and 
upon  individuals  than  they  have  ever  been  before.  It  certainly 
is  not  for  me  to  view  with  anything  but  with  fear  and  alarm  the 
thought  that  he  could  withdraw  his  talents  and  his  power  entirely 
from  political  or  Parliamentary  life.  I  am  sure  you  will  join  me 
in  the  hope  and  trust  that  this  will  not  be  the  case.'  These 
sentiments  were  very  largely  echoed  by  the  Conservatives,  and 
of  course  entirely  so  by  the  Liberals.  The  former,  for  many 
reasons,  as  sincerely  regretted  his  withdrawal  as  the  latter. 

The  Liberal  party  now  found  themselves  with  a  vacancy,  and 
laboured  under  some  bewilderment  how  to  fill  it.  They  had 
amongst  them  two  men  of  genius,  Mr.  Lowe  and  Mr.  Bright,  and 
some  half  a  dozen  others  with  at  least  a  passable  title  to  states- 
manlike qualities.  It  was  known,  however,  that  Mr.  Bright 
would  decline  the  post  of  leader,  if  elected ;  and  whenever  the 
name  of  Mr.  Lowe  was  mentioned,  it  was  invariably  received  with 
admissions  of  his  striking  intellectual  power  and  ability,  but  as 
invariably  also  followed  by  a  negative  shaking  of  the  head. 
Genius,  when  erratic,  is  much  more  troublesome  than  mediocrity. 
By-and-Ly  only  four  names  came  to  be  discussed,  viz.,  those  of 
Mr.  Forster,  Sir  W.  Harcourt,  Mr.  Goschen,  and  Lord  Hartington. 
The  three  first-named  were  subsequently  withdrawn,  Mr.  Forster 
(whose  claims  were  considered  the  strongest)  writing  to  Mr.  Adam 
as  follows : — '  It  appears  to  me  that  I  should  not  receive  that 
general  support  without  which  I  ought  not  to  attempt  to  fulfil 
the  duties  of  this  most  difficult  though  honourable  post ;  and, 
therefore,  though  I  must  not  be  supposed  to  anticipate  that  the 
choice  of  the  majority  of  the  meeting  would  fall  on  me,  I  feel  it 
my  duty  to  state  that,  even  should  it  chance  to  do  so,  I  could  not 
undertake  the  task.'  It  was  understood  that  Mr.  Gladstone 
thought  the  selection  of  Lord  Hartington  as  bis  successor 
the  most  fitting  that  could  be  made  under  the  circum- 
stances. On  the  3rd  of  February,  about  140  members  of 
the  Liberal  party  met  at  the  Keform  Club  to  proceed  to  an 
election.  Mr.  Bright  was  voted  to  the  chair,  and  Mr.  Whit- 
bread  moved  the  following  resolution : — '  That  this  meeting 
desires  to  express  its  deep  sense  of  the  great  loss  which  the 
country  has  sustained  in  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Gladstone  from 
the  leadership  of  the  Liberal  party.'  Mr.  Fawcett  seconded  the 


RESIGNATION    01    THE    LIBERAL    LEADERSHIP.  487 

motion,  and  in  paying  Mr.  Gladstone  a  high  tribute  on  behalf  of 
his  independent  supporters,  observed: — 'When  we  opposed  him, 
in  the  very  height  of  his  power — and  I  say  this  most  advisedly — 
we  never  admired  him  more  than  in  the  hour  of  his  defeat.  I 
think  that  he  bore  that  defeat  with  magnanimity,  good  feeling, 
and  true  nobility  of  character.'  Mr.  Villiers  then  proposed  that 
the  Marquis  of  Hartington  should  be  requested  to  undertake  the 
leadership  of  the  Liberal  party  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Mr. 
S.  Morley,  speaking  for  his  own  section  of  the  House,  seconded 
the  motion,  which  was  as  warmly  received  as  the  previous  resolu- 
tion expressive  of  regret  at  Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement.  Lord 
F.  Cavendish,  in  responding  for  the  noble  Marquis,  his  brother, 
said  that  he  would  conscientiously,  watchfully,  and  prudently 
devote  his  utmost  strength  and  abilities  to  the  service  of  the 
party,  just  as  he  was  prepared  to  do  had  their  choice  fallen  upon 
Mr.  Forster  or  any  other  person.  Mr.  Bright  referred  to  the 
many  excellent  qualities  possessed  by  Lord  Hartington. 

Although  his  lordship  lacked  the  great  gifts  of  his  predecessor 
— and  his  leadership  cannot  by  any  means  be  placed  in  compari- 
son with  that  of  his  former  chief — he  lived  to  defeat  the  predic- 
tions of  those  who  prophesied  his  failure,  and  to  justify  very 
largely  the  eulogium  of  Mr.  Bright.  Thus  ended  the  brief 
interregnum  in  the  Liberal  leadership  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  appearances  during  the  session  were  very  in- 
frequent. On  more  than  one  occasion,  however,  he  addressed  the 
House  with  something  of  his  old  fire.  On  the  order  for  the  second 
reading  of  Mr.  Osborne  Morgan's  Burials  Bill,  on  the  21st  of 
April,  he  spoke  in  support  of  the  measure.  The  bill  proposed 
that,  as  regards  interment  in  a  parish  churchyard,  the  friends  of 
the  deceased  should  have  the  power  to  elect  what  service  they 
would  have  read  over  them.  Mr,  Gladstone,  in  supporting  the 
second  reading  of  the  bill,  said  he  could  not  give  an  entirely  silent 
vote.  While  it  was  undoubtedly  a  real  grievance  that  the  clergy 
should  be  under  an  obligation  to  perform  the  service  of  the  Church 
of  England  in  cases  where  they  and  the  parties  concerned  con- 
curred in  the  desire  that  it  should  not  be  read,  the  bill  did  not 
profess  to  deal  with  that  question.  His  hon.  and  learned  friend 
had  said  it  was  a  grievance  that  those  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
Church  of  England  should  be  debarred  from  the  power  of  having 
read  over  their  friends  the  rites  distinguishing  their  own  forms  of 
religion,  and  in  that  view  he  (Mr.  Gladstone)  concurred  ;  but  if 
it  were  deemed  expedient  that  this  grievance  should  be  remedied, 
provision  ought  to  be  made  by  the  bill  in  case  of  the  attendance 
of  large  crowds  of  persons  at  the  churchyard  to  hear  a  service  over 
the  deceased,  or  the  address  of  a  popular  preacher.  The  clergy 


488  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

were  responsible  for  keeping  the  churchyards  in  order,  and  it  was 
a  serious  question,  if  a  churchyard  were  to  receive  damage,  as  to 
how  the  cost  for  repairing  *:hat  damage  should  be  met.  It  would 
be  necessary  to  provide  for  that  case  (should  the  bill  pass  its 
second  reading)  in  committee,  and,  while  he  reserved  that  point, 
lie  should  give  a  very  cheerful  and  hearty  support  to  the  measure. 

Mr.  Cross  spoke  powerfully  against  the  bill,  and  Mr.  Bright 
still  more  eloquently  in  its  favour,  but  it  was  rejected  by  a 
majority  of  14,  the  numbers  being — For  the  second  reading, 
234  ;  against,  248.  This  being  a  Wednesday  sitting  of  the  House, 
the  numbers  were  unusually  large.  Only  one  Liberal,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Forster,  voted  in  the  majority ;  while  eight  Conservatives — viz., 
Mr.  S.  Cave  (a  member  of  the  Ofovernment),  Mr.  J.  P.  Corry,  Mr. 
Eussell  Gumey,  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  Mr.  C.  E.  Lewis,  Sip 
W.  Stirling-Maxwell.  Mr.  C.  W.  Nevill,  and  the  Hon.  A.  Walsh- 
voted  in  favour  of  the  bill. 

Sir  Stafford  Northcote's  budget  was  viewed  with  mitigated 
interest  upon  its  introduction,  but  on  a  consideration  of  Ways  and 
Means  in  committee,  Mr.  Gladstone  unexpectedly  poured  in  his 
eloquence  upon  his  successor  like  a  flood.  The  principal  feature 
in  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer's  proposals  related  to  the 
National  Debt,  for  the  gradual  reduction  of  which  he  suggested  a 
new  kind  of  sinking  fund,  involving  an  annual  charge  in  every 
budget  for  £'28,000,000.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  calcu- 
lated that  by  1885  £6,800,000  of  debt  would  be  paid  off,  and  in 
thirty  years'  time  £213,000,000. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  chief  objections  were  framed  against  the  pro- 
positions with  regard  to  post-office  savings-banks  and  friendly 
societies'  accounts,  and  to  the  proposed  National  Debt  Sink- 
ing Fund.  He  maintained  that  the  surplus  for  the  ensuing 
year  was  over-estimated,  and  with  the  deductions  which  ought 
to  be  expected  for  the  charge  for  the  deficiency  in  friendly 
societies  and  savings-banks  funds  and  Irish  education,  it 
would  be  entirely  eaten  up.  Further,  the  Government  ought 
to  have  submitted  the  supplementary  estimates  before  pro- 
ceeding to  strike  a  balance  between  the  revenue  and  expen- 
diture of  the  year,  but  instead  of  that  it  was  proposed  to  vote 
£185,000  for  the  reduction  of  debt,  of  which  sum  Government 
did  not  possess  a  single  shilling.  Mr.  Gladstone  pointed  out  three 
modes  of  reducing  the  National  Debt,  the  first  by  surplus  of  revenue 
over  expenditure,  secondly  by  terminable  annuities,  and  thirdly 
by  fixed  appropriations  beforehand.  Much  had  been  done  towards 
reducing  the  debt,  and  they  had  not  yet,  he  considered,  done 
enough ;  but  he  objected  to  the  present  plan  to  reduce  it,  because 
it  was  unreal,  and  based  upon  the  supposition  that  large  surpluses 


RESIGNATION    OF    THE    LIBERAL    LEADERSHIP.  489 

would  be  received  during  the  next  thirty  years.  The  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  had  not  one  farthing  of  surplus  himself,  but  pre- 
sented an  imaginary  surplus  of  £500,000  for  thirty  years  to  come, 
for  every  one  of  which  the  surplus  was  founded  on  the  assumption 
that  future  Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer  would  do  the  reverse  of 
what  he  had  done.  The  world  had  produced  wonders,  but  it  never 
had,  and  never  would,  produce  a  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  who 
would  have  the  courage  to  propose  a  new  tax  for  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  a  sinking  fund.  '  History  certainly  has  not  produced 
any  such  creation  ;  no  such  lusus  naturce  has  as  yet  appeared  ; 
a  d  I  do  not  think  that  the  Government  of  a  party  which  justly 
prides  itself  on  adherence  to  the  traditions  of  the  past,  on  learning 
lessons  from  antiquity,  on  avoiding  vain  theories  and  keeping  to 
the  lessons  of  experience,  ought  to  be  the  people  to  delude  us  by 
projects  such  as  this  into  the  marshes  in  which  we  shall  be  plunged, 
instead  of  remaining  upon  the  safe  high  road  by  which  we  have 
hitherto  travelled.'  Mr.  Gladstone  concluded  by  describing  the 
proposal  as  an  atttempt  to  revert  to  a  scheme  of  proceeding 
which,  however  well  intended,  had  been  exploded  under  the 
combined  action  of  authority  and  experience. 

Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  while  failing  to  answer  many  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  arguments,  replied  by  quoting  Mr.  Gladstone,  the 
author  of  the  scheme  of  terminable  annuities,  in  opposition  to  Mr. 
Gladstone,  the  denouncer  of  the  establishment  of  an  artificial 
sinking  fund  for  the  extinction  of  the  debt.  Another  attack  was 
subsequently  made  upon  the  sinking  fund  proposition,  but  the 
bill  in  which  it  was  embodied  was  carried  by  189  votes  to  122. 

Mr.  Gladstone  supported  the  Government  in  their  financial 
proposals  with  regard  to  the  expenses  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  visit 
to  India,  and  also  addressed  the  House  on  one  or  two  other  ques- 
tions of  less  general  interest  which  arose  during  this  session.  In 
the  autumn  he  met  the  Hawarden  cottage  tenantry,  and  spoke 
in  his  usual  felicitous  vein,  observing  that  there  was  nothing  more 
characteristic  of  life  in  England  than  meetings  of  that  description. 
But,  for  the  time  being,  it  is  not  in  the  right  hon.  gentleman's 
political  or  social,  but  in  his  controversial,  character  that  we  must 
view  him.  The  questions  which  were  closely  occupying  him  in 
his  semi-retirement  were  of  a  religious  nature,  and  these  were 
shortly  to  receive  a  full  and  vigorous  exposition. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

EITTJALISM  AND  VATICANISM. 

Ecclesiastical  Controversy — Mr.  Gladstone's  Essay  on  Ritualism — Modern  Roman 
Catholicism — '  Is  the  Church  of  England  worth  Preserving  ? ' — Mr.  Gladstone's 
Answer — Pamphlet  on  the  Vatican  Decrees — Papal  Infallibility — Effects  of  the 
Dogma  variously  viewed  by  Roman  Catholics — Papal  Claim  to  Civil  Allegiance — 
The  Liberal  Party  and  the  Roman  Catholics — Progress  of  Roman  Catholicism — 
Replies  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  Pamphlet — Vaticanism:  An  Answer  to  Reproofs  and 
Replies — Reiteration  of  previous  Charges — Mr.  Gladstone  and  Cardinal  Newman 
— General  Conclusion  on  the  Vatican  Claims. 

IN  the  recess  of  1874,  Mr.  Gladstone  continued  the  eccle- 
siastical controversy  which  had  been  initiated  some  months 
before  in  the  House  of  Commons  ;  but  he  now  gave  to  it  broader 
and  deeper  issues.  There  appeared  in  the  October  number  of 
the  Contemporary  Review  an  essay  by  the  ex-Premier,  entitled 
*  What  is  Ritualism  ? '  This  article,  which  attained  an  immense 
circulation,  excited  the  keenest  interest.  Mr.  Gladstone  gave 
this  general  definition  of  Ritualism  : — '  It  is  unwise,  undisci- 
plined reaction  from  poverty,  from  coldness,  from  barrenness,  from 
nakedness ;  it  is  overlaying  purpose  with  adventitious  and  obstruc- 
tive incumbrance ;  it  is  departure  from  measure  and  from  harmony 
in  the  annexation  of  appearance  to  substance,  of  the  outward  to 
the  inward  ;  it  is  the  caricature  of  the  beautiful ;  it  is  the  con- 
version of  help  into  hindrances ;  it  is  the  attempted  substitution 
of  the  secondary  for  the  primary  aim,  and  the  real  failure  and 
paralysis  of  both.'  The  writer  himself  had  no  personal  sympathy 
with  excessive  ornamentation  in  Divine  service  as  a  religious 
principle,  but  he  regarded  the  question  of  high  ritual  as  one  of 
aesthetic  taste.  Herein  he  was  at  variance  with  large  numbers 
of  the  Protestant  section  of  the  community,  who  saw  in  Ritualism 
something  more  than  a  mere  predilection  for  ornament  and  ritual 
— the  inner  significance  beneath  the  outer  forms.  '  The  truth  is,' 
Mr.  Gladstone  observed  in  one  place,  'that  in  the  word  Ritualism 
there  is  involved  much  more  than  the  popular  mind  seems  to 
suppose.  The  present  movement  in  favour  of  ritual  is  not  con- 
fined to  Ritualists,  neither  is  it  confined  even  to  Churchmen. 
It  has  been,  when  all  things  are  considered,  quite  as  remarkable 
among  Nonconformists  and  Presbyterians ;  not  because  they  have 


RITUALISM  AND  VATICANISM.  401 

as  much  of  it,  but  because  they  formerly  had  none,  and  because 
their  system  appeared  to  have  been  devised  and  adjusted  in  order 
to  prevent  its  introduction,  and  to  fix  upon  it  even  in  limine  the 
aspect  of  a  flagrant  departure  from  first  principles.'  Mr.  Glad- 
stone enlarged  upon  the  fact  that  Dissenting  chapels  now  had 
their  crosses,  their  organs,  richly-painted  architecture,  steeples, 
stained  windows,  elaborate  chanting,  &c. — all  which,  while  per- 
fectly true,  had  little  or  no  bearing  upon  the  dangers  which 
Ritualism  in  the  Church  of  England  was  believed  to  involve. 
The  writer  seemed  almost  disinclined  to  grapple  with  the  real 
tendencies  and  symbolisms  of  Eitualism.  He  admitted,  however, 
that  an  important  connection  between  high  doctrine  and  high 
ritual  is  to  be  traced  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  Church  of 
England.  If  we  were  not  the  better  for  more  ritual,  he  observed, 
we  were  the  worse  for  it.  A  general  augmentation  of  ritual, 
such  as  that  going  on  around  men  on  every  side,  if  it  were  with- 
out corresponding  enhancement  of  devotion,  meant  more  light, 
but  not  more  love. 

The  following  passage  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  essay  roused  the 
indignation  of  the  Eoman  Catholics  to  the  highest  pitch : — '  There 
is  a  question  which  it  is  the  special  purpose  of  this  paper  to  sug- 
gest for  consideration  by  my  fellow-Christians  generally,  which  is 
more  practical,  and  of  greater  importance,  as  it  seems  to  me,  and 
has  far  stronger  claims  on  the  attention  of  the  nation  and  of  the 
rulers  of  the  Church,  than  the  question  whether  a  handful  of  the 
clergy  are  or  are  not  engaged  in  an  utterly  hopeless  and  visionary 
effort  to  Romanise  the  Church  and  people  of  England.  At  no 
time  since  the  sanguinary  reign  of  Mary  has  such  a  scheme  been 
possible.  But,  if  it  had  been  possible  in  the  seventeenth  or 
eighteenth  centuries,  it  would  still  have  become  impossible  in  the 
nineteenth ;  when  Rome  has  substituted  for  the  proud  boast  of 
semper  eadem  a  policy  of  violence  and  change  in  faith ;  when  she 
has  refurbished  and  paraded  anew  every  rusty  tool  she  was  fondly 
thought  to  have  disused ;  when  no  one  can  become  her  convert 
without  renouncing  his  moral  and  mental  freedom,  and  placing 
his  civil  loyalty  and  duty  at  the  mercy  of  another ;  and  when  she 
has  equally  repudiated  modern  thought  and  ancient  history.  I 
cannot  persuade  myself  to  feel  alarm  as  to  the  final  issue  of  her 
crusades  in  England,  and  this,  although  I  do  not  undervalue  her 
great  powers  of  mischief.'  This  extract  demonstrated  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's courage  and  strict  loyalty  to  conscience;  for  the  very 
members  of  the  community  of  whom  he  thus  indirectly  spoke 
were  those  from  whom  he  had  but  recently  struck  their  long- 
endured  political  and  religious  fetters.  Yet  in  quarters  where 
the  writer  had  once  been  regarded  as  the  champion  of  religious 


492  WILLTAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

and  political  freedom,  he  was  now  fiercely,  bitterly,  and  unjustifi- 
ably assailed. 

On  the  question  of  Eitualism,  Mr.  Gladstone  expressed  the 
view  that  *  the  best  touchstone  for  deciding  what  is  wrong  and 
defining  what  is  right  in  the  exterior  apparel  of  Divine  service, 
will  be  found  in  the  holy  desire  and  authoritative  demand  of  the 
Apostle,  "  that  the  Church  may  receive  edifying  "  rather  than  in 
abstract  imagery  of  perfection  on  the  one  hand,  or  any  form  of 
narrow  traditional  prejudice  on  the  other.'  Beyond  this,  he  formu- 
lated no  general  conclusions,  but  contented  himself  by  reprinting 
the  six  resolutions  in  which,  when  the  Public  Worship  Kegulation 
Bill  was  before  the  House  of  Commons,  he  endeavoured  to  set 
forth  what  appeared  to  him  to  offer  a  safer  and  a  wiser  basis  of 
legislation.* 

To  the  numerous  criticisms  upon  this  essay,  Mr.  Gladstone 
published  in  the  following  year  a  general  reply  entitled,  *  Is  the 
Church  of  England  worth  Preserving?'  f  The  writer  observed  that 
there  had  been  an  expectation  that  his  previous  essay  might  untie 
or  cut  the  knot  of  the  questions  which  had  been  so  warmly  if  not 
fiercely  agitated  during  the  preceding  session  of  Parliament ,  but 
he  had  no  such  ambitious  aim.  The  season  being  now  tranquil, 
the  question  might  at  length  be  approached  in  the  temper  of  the 
chamber,  and  not  of  the  battle-field.  He  deprecated  a  secession 
from  the  National  Church,  for  such  an  event  would  operate,  with 
reference  to  its  nationality,  like  a  rent  in  a  wall, '  which  is  mainly 
important,  not  by  the  weight  of  material  it  detaches,  but  by  the 
discontinuity  it  leaves.'  But  it  was  not  only  the  severance  of 
the  Church  into  two  bodies  which  might  precipitate  disestablish- 
ment ;  obstinacy  and  exasperation  of  internal  strife  might  operate 
yet  more  effectively  towards  the  same  end.  He  earnestly  urged 
it  upon  all  the  members  of  the  National  Church  that  the  more 
they  studied  her  place  and  function  in  Christendom,  the  more 
they  would  find  that  her  unity,  qualified  but  real,  was  worth 
preserving.  Coming  to  one  of  the  capital  and  cardinal  points  of 
his  case,  he  expressed  his  conviction  that  *  heavy  will  be  the 
blame  to  those,  be  they  who  they  may,  who  may  at  this  juncture 
endeavour — whether  by  legislation  or  by  judicial  action,  and 
whether  by  alteration  of  phrases  or  by  needlessly  attaching 
doctrinal  significance  to  the  injunction  or  prohibition  of 
ceremonial  acts — to  shift  the  balance  of  doctrinal  expression 
in  the  Church  of  England.'  To  lessen  the  chances  of  a  mis- 
apprehension of  his  arguments,  Mr.  Gladstone  summed  up,  in 

*  These  Kesolutions  will  be  found  in  Chapter  XXIII. 
t  See  the  Contemporary  Review  for  July,  1875. 


RITUALISM   AND  VATICANISM.  493 

the  following  propositions,  the  bearings   and   purport   of  his 
second  essay : — 

'  I.  The  Church  of  this  great  nation  is  worth  preserving,  and  for  that  end  much 
may  well  be  borne.  II.  In  the  existing  state  of  minds  and  of  circumstances,  pre- 
served it  cannot  be,  if  we  now  shift  its  balance  of  doctrinal  expression,  be  it  by  any 
alteration  of  the  Prayer  Hook  (either  way)  in  contested  points, or  be  it  by  treating 
rubrical  interpretations  of  the  matters  heretofore  most  shaiply  contested  on  the  basis 
of  "  doctrinal  significance."  III.  The  more  we  trust  to  moral  forces,  and  the  less  to 
penal  proceedings  (which  are  to  a  considerable  extent  exclusive  one  of  the  other), 
the  better  for  the  establishment,  and  even  for  the  Church.  IV.  If  litigation  is  to 
be  continued,  and  to  remain,  within  the  bounds  of  safety,  it  is  highly  requisite  that 
it  should  be  confined  to  the  repression  of  such  proceedings  as  really  imply  unfaith- 
fulness to  the  national  religion.  V.  In  order  that  judicial  decisions  on  ceremonial 
may  habitually  enjoy  the  large  measure  of  authority,  finality,  and  respect,  which 
attaches  in  general  to  the  sentences  of  our  courts,  it  is  requisite  that  they  should 
have  uniform  regard  to  the  rules  and  results  of  full  historical  investigation,  and 
should,  if  possible,  allow  to  stand  over  for  the  future  matters  insufficiently  cleared, 
rather  than  decide  them  upon  partial  and  fragmentary  evidence.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  gave  himself  no  rest  in  the  ecclesiastical  warfare. 
Within  one  month  from  the  publication  of  his  essay  on  Eitualism 
appeared  from  his  pen  a  pamphlet  on  The  Vatican  Decrees  in 
their  Bearing  on  Civil  Allegiance ;  a  Political  Expostulation. 
His  object  now  was  to  justify  the  assertions  in  the  previous 
article  which  had  been  so  much  controverted  by  Eoman  Catholics. 
The  propositions  which  occasioned  the  pamphlet  on  the  Vatican 
Decrees,  and  which  he  now  defended,  were  as  follows : — '  I.  That 
Home  has  substituted  for  the  proud  boast  of  semper  eadem  a 
policy  of  violence  and  change  in  faith.  II.  That  she  has  refur- 
bished and  paraded  anew  every  rusty  tool  she  was  fondly  thought 
to  have  disused.  III.  That  no  one  can  now  become  her  convert 
without  renouncing  his  moral  and  mental  freedom,  and  placing 
his  civil  loyalty  and  duty  at  the  mercy  of  another.  IV.  That 
Rome  has  equally  repudiated  modern  thought  and  ancient  history.' 
Mr.  Gladstone  passed  over  briefly  the  first  and  fourth  of  these 
propositions,  as  they  belonged  to  the  theological  domain  ;  but,  in 
justifying  them,  he  remarked  that  no  one  who  had  followed  the 
course  of  the  literature  of  the  Romish  Church  during  the  past 
forty  years  could  fail  to  be  sensible  of  the  change  in  its  present 
tenor.  More  and  more  had  the  assertions  of  continuous  uni- 
formity of  doctrine  receded  into  scarcely  penetrable  shadow.  More 
and  more  had  another  series  of  assertions  of  a  living  authority, 
ever  ready  to  open,  adopt,  and  shape  Christian  doctrine  according 
to  the  times,  taken  their  place.  "With  regard  to  the  second 
branch  of  his  subject,  the  writer  cited  a  number  of  propositions 
respecting  the  liberty  of  the  press,  liberty  of  conscience,  the  Papal 
judgments  and  decrees,  &c.,  the  holders  of  which  had  been  con- 
demned by  the  See  of  Rome  during  his  own  generation,  and 
especially  within  the  last  twelve  or  fifteen  years.  The  third  pro- 
position by  Mr.  Gladstone  was  the  most  important,  as  it  concerned 


494  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

the  operation  of  the  Romish  dogmas  on  personal  and  private  duty. 
To  this  point  he  accordingly  addressed  himself  at  length.  *  Is  it, 
or  is  it  not,  true,'  he  demanded,  '  that  Rome  requires  a  convert 
who  now  joins  her  to  forfeit  his  moral  and  mental  freedom,  and 
to  place  his  loyalty  and  civil  duty  at  the  mercy  of  another  ? ' 
Without  imputing  to  any  one  the  moral  murder  of  stifling  con- 
science and  conviction,  he  could  not,  for  one,  be  surprised  that 
the  fermentation  which  was  working  through  the  mind  of  the 
Latin  Church  had  as  yet  (elsewhere  than  in  Germany*)  but  in 
few  instances  come  to  the  surface.  Mr.  Gladstone  proceeded  to 
show  that  the  declarations  made  by  Irish  bishops  before  com- 
mittees of  the  Houses  of  Lords  and  Commons,  previous  to  the 
passing  of  the  Catholic  Emancipation  Act,  as  well  as  decrees  of 
councils  and  declarations  of  great  ecclesiastical  authorities  in 
earlier  and  later  times,  were  at  variance  with  the  new  claims  set 
up  in  1870,  and  that  the  Roman  Catholic  authorities  deprecated 
fifty  years  ago  the  very  doctrines  of  allegiance  which  were  now 
strongly  asserted.  All  the  propositions  which  had  been  formerly 
left  to  the  individual  conscience  had  now  undergone  a  change, 
and  been  completely  reversed.  '  The  Pope's  Infallibility,  when  he 
speaks  ex  cathedra  on  faith  and  morals,  has  been  declared,  with 
the  assent  of  the  bishops  of  the  Roman  Church,  to  be  an  article 
of  faith,  binding  on  the  conscience  of  every  Christian  ;  his  claim 
to  the  obedience  of  his  spiritual  subjects  has  been  declared  in  like 
manner  without  any  practical  limit  or  reserve;  and  his  supremacy, 
without  any  reserve  of  civil  rights,  has  been  similarly  affirmed  to 
include  everything  which  relates  to  the  discipline  and  government 
of  the  Church  throughout  the  world.  And  these  doctrines,  we  now 
know  on  the  highest  authority,  it  is  of  necessity  for  salvation  to 
believe.'  After  a  close  examination  of  the  character  and  bearings 
of  the  doctrine  of  Papal  Infallibility,  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  gene- 
rally enforced  the  effects  of  the  dogma  : — 

'  Absolute  obedience,  it  is  boldly  declared,  is  due  to  the  Pope,  at  the  peril  of 
salvation,  not  alone  in  faith,  in  morals,  but  in  all  things  which  concern  the  disci- 
pline and  government  of  the  Church.  Thus  are  swept  into  the  Papal  net  whole 
multitudes  of  facts,  whole  systems  of  government,  prevailing,  though  in  different 
degrees,  in  every  country  in  the  world.  Even  in  the  United  States,  where  the 
severance  between  Church  and  State  is  supposed  to  be  complete,  a  long  catalogue 
might  be  drawn  of  subjects  belonging  to  the  domain  and  competency  of  the  State, 
but  also  undeniably  affecting  the  government  of  the  Church  ;  such  as,  by  way  of 
example,  marriage,  burial,  education,  prison  discipline,  blasphemy,  poor-relief, 
incorporation,  mortmain,  religious  endowments,  vows  of  celibacy,  and  obedience. 
In  Europe  the  circle  is  far  wider,  the  points  of  contact  and  of  interlacing  almost 
innumerable.  But  on  all  matters  respecting  which  any  Pope  may  think  proper  to 
declare  that  they  concern  either  faith,  or  morals,  or  the  Government  or  discipline 

*  On  more  than  one  occasion  it  has  been  reported  that  Dr.  von  Dollinger  (to 
whom  Mr.  Gladstone  paid  a  high  tribute)  had  made  his  submission  on  the  doctrine 
of  Papal  Infallibility ;  but  the  learned  Doctor  himself  has  emphatically  denied  this 
to  be  the  case. 


EITUALISM   AND  VATICANISM.  495 

of  the  Church,  he  claims,  with  the  approval  of  a  council  undoubtedly  ecumenical  in 
the  Roman  sense,  the  absolute  obedience,  at  the  peril  of  salvation,  of  every  member  of 
his  communion.  It  seems  not  as  yet  to  have  been  thought  wise  to  pledge  the  Council 
in  terms  to  the  Syllabus  and  the  Encyclical.  That  achievement  is  probably  reserved 
for  some  one  of  its  sittings  yet  to  come.  In  the  meantime  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  this  claim  in  respect  of  all  things  affecting  the  discipline  and  Government  of 
the  Church,  as  well  as  faith  and  conduct,  is  lodged  in  open  day  by  and  in  the 
reign  of  a  Pontiff  who  has  condemned  free  speech,  free  writing,  a  free  press,  tolera- 
tion of  nonconformity,  liberty  of  conscience,  the  study  of  civil  and  philosophical 
matters  in  independence  of  the  ecclesiastical  authority,  marriage,  unless  sacramen- 
tally  contracted,  and  the  definition  by  the  State  of  the  civil  rights  (jura)  of  the 
Church ;  who  has  demanded  for  the  Church,  therefore,  the  title  to  define  its  own 
civil  rights,  together  with  a  divine  right  to  civil  immunities  and  a  right  to  use 
physical  force ;  and  who  has  also  proudly  asserted  that  the  Popes  of  the  middle  ages 
with  their  councils  did  not  invade  the  rights  of  princes :  as,  for  example,  Gregory 
VII.,  of  the  Emperor  Henry  IV. ;  Innocent  III.,  of  Raymond  of  Toulouse ;  Paul  III., 
in  deposing  Henry  VIII. ;  or  Pius  V.,  in  performing  the  like  paternal  office  for 
Elizabeth.' 

Before  such  incontrovertible  facts  as  these,  and  others  of  equal 
significance  within  the  public  knowledge,  it  may  well  have  seemed 
extraordinary  to  the  writer — as  indeed  it  must  have  done  to 
thousands  of  other  persons — that  men  of  the  high  intellectual 
eminence  of  Cardinals  Newman  and  Manning  should  have  sub- 
scribed to  the  dogmas  promulgated  from  the  Vatican.  We  are 
driven  to  the  conclusion  that  such  a  subscription  would  have  been 
impossible  save  under  the  influence  of  the  strong  soporific  of 
casuistry. 

Mr.  Gladstone  demanded  in  the  most  specific  form,  and  in  the 
clearest  terms,  one  of  two  things — either,  '  I.  A  demonstration 
that  neither  in  the  name  of  faith,  nor  in  the  name  of  morals,  nor 
in  the  name  of  the  government  or  discipline  of  the  Church,  is  the 
Pope  of  Home  able,  by  virtue  of  the  powers  asserted  for  him  by 
the  Vatican  decree,  to  make  any  claim  upon  those  who  adhere  to 
his  communion,  of  such  a  nature  as  can  impair  the  integrity  of 
their  civil  allegiance ;  or  else,  II.  That,  if  and  when  such  claim 
is  made,  it  will,  even  although  resting  on  the  definitions  of  the 
Vatican,  be  repelled  and  rejected  ;  just  as  Bishop  Doyle,  when 
he  was  asked  what  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  would  do  if  the 
Pope  intermeddled  with  their  religion,  replied  frankly,  "  The 
consequence  would  be  that  we  should  oppose  him  by  every  means 
in  our  power,  even  by  the  exercise  of  our  spiritual  authority."  ' 
In  the  absence  of  explicit  assurances  to  this  effect,  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  compelled  to  adopt  these  conclusions  : — *  1 .  That  the  Pope, 
authorised  by  his  Council,  claims  for  himself  the  domain  (a)  of 
faith,  (6)  of  morals,  (c)  of  all  that  concerns  the  government  and 
discipline  of  the  Church.  2.  That  he  in  like  manner  claims  the 
power  of  determining  the  limits  of  those  domains.  3.  That  he 
does  not  sever  them,  by  any  acknowledged  or  intelligible  line, 
from  the  domains  of  civil  duty  and  allegiance.  4.  That  he  there- 
fore claims,  and  claims  from  the  month  of  July,  1870,  onwards, 


496  .  WILLIAM    EWART   GLADSTONE. 

with  plenary  authority  from  every  convert  and  member  of  his 
Church,  that  he  shall  "  place  his  loyalty  and  civil  duty  at  the 
mercy  of  another,"  that  other  being  himself.' 

The  important  question  now  arose  that,  being  true,  were  the 
above  propositions  material  ?  On  this  point,  the  author  showed 
that  there  was  not  the  smallest  doubt  the  temporal  power  of  the 
Popedom  came  within  the  meaning  of  the  words  used  at  the 
Vatican  to  describe  the  subjects  on  which  the  Pope  was  authorised 
to  claim,  under  awful  sanctions,  the  obedience  of  the  *  faithful.' 
And  it  was  possible  we  had  here  the  key  to  the  enlargement  of 
the  province  of  Obedience  beyond  the  limits  of  Infallibility,  and 
to  the  introduction  of  the  remarkable  phrase  ad  disciplinam  et 
regimen  Ecclesice.  With  regard  to  the  inquiry  whether  his  pro- 
positions were  proper  to  be  set  forth  by  the  present  writer,  Air. 
Grladstone  answered,  that  for  thirty  years,  under  a  great  variety 
of  circumstances,  in  office  and  as  an  independent  member  of  Par- 
liament, he  had  laboured  with  others  to  maintain  and  extend  the 
civil  rights  of  his  Eoman  Catholic  fellow-countrymen.  The 
Liberal  party  had  sometimes  suffered  heavily  for  its  ardour  in 
the  pursuit  of  that  policy.  It  was,  therefore,  only  just  that  he 
should  make  the  present  declaration.  Up  to  1870,  opinion  in  the 
Koman  Church  on  all  matters  affecting  civil  liberty  was  free.  Mr. 
Grlad stone  felt  at  that  time  that  it  was  the  first  and  paramount  duty 
of  the  British  Legislature  to  give  to  Ireland  all  that  justice  could 
demand.  The  last  debt  of  the  kind  was  paid  by  the  Irish  Univer- 
sity Bill  of  1873,  and  the  rejection  of  that  measure  was  due  to 
the  influence  of  the  Koman  Catholic  prelacy  of  Ireland.  '  From 
that  time  forward  I  have  felt  that  the  situation  was  changed,  and 
that  important  matters  would  have  to  be  cleared  by  suitable 
explanations.' 

The  writer  anticipated  the  inquiry  which  his  observations  would 
suggest,  viz.,  *  Are  they,  then,  a  recantation  and  regret ;  and  what 
are  they  meant  to  recommend  as  the  policy  of  the  future  ? '  His 
reply  was  succinct  and  plain — of  what  the  Liberal  party  had  accom- 
plished, by  word  or  deed,  in  establishing  the  full  civil  equality  of 
Koman  Catholics,  he  regretted  nothing  and  recanted  nothing. 
He  admitted  that  during  the  last  thirty  years  the  Romish  Church 
had  made  some  progress,  but  its  conquests  had  been  chiefly — as 
might  have  been  expected — among  women.*  Koman  Catholicism 
had  also  made  some  progress  amongst  the  upper  classes.  '  The 
original  Gospel  was  supposed  to  be  meant  especially  for  the  poor ; 
but  the  Grospel  of  the  nineteenth  century  from  Rome  courts  another 

*  Recent  statistics  prove  that  the  progress  of  the  Romish  Church  in  the  United 
Kingdom  is  by  no  means  commensurate  with  the  growth  of  the  population,  or 
with  the  progress  of  some  other  religious  bodies. 


RITUALISM   AND  VATICANISM.  497 

and  less  modest  destination.  If  the  Pope  does  not  control  more 
souls  among  us,  he  certainly  controls  more  acres.  The  sever- 
ance, however,  of  a  certain  number  of  lords  of  the  soil  from  those 
who  till  it  can  be  borne.'  As  to  his  own  views  and  intentions  in 
the  future,  which  he  described  as  of  the  smallest  significance,  the 
author  declared  that  he  should  be  guided,  as  heretofore,  by  the 
rule  of  maintaining  equal  civil  rights,  irrespectively  of  religious 
differences  ;  and  he  should  resist  all  attempts  to  exclude  the 
members  of  the  Koman  Church  from  the  bsnefit  of  that  rule.  Mr. 
Gladstone  thus  concluded  this  remarkable  pamphlet : — 

'  The  State  will,  I  trust,  be  ever  careful  to  leave  the  domain  of  religious  conscience 
free,  and  yet  to  keep  it  to  its  own  domain ;  and  to  allow  neither  private  caprice, 
nor,  above  all,  foreign  arrogance  to  dictate  to  it  on  the  discharge  of  its  proper  office. 
"England  expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty;  "  and  none  can  be  so  well  prepared 
under  all  circumstances  to  exact  its  performance  as  that  Liberal  party  which  has 
done  the  work  of  justice  alike  for  Nonconformists  and  for  Papal  Dissidents,  and 
whose  members  have  so  often,  for  the  sake  of  that  work,  hazarded  their  credit  with 
the  markedly  Protestant  constituencies  of  the  country.  Strong  the  State  of  the 
United  Kingdom  has  always  been  in  material  strength,  and  its  moral  panoply  is 
now,  we  may  hope,  pretty  complete.  It  is  not  then  for  the  dignity  of  the  Crown 
and  people  of  the  United  Kingdom  to  be  diverted  from  a  path  which  they  have 
deliberately  chosen  and  which  it  does  not  rest  with  all  the  myrmidons  of  the 
Apostolic  chamber  either  openly  to  obstruct  or  secretly  to  undermine.  It  is  right- 
fully to  be  expected,  it  is  greatly  to  be  desired,  that  the  Koman  Catholics  of  this 
country  should  do  in  the  nineteenth  century  what  their  forefathers  of  England, 
except  a  handful  of  emissaries,  did  in  the  sixteenth,  when  they  were  marshalled  in 
resistance  to  the  Armada,  and  in  the  seventeenth,  when,  in  spite  of  the  Papal  Chair, 
they  sat  in  the  House  of  Lords  under  the  Oath  of  Allegiance.  That  which  they  are 
entitled  to  desire,  we  are  entitled  also  to  expect ;  indeed,  to  say  we  did  not  expect  it 
would,  in  my  judgment,  be  the  true  way  of  conveying  an  "  insult "  to  those  concerned. 
In  this  expectation  we  may  be  -partially  disappointed.  Should  those  to  whom  I 
appeal,  thus  unhappily  come  to  bear  witness  in  their  own  persons  to  the  decay  of 
sound,  manly,  true  life  in  their  Church,  it  will  be  their  loss  more  than  ours.  The 
inhabitants  of  these  islands,  as  a  whole,  are  stable,  though  sometimes  credulous 
and  excitable ;  resolute,  though  sometimes  boastful ;  and  a  strong-headed  and 
stout-hearted  race  will  not  be  hindered,  either  by  latent  or  by  avowed  dissents, 
due  to  the  foreign  influence  of  a  caste,  from  the  accomplishment  of  its  mission  in 
the  world.' 

Few  pamphlets,  or  indeed  works  of  any  kind,  have  created  so 
much  public  excitement,  or  attained  such  an  enormous  circula- 
tion, as  this  dissertation  on  the  Vatican  Decrees.  In  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks  no  fewer  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
copies  of  the  pamphlet  had  been  disposed  of,  and  replies  innu- 
merable appeared  within  the  same  period.*  Mr.  Gladstone's  ess.-iy 
performed  one  service  at  least — it  demonstrated  that  there  was  a 
want  of  harmony  between  the  members  of  the  Romish  Church 
themselves  on  the  subject  of  the  Vatican  Decrees.  For  example, 

*  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  chief  writers  of  replies  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  essay  :— 
Cardinal  Manning,  Dr.  (Cardinal)  Newman,  Bishop  Ullathorne,  Bishop  V:niiih:m. 
Monsignor  Cupel,  Ix>rd  Petre,  Lord  Ilorries,  Sir  G.  Bowyer,  Lord  Robert  Montagu, 
a  Monk  of  St.  Augustine's,  Hamsgate,  Bishop  Clifford,  liev.  J.  Coleridge,  Ki-v.  T.  B. 
Parkinson,  Monsignor  Frmcesco  Nardi,  Mr.  A.  P.  de  Lisle,  Canon  Oakley,  .Mr. 
Marum,  LL.B.,  Rev.  Jol  n  Curry,  Mr.  J.  Stores  Smith,  and  a  Scottish  Catholic  Lay- 
man. A  great  number  of  anonymous  replies  were  also  published,  as  well  as 
tures  upon  Mr.  Gladstone's  conclusions,  in  the  Ultramontane  press. 

K  K 


498  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Lord  Camoys,  a  well-known  Catholic  nobleman,  declared  that  he 
concurred  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  views  upon  the  new  dogmas  of  the 
Church.  History,  common-sense,  and  his  early  instruction — said 
his  lordship — forbade  him  to  accept  the  astounding  and  novel 
doctrine  of  the  personal  Infallibility  of  the  Pope,  even  though 
limited  to  the  domain  of  faith  and  morals.  He  took  exception  to 
nothing  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  pamphlet  but  the  term  '  bloody,'  as 
applied  to  Queen  Mary.  If  the  Vatican  Decrees  were  enforced, 
serious  difficulties  would  arise  for  the  members  of  the  Koman 
Catholic  Church  throughout  the  world.  Lord  Acton,  one  of  the 
most  intellectual  and  enlightened  of  Catholics,  claimed  that  he 
could  be  an  orthodox  Romanist,  and  yet  resist  the  Vatican 
Decrees.  Mr.  Henry  Petre  likewise  repudiated  the  high  Ultramon- 
tane views.  Other  members  of  the  Romish  communion,  however, 
such  as  Lord  Herries,  Lord  Petre,  Mr.  Stourton,  and  Mr.  Lang- 
dale,  accepted  the  Decrees.  Upon  the  appearance  of  the  pamphlet, 
two  prominent  Italian  journals,  the  Osservatore  and  the  Voce 
della  Verita,  could  scarcely  believe  it  possible  that  it  was  Mr. 
Gladstone  who  thus  attacked  the  Holy  See.  They  imagined  that 
he  had  done  this  deed  to  clear  himself  of  the  suspicion  of  hidden 
Catholicism,  and  the  former  journal  hinted  that  the  essay  might 
have  been  the  result  of  certain  interviews  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  known  to  have  had  with  Dr.  von  Dollinger.*  Both  journals 
further  expressed  a  hope  that  the  offender  might  be  brought  ulti- 
mately within  the  pale  of  the  '  true  Church,'  a  consummation 
scarcely  likely  to  be  realised. 

Three  months  after  the  appearance  of  his  first  pamphlet,  Mr. 
Gladstone  issued  a  second,  entitled  Vaticanism  :  an  Ansiver  to 
Reproof 8  and  Replies.  Those  who  adopted  the  Ultramontane 
hypothesis  had  charged  him  with  insulting  the  Roman  Catholics 
of  Great  Britain.  Mr.  Gladstone  repudiated  all  such  intention, 
but  in  doing  so  reiterated  his  original  charges  as  follows : — '  The 
Vatican  Decrees  do,  in  the  strictest,  sense,  establish  for  the  Pope 
a  supreme  command  over  loyalty  and  civil  duty.  To  the  vast 
majority  of  Roman  Catholics  they  are,  and  in  all  likelihood  will 
long  in  their  carefully  enveloped  meaning  remain,  practically 
unknown.  Of  that  small  minority  who  have  spoken  or  fitted 
themselves  to  speak  a  portion  reject  them.  Another  portion 
receive  them  with  an  express  reserve,  to  me  perfectly  satisfactory, 
against  all  their  civil  consequences.  Another  portion  seem  to 
suspend  their  judgment  until  it  is  determined  what  is  a  free 

*  Cardinal  Manning  and  Bishop  Ullathorne  also  supposed  Dr.  von  Dollinger  to 
be  in  some  degree  responsible  for,  or  at  least  cognisant  of,  the  tract  on  the  Vatican 
Decrees ;  but  Mr.  Gladstone  afterwards  stated  that  the  learned  Doctor  had  no 
concern,  direct  or  indirect,  in  the  production  or  publication  of  the  pamphlet,  and 
that  until  it  had  gone  to  the  press  he  was  even  ignorant  of  its  existence. 


RITUALISM  AND  VATICANISM.  499 

Council,  what  is  moral  unanimity,  what  are  declarations  ex 
cathedra^  whether  there  has  been  a  decisive  and  binding  pro- 
mulgation so  as  to  create  a  law,  and  whether  the  claim  for  an 
undue  obedience  need  be  considered  until  some  act  of  undue 
obedience  is  asked.  A  very  large  class,  as  it  seems  to  me,  think 
they  receive  these  Decrees,  and  do  not.  They  are  involved  in 
inconsistency,  and  that  inconsistency  is  dangerous.'  He  did  not 
censure  the  supporters  of  the  Decrees :  the  Alpha  and  Omega  of 
his  desire  was  to  assail  the  system. 

The  writer  paid  a  high  compliment  to  his  most  distinguished 
antagonist,  Dr.  Newman.  '  In  my  opinion,'  he  remarked,  '  his 
secession  from  the  Church  of  England  has  never  yet  been  estimated 
among  us  at  anything  like  the  full  amount  of  its  calamitous 
importance.  It  has  been  said  that  the  world  does  not  know  its 
greatest  men ;  *  neither,  I  will  add,  is  it  aware  of  the  power  and 
weight  carried  by  the  words  and  by  the  acts  of  those  among  its 
greatest  men  whom  it  does  know.  The  Ecclesiastical  historian 
will  perhaps  hereafter  judge  that  this  secession  was  a  much  greater 
event  even  than  the  partial  secession  of  John  Wesley,  the  only 
case  of  personal  loss  suffered  by  the  Church  of  England  since  the 
Reformation,  which  can  be  at  all  compared  with  it  in  magnitude. 
I  do  not  refer  to  its  effect  upon  the  mere  balance  of  schools  or 
parties  in  the  Church  ;  that  is  an  inferior  question.  I  refer  to 
its  effect  upon  the  state  of  positive  belief,  and  the  attitude  and 
capacities  of  the  religious  mind  of  England.'  After  having 
given  an  extraordinary  impulse  to  the  religious  thought  of 
England  at  a  critical  period,  Dr.  Newman  lived  to  be  the 
main,  if  involuntary,  cause  of  disorganising  it  in  a  manner 
quite  as  remarkable. 

With  regard  to  the  character  of  Dr.  Newman's  answer,  and 
the  replies  of  other  acceptors  of  the  Decrees  who  wrote  in  the 
same  sense,  Mr.  Gladstone  could  not  refrain  from  saying  that  the 
immediate  purpose  of  his  appeal  had  been  attained,  in  so  far  as 
that  the  loyalty  of  his  Roman  Catholic  fellow-subjects  in  the 
mass  remained  evidently  untainted  and  secure.  Dr.  Newman's 
letter  to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  Mr.  Gladstone  pronounced  to  be  of 
the  highest  interest  as  a  psychological  study.  'Whatever  he 
writes,  whether  we  agree  with  him  or  not,  presents  to  us  this 
great  attraction  as  well  as  advantage,  that  we  have  everywhere 
the  man  in  the  work,  that  his  words  are  the  transparent  covering 
of  his  nature.  If  there  be  obliquity  in  them,  it  is  purely  intel- 
lectual obliquity  ;  the  work  of  an  intellect  sharp  enough  to  cut 

*  This  thought,  so  often  attributed  to  a  wrong  source,  appears  in  Sir  Henry 
Taylor's  Philip  van  Artevelde,  Act  I.,  so.  5,  'The  world  knows  nothing  of  its 
greatest  men.' 

KK2 


500  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  diamond,  and  bright  as  the  diamond  which  it  cuts.  How 
rarely  it  is  found,  in  the  wayward  and  inscrutable  records  of  our 
race,  that  with  these  instruments  of  an  almost  superhuman  force 
and  subtlety,  robustness  of  character  and  energy  of  will  are  or 
can  be  developed  in  the  same  extraordinary  proportions,  so  as  to 
integrate  that  structure  of  combined  thought  and  action  which 
makes  life  a  moral  whole ! '  But  his  exclusive  duty  now  was 
concerned  with  the  learned  Doctor's  tract,  and  on  the  general 
question  he  must  avow  that  he  did  not  feel  the  same  security  for 
the  future  as  for  the  present.  He  could  not  overlook  indications, 
even  in  this  country,  that  the  proceedings  of  Vaticanism  threat- 
ened to  become  a  source  of  practical  inconvenience.  With  respect 
to  Archbishop  Manning,  that  prelate's  satisfactory  views  on  the 
present  rule  of  civil  allegiance  had  not  prevented  him  from 
giving  his  countenance  as  a  responsible  editor  to  the  lucubrations 
of  a  gentleman  who  denied  liberty  of  conscience,  and  asserted 
the  right  to  persecute  when  there  was  the  power ;  a  right  which, 
indeed,  the  Archbishop  himself  had  not  disclaimed.  But  apart 
from  personal  questions,  do  what  men  might  in  checking  external 
developments,  it  was  not  in  their  power  to  neutralise  the  mischiefs 
of  the  wanton  aggression  of  1870  upon  the  liberties  which  up  to 
that  epoch  had  been  allowed  to  private  Christians  in  the  Eoman 
communion.  '  Even  in  those  parts  of  Christendom  where  the 
Decrees  and  the  present  attitude  of  the  Papal  See  do  not 
produce  or  aggravate  open  broils  with  the  civil  power,  by 
undermining  moral  liberty  they  impair  moral  responsibility, 
and  silently,  in  the  succession  of  generations,  if  not  in  the 
lifetime  of  individuals,  tend  to  emasculate  the  vigour  of  the 
mind.' 

In  the  body  of  this  second  essay,  Mr.  Gladstone  proceeded 
further  to  sustain  and  prove  his  two  main  propositions — that 
Home  had  reproduced  for  active  service  those  doctrines  of  former 
times  which  she  was  fondly  thought  to  have  disused ;  and  that 
the  Pope  now  claims,  with  plenary  authority,  from  every  convert 
and  member  of  his  Church,  that  he  shall  place  his  loyalty  and 
civil  duty  at  the  mercy  of  another,  viz.,  himself.  The  writer 
adduced  proofs  to  show  that  his  account  of  the  contents  of  the 
Syllabus  was  accurate,  and  that  he  had  understated,  not  overstated, 
its  authority.  In  the  code  of  Vaticanism,  it  was  unquestionably 
entitled  to  obedience.  The  other  topics  treated  were  the  Vatican 
Council  and  the  Infallibility  of  the  Pope,  the  revived  claims  of 
the  Pope,  the  Vatican  Council  and  obedience  to  the  Pope,  warrant 
of  allegiance  according  to  the  Vatican,  and  the  intrinsic  nature 
and  conditions  of  the  Papal  Infallibility  decreed  in  the  Vatican 
Council.  Mr.  Gladstone  brought  forward  a  variety  of  arguments 


RITUALISM   AND   VATICANISM.  501 

and  proofs  in  justification  of  the  following  general  conclusions 
or  assertions  : — '  1.  That  the  position  of  Koman  Catholics  has 
been  altered  by  the  decrees  of  the  Vatican  on  Papal  Infallibility, 
and  in  obedience  to  the  Pope.  2.  That  the  extreme  claims 
of  the  Middle  Ages  have  been  sanctioned,  and  have  been  revived 
without  the  warrant  or  excuse  which  might  in  those  ages  have 
been  shown  for  them.  3.  That  the  claims  asserted  by  the  Pope 
are  such  as  to  place  civil  allegiance  at  his  mercy.  4.  That  the 
State  and  people  of  the  United  Kingdom  had  a  right  to  rely  on 
the  assurances  they  had  received,  that  Papal  Infallibility  was  not, 
and  could  not  become,  an  article  of  faith  in  the  Roman  Church, 
and  that  the  obedience  due  to  the  Pope  was  limited  by  laws 
independent  of  his  will.'  Here  are  the  closing  words  of  the  author's 
eloquent  peroration : — '  As  freedom  can  never  be  effectually  estab- 
lished by  the  adversaries  of  that  Gospel  which  has  first  made  it  a 
reality  for  all  orders  and  degrees  of  men,  so  the  Gospel  never  can 
be  effectually  defended  by  a  policy  which  declines  to  acknowledge 
the  high  place  assigned  to  liberty  in  the  counsels  of  Providence, 
and  which,  upon  the  pretext  of  the  abuse  that  like  every  other 
good  she  suffers,  expels  her  from  its  system.  Among  the  many 
noble  thoughts  of  Homer,  there  is  not  one  more  noble  or  more 
penetrating  than  his  judgment  upon  slavery.  "  On  the  day,"  he 
says,  "  that  makes  a  bondman  of  the  free, 

Wide-seeing  Zeus  takes  half  the  man  away." 

He  thus  judges,  not  because  the  slavery  of  his  time  was  cruel — 
for  evidently  it  was  not — but  because  it  was  slavery.  What  he 
said  against  servitude  in  the  social  order,  we  may  plead  against 
Vaticanism  in  the  spiritual  sphere  ;  and  no  cloud  of  incense  which 
zeal  or  flattery,  or  even  love,  can  raise  should  hide  the  disastrous 
truth  from  the  vision  of  mankind.' 

In  addition  to  the  publication  of  these  essays  on  the  subject 
of  Vaticanism,  Mr.  Gladstone  contributed  a  vigorous  and  search- 
ing criticism  upon  the  speeches  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  to  the  Quarterly 
Review  for  January,  1875.  The  writer's  indignation  at  the  Papal 
assumptions  finds  full  vent  in  this  article,  which  reviews  the  chief 
events  in  the  career  of  the  late  Pope,  and,  in  certain  aspects,  leaves 
him  exposed  to  the  derision  of  humanity. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  taken  for  granted,  that  of  all  forms  of 
controversy  the  religious  is  the  least  effectual  in  winning  converts 
from  one  form  of  belief  to  another,  and  to  those  principles  which 
the  respective  combatants  believe  to  be  in  accordance  with  reason, 
truth,  and  justice.  Many  men  practically  decline  to  submit  their 
individual  religion  to  the  tests  demanded  of  it ;  and,  therefore, 


502  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

amongst  Roman  Catholics,  Mr.  Gladstone's  controversial  writings 
may  have  had  little  effect,  notwithstanding  the  cogency  of  their 
arguments.  But  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  at  any  rate,  these  essays 
have  afforded  substantial  aid  in  demonstrating  the  hollowness  of 
the  Papal  pretensions,  as  well  as  their  insidious  and  dangerous 
character. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ME.    GLADSTONE'S    FINANCIAL    POLICY. 

Beneficial  results  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Financial  Legislation — Testimony  of  Sir 
Stafford  Northcote — Keview  of  Twenty  Years  of  Financial  Policy — The  Budget 
of  1853— Compared  with  Sir  Robert  Peel's  Budget  of  1842— The  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  on  the  Necessity  for  Retrenchment— Exposition  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Work  in  Finance — His  Characteristics  as  a  Financier — The  ex-Premier  on  the 
Financial  Policy  of  the  Beaconsfield  Administration — Liberal  and  Conservative 
Expenditure  compared — The  General  Expenditure  of  the  Country — A  growing 
Deficiency — Taxes  remitted  by  the  Gladstone  Administration — Results  of  the 
present  War  Policy. 

THE  various  budgets  for  which  Mr.  Gladstone  was  directly  respon- 
sible have  been  dealt  with  at  length  in  the  order  of  their  introduc- 
tion into  the  House  of  Commons ;  but  it  remains  now  to  offer 
some  observations  upon  the  general  character  and  effect  of  the 
ex-Premier's  financial  policy,  as  well  as  to  contrast  it  briefly  with 
the  policy  pursued  by  his  successors.  In  fulfilling  this  task,  we  are 
fortunately  able  to  fall  back  upon  the  compilations  and  statistics 
of  persons  whose  authority  in  matters  of  finance  will  scarcely  be 
disputed. 

First,  we  shall  call  as  a  witness  to  the  beneficial  results  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  financial  legislation  no  less  a  person  than  his  whilom 
pupil,  the  present  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  In  an  able,  and-  - 
so  far  as  finance  can  be  made  so — interesting  review  of  twenty 
important  years  of  financial  policy,  viz.,  those  extending  from 
1842  to  1861  inclusively,  Sir  Stafford  Northcote  shows  the  great 
changes  which  have  been  effected  in  national  finance.*  Although 
the  right  hon.  baronet  does  not,  for  personal  reasons  stated,  enter 
largely  into  a  consideration  of  the  very  important  budget  of  1860, 
his  general  conclusions  upon  the  financial  measures  of  that  and 
previous  years  will  sufficiently  answer  our  purpose.  The  period  re- 
viewed commences  with  Sir  Robert  Peel's  imposition  of  the  income- 
tax  in  1842,  and  extends  to  the  repeal  of  the  paper  duties  in  1861. 
As  the  writer  justly  remarks,  the  fortunes  of  the  income-tax,  and 
the  work  done  by  its  aid,  'give  a  kind  of  dramatic  unity  to  this 
period,  which  would  alone  be  sufficient  to  make  the  study  of  it 

*  Twenty  Years  of  Financial  Policy.  By  Sir  Stafford  H.  Northcote,  Bart.,  M.P. 
for  Stamford.  London,  1862. 


504  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

interesting ;  but  in  addition  to  this,  we  have,  in  the  course  of 
these  twenty  years,  seen  our  financial  system  exhibited  in  all  its 
bearings ;  and  examples  have  been  given  of  almost  every  kind  of 
financial  problem.'  Passing  over  the  great  financial  measures  of 
1842  and  1845 — with  which  Sir  Eobert  Peel's  Ministry  was  asso- 
ciated, and  which  formed  the  starting-point  of  a  new  financial 
regime — we  will  come  to  the  year  1853,  one  of  the  most  important 
of  the  whole  period  dealt  with  by  Sir  Stafford  Northcote.  Mr. 
Gladstone's  analysis  of  the  income-tax  in  his  budget  of  this  year 
has  already  been  referred  to  in  detail.  As  his  successor  says,  '  It 
is  almost  impossible  to  condense  this  portion  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
speech ;  so  consummate  is  the  skill  with  which  the  topics  are 
arranged  and  presented  to  his  audience.  Wholly  apart  from  the 
merits  of  the  scheme  he  proposes,  the  speech  itself,  and  especially 
this  part  of  it,  will  repay  the  most  careful  study  as  a  specimen 
of  persuasive  reasoning.'  On  the  general  character  of  this  remark- 
able budget,  the  same  writer  observes, '  We  miss  in  it  the  caution, 
which  is  perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  financial  plans 
of  Sir  Kobert  Peel ;  while  in  its  place  we  meet  with  a  boldness  of 
conception,  a  love  of  effect,  and  a  power  of  producing  it,  such  as 
we  do  not  find  even  in  the  remarkable  budget  of  1842.  Yet  it 
would  be  unjust  to  Mr.  Gladstone  to  find  fault  with  him  on  this 
account.  When  we  look  at  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  we 
cannot  but  feel  that  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  finan- 
cial prosperity  of  the  country  that  a  stand  should  be  made  against 
that  of  which  Mr.  Disraeli  had  so  justly  complained — the  tendency 
of  the  leaders  of  public  opinion  to  decry  and  render  impossible 
every  mode  of  raising  the  necessary  revenues ;  and  ...  we  may 
well  believe  that  nothing  less  than  a  striking  scheme  like  that 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  brought  forward  would  at  that  time  have 
sufficed  to  save  the  finances  from  the  most  serious  confusion.' 
Moreover,  '  had  not  events  occurred  which  led  to  a  large  increase 
of  our  expenditure  before  the  arrival  of  1860,  his  calculations 
would  have  been  nearly  or  quite  verified ;  that  is,  provided  the 
House  had  abstained  for  the  whole  seven  years  from  demanding 
any  new  remissions  of  taxation.'  With  regard  to  the  Crimean 
War,  Sir  S.  Northcote  observes  that  it  revealed  to  us  many  imperfec- 
tions in  our  military  system ;  but  the  strain  on  our  finances  brought 
to  light  nothing  but  their  soundness  and  their  vigour.  *  Could 
we  have  borne  that  strain  as  we  did,'  he  asks,  '  if  it  had  hot  been 
for  the  life  which  Sir  Eobert  Peel  first  infused,  and  which  Mr. 
Gladstone  afterwards  renewed,  in  our  fiscal  system,  and  but  for 
which  1854  might  have  found  us  struggling  with  an  overwhelm- 
ing deficiency,  or  inextricably  entangled  in  the  toils  which  must 
attend  a  reconstruction  of  the  income-tax?  It  was  well  for 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    FINANCIAL    POLICY.  505 

England,  in  this  respect  at  least,  that  we  had  set  our  house  in  order 
before  the  day  of  trial  came  upon  us.'  The  ex-Premier  could 
desire  no  better  tribute  than  this  to  his  capacity  as  a  Finance 
Minister.  In  assessing-  the  general  result  of  the  financial  policy 
pursued  from  1842  to  1861 — in  which  Mr.  Gladstone  had  so  large 
a  share — Sir  Stafford  Northcote  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
condition  of  every  portion  of  the  community  has  been  greatly 
improved  by  the  new  policy. 

The  Beaconsfield  Administration  will  be  distinguished  in  the 
records  of  posterity  for  (inter  alia)  its  la vish  expenditure  of  public 
money.  We  therefore  commend  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer in  1879  the  following  admirable  passage  on  the  necessity 
for  retrenchment  written  by  Sir  Stafford  Korthcote  in  1862  :  — 

'  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  his  budget  speech  of  1860,  pointed  out  that  between  1842  and 
1859  the  wealth  of  the  country  had  increased  about  28J  per  cent,  and  the  expendi- 
ture in  the  same  time  about  27  per  cent.  Now  this  is  a  serious  consideration  ;  and  it 
is  made  the  more  serious  when  we  remember  that  Mr.  Gladstone  at  the  same 
time  showed  that  the  increase  in  the  expenditure  had  been  advancing  at  a  greatly 
accelerated  rate  of  speed  in  the  last  six  years  of  the  term  of  which  he  was  speaking, 
and  that  the  portion  of  the  public  expenditure  which  is,  so  to  speak,  optional  and 
subject  to  the  control  of  the  public,  had  in  those  years  risen  by  no  less  than  58  per 
cent.  Nothing  can  be  more  natural  than  that  a  nation  should,  like  an  individual, 
increase  its  expenditure  as  its  wealth  increases ;  but  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that 
while  nothing  is  easier  or  pleasanter  than  to  expand  one's  outlay  upon  the  necessaries 
and  conveniences  of  life,  nothing  is  more  painful  or  more  difficult  than  to  contract 
it ;  and  that  should  our  prosperity  encounter  tmy  check,  the  habit  of  large  expendi- 
ture which  we  have  allowed  to  gain  upon  us  may  prove  a  very  inconvenient  one.' 

The  maintenance  of  the  honour  of  England  must  ever  be  one 
of  the  paramount  aims  of  our  statesmen,  but  if  it  be  even  now 
denied  that  a  large  portion  of  the  national  expenditure  during 
the  past  four  or  five  years  has  been  unnecessary  and  unjustifiable, 
what  will  history  have  to  say  upon  the  subject  ?  Sir  Stafford 
Northcote,  too,  has  departed,  in  many  respects — notably  in  regard 
to  the  methods  of  meeting  our  liabilities — from  principles  which 
hd,ve  received  the  sanction  of  all  the  ablest  English  financiers. 

One  of  the  clearest  expositions  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  work  in  finance 
appeared  some  years  ago  in  the  Fortnightly  Review*  The  writer, 
Mr.  Giffen,  points  out  that  before  1842  '  the  condition  of  the 
country  was  alarming,  in  a  way  we  cannot  easily  imagine. 
Successive  deficits  in  the  revenue  were  but  a  feeble  index  to  the 
complaints  of  suffering  which  arose  from  every  quarter.  The 
country  was  standing  still  with  a  vast  gulf  between  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  and  political  discontent  assuming  the  most  threaten- 
ing forms.  The  visible  beginning  of  a  change  was  the  Free  Trade 
experiment — the  abolition  of  the  burdens  which  those  concerned 
at  the  time  felt  to  be  hindering  their  business.'  Statesmen  were 

*  •  Mr.  Gladstone's  Woik  in  Finance.'  By  Robert  Giffen.  Fortniyhtly  Review. 
Jan. 1809. 


506  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE 

called  upon  to  consider  the  assistance  to  be  given  by  finance  in 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  masses  of  the  community.  Pre- 
mising that  if  a  financier  can  increase  the  wealth  of  the  mass  of 
the  community  by  reducing  taxation,  or  by  other  means  in  his 
power,  he  should  bend  all  his  energies  to  the  task,  Mr.  Giffen 
thus  proceeded  to  answer  the  question  what  share  Mr.  Gladstone 
had  taken  in  the  reduction  of  the  national  burdens : — 

'The  respective  merits  of  the  financiers  of  the  time  can  almost  be  measured  by 
the  bulk  of  their  contributions  to  the  work.  Tried  in  this  manner,  Mr.  Gladstone's 
contributions  are  confessedly  the  largest  of  the  whole  twenty-six  years  since  1842. 
All  that  is  characteristic  in  the  last  sixteen  is  exclusively  his.  There  have  been 
other  Chancellors  of  the  Exchequer — Sir  George  Lewis,  Mr.  Disraeli,  and  Mr.  Ward 
Hunt — but,  as  fortune  or  management  would  have  it,  they  have  contributed 
almost  nothing  among  them  to  the  work  of  the  period.  Mr.  Disraeli's  insignificant 
contribution  in  the  budget  of  1867  is  literally  almost  the  only  thing  which  Mr. 
Gladstone  cannot  claim.  It  is  obvious,  too,  that  a  very  large  share  of  the  work 
lias  been  got  into  these  sixteen  years.  Of  the  four  great  stages  into  which  the 
whole  period  may  be  divided,  two  at  least  are  included  in  the  later  time.  To  Sir 
Eobert  Peel  belongs  the  first  step  in  1842,  and  the  second  step  in  1845 ;  but  the  stnges 
of  1853  and  1860  were  marked  with  equal  distinctness,  and  were  hardly  of  less  im- 
portance. To  take  the  test  of  the  amount  of  taxation  reduced,  it  appears  that  in  the 
years  1842-52  the  balance  of  remission  was  £7,000,000,  while  in  1853-66  the  balance  is 
£13,000,000,  This,  too,  was  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  expenditure  in  the  former 
3-ears  was  only  between  fifty  and  fifty-two  millions ;  whereas  in  the  latter  period 
it  has  been  between  sixty-five  and  seventy  millions.  The  proportionate  merit  of 
Mr.  Gladstone  is  not  so  great  as  the  figures  show,  because  all  our  figures  are  now 
bigger,  and  the  taxes  reduced  would  not  have  been  so  productive  when  they 
came  to  be  reduced  but  for  Sir  Robert  Peel.  They  are  proof,  nevertheless,  that  a 
great  deal  was  done ;  and  when  the  details  are  looked  at  the  conclusion  is  not  less 
favourable.  To  the  first  period  necessarily  belongs  the  redress  of  the  worst  evils 
in  the  old  system — the  abolition  of  export  duties,  of  import  duties  on  the  raw 
material  of  manufacture,  and  of  certain  oppressive  excise  duties,  such  as  that  on 
glass  ;  above  all,  the  destruction  of  the  Corn  Laws,  with  the  reduction  of  duties  on 
other  articles  of  food.  Still,  how  incomplete  the  work  would  have  been  without 
Mr.  Gladstone's  contribution.  There  were  no  export  duties  left  for  him  to  touch, 
but  every  other  feature  of  Sir  Robert  Peel's  work  is  found  in  his.  The  abolition  of  the 
excise  on  soap  and  on  paper  released  two  home  industries  of  the  first  magnitude, 
and  were  quite  as  important  measures  in  that  kind  as  the  repeal  of  the  duty  on 
glass.  Mr.  Gladstone,  again,  first  reduced  yet  further  the  customs  on  articles  of 
food,  and  finally  abolished  every  duty  of  that  kind,  with  the  single  exception  of 
the  shilling  duty  on  corn.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  besides,  only  began  the  total  abolition 
of  duties,  his  main  steps  being  merely  to  make  reductions.  Mr.  Gladstone  has 
swept  the  tariff  clear,  leaving  only  certain  charges  on  great  articles  of  consump- 
tion, with  supporting  duties  on  a  few  articles  besides.' 

The  writer  gives  the  palm,  on  the  whole,  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  work, 
as  being  one  of  greater  complexity ;  and  observes  that  '  where 
the  indications  were  less  sure,  the  personal  merit  of  success  was 
proportionately  greater.'  Sir  Kobert  Peel  wrought  with  the  one 
lever  of  the  income-tax,  while  Mr.  Gladstone  devised  more  than 
one  subsidiary  aid,  like  the  extension  of  the  succession  duty  to 
real  and  settled  property,  and  the  increase  of  the  spirit  duties. 
Mr.  Giffen  shows  the  fallacy  of  the  popular  impression  that  the 
progressive  increase  in  the  revenue  is  the  whole  secret  of  success  ; 
when  financiers  have  surpluses  to  give  away,  it  is  thought  they 
cannot  go  far  wrong.  Mr.  Gladstone's  great  merit  has  been  the 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    FINANCIAL    POLICY.  507 

discovery  of  new  sources  of  income  of  a  comparatively  unobjection- 
able kind,  which  solved  the  problem  of  meeting  the  high  expendi- 
ture of  the  years  that  were  to  come,  without  stopping  the  work 
of  reform.  The  extension  of  the  succession  duty  to  real  and  settled 
property  was  an  idea  belonging  exclusively  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  a 
like  proposal  had  not  been  made  since  the  days  of  Mr.  Pitt.  With 
respect  to  the  peculiar  qualities  of  the  ex-Premier  as  a  financier, 
the  same  writer  observes  that  '  it  is  a  remarkable  alliance  with 
love  of  subtlety  and  detail,  and  with  abounding  activity  and 
energy,  which  has  introduced  into  Gladstonian  budgets  those 
brilliant  devices  from  which  common  people  are  apt  to  revolt. 
But  Mr.  Gladstone,  with  all  his  foundation  of  common-placeness 
and  steady  popular  judgment,  would  yet  have  been  very  little  in 
finance  without  his  love  of  detail  and  wonderful  knowledge  of 
expedients.  To  a  very  large  extent  this  only  means  that  he  has 
the  enthusiasm  of  his  occupation.  People  succeed  in  nothing 
unless  they  give  their  days  and  nights  to  it,  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
has  given  to  finance  the  sweat  and  toil  of  many  years  of  his  life. 
People  rather  like  in  him  an  exposition  of  minute  detail  which 
hardly  another  financier  could  make  tolerable.'  The  prosperity  of 
the  country  was  largely  aided  by  Mr.  Gladstone's  financial  legis- 
lation, and  the  legitimate  developments  of  that  prosperity  and  that 
legislation,  were  those  extensive  remissions  of  taxation  which  dis- 
tinguished his  occupancy  of  the  Chancellorship  of  the  Exchequer. 
With  regard  to  the  financial  policy  which  has  prevailed  since 
Mr.  Gladstone's  retirement  from  office,  the  right  hon.  gentlemar 
himself  has  recently  described  it  in  an  article  entitled  'The 
Country  and  the  Government.'  *  Complaining  of  the  pretensions 
and  theatrical  policy  of  the  existing  Administration,  he  remarked 
that  it  could  not  be  had  without  paying  heavily  for  the  decora- 
tions and  stage  accompaniments.  '  The  stock  of  courage  which 
our  Ministers  possessed  was  lavishly  expended,  partly  in  act  and 
partly  in  word,  for  the  management  of  their  transactions  beyond 
sea.  The  consequence  has  been  that  for  domestic  duties,  and  for 
the  first  of  all  domestic  duties,  after  allegiance  to  the  Throne — 
immely,  the  duty  of  maintaining  a  just  balance  between  income 
and  charge,  and  of  relieving  the  future  at  least  by  moderate 
present  sacrifices — they  have  not  so  much  as  an  ounce  of  courage 
left.  The  result  has  been  a  financial  policy  such  as  all  the  Minis- 
tries of  the  last  forty  years  would  have  disdained ;  and,  what  is  even 
worse,  the  invention  of  a  group  of  false  financial  doctrines,  un- 
known to  our  annals,  to  cover  the  shortcomings,  the  miscarriages, 
and  the  malpractices  of  recent  finance.  Mr.  Gladstone  also  pointed 
out  that  in  some  cases  the  advocates  of  the  Ministry  had  resorted 
*  See  the  Nijtetcenlft  Century  for  August,  1&79. 


508  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

to  the  simple  but  effectual  plan  of  pure  falsification.  One 
journal,  for  example,  stated  that  the  expenditure  of  1873-4  was 
£77,044,852,  and  the  income  £76,788,167 — thus  showing  a  defi- 
ciency of  £256,685  ;  whereas  the  expenditure  was  £76,466,000, 
and  the  revenue  £77,335,000,  showing  a  surplus  of  £869,000. 
Another  journal  affirmed  that  since  the  Conservatives  had  been 
in  office  they  had  paid  in  Alabama  claims  £3,196,875 ;  whereas 
the  Alabama  claims  were  paid  in  1873-4,  the  last  year  of  Liberal 
finance.  A  table  had  also  been  constructed — and  it  had  even 
been  employed  by  a  Minister  of  State — showing,  not  the  com- 
parative expenditure,  but  the  comparative  taxation  of  the  Liberal 
and  Conservative  Governments  since  the  year  1869.  This  table 
gave  as  the  amount  of  taxation  per  head  for  the  five  years  during 
which  the  Liberal  Government  were  in  office  £10  7s.  0|d.,  and 
the  amount  per  head  for  the  five  years  during  which  the  present 
Government  has  been  in  office  as  £10  3s.  Of  d.,  leaving  a  balance 
of  4s.  per  head  in  favour  of  Lord  Beaconsfield.  *  Upon  this  prin- 
ciple,' wrote  Mr.  Gladstone,  '  any  scapegrace  in  St.  James's-street, 
with  a  small  annual  allowance,  and  an  immeasurable  length  of 
unpaid  bills,  could  prove  himself,  by  showing  the  small  amount 
he  had  paid  from  year  to  year,  to  be  the  most  thrifty  of  men. 
The  economy  of  a  State  is  to  be  measured  not  by  the  liabilities  it 
discharges,  but  by  the  liabilities  it  incurs.'  The  writer  further 
pointed  out  that  the  Liberal  Government  began  with  a  high 
taxation  because  of  the  high  scale  of  charge  it  inherited  from  the 
Tories,  and  of  the  four  millions  or  thereabouts  due  for  the 
Abyssinian  war,  which  was  also  handed  over  to  them.  '  This  rate 
of  taxation  they  reduced  by  more  than  two  shillings  per  head,  while 
applying  large  sums  to  the  reduction  of  debt;  while  encountering 
the  highest  price  for  supplies  that  had  ever  been  known ;  and 
while  meeting  a  large  increase  of  military  expenditure  in  1870, 
which  was  forced  upon  them  solely  by  the  policy  of  two  great 
foreign  powers.'  The  Tories,  on  the  contrary,  began  with  a  low 
taxation,  and  reversed  the  policy  ;  and  since  they  came  into  office 
in  1874  the  rate  of  taxation  per  head  has  steadily  gone  up  year 
by  year.  Had  the  table,  moreover,  been  drawn  upon  the  true 
basis — viz.,  that  of  expenditure — the  real  increase  of  charge  since 
the  first  year  of  the  present  Government  would  have  been  about 
4s.  per  head. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  general  expenditure  of  the  country. 
In  1873-4 — -less  the  Alabama  claims,  which  had  no  connection 
with  the  transactions  of  the  year — the  gross  annual  expenditure 
stood  at  £73,270,000  ;  in  1878-9  it  stood  at  £85,407,000.  Ex- 
cluding charges  of  collection,  the  amount  for  1873-4  was 
£66,800,000,  and  for  1878-9,  £77,457,000 ;  showing  an  increase  of 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    FINANCIAL    POLICY.  509 

£10,657,000.  Looking  only  to  that  portion  of  the  charge  which 
is  both  annual  and  subject  generally  to  the  option  of  Parliament, 
Mr.  Gladstone  stated  the  case  thus : — Last  year  of  Liberal  expen- 
diture, less  Alabama  claims,  1873-4,  £41,853,000  ;  last  year  of 
Tory  expenditure,  1878-9,  £51,817,000 — showing  an  increase  of 
£9,964,000,  or,  in  round  numbers,  ten  millions  of  money, '  mainly 
due  to  the  policy  and  the  profusion  of  the  Ministry.'  This  sum 
represents  a  proportional  augmentation  of  nearly  twenty  per 
cent.,  or  one-fifth,  in  five  years.  '  Aided  by  the  heavy  fall  in  the 
prices  of  all  materials  requiring  to  be  purchased  for  the  public 
service  to  the  extent  of  £1,600,000,  the  Government  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  year  presented  military  and  naval  estimates 
which  showed  reductions  of  £2,008,000,  and  £1,524,000  respec- 
tively ;  desirous  obviously  that  the  gray  hairs  of  this  Parliament 
might  go  down  to  the  grave  in  better  odour  than  that  which 
environed  it  in  the  days  of  its  vigour.  But  it  is  now  evident  that 
the  demands  of  the  Zulu  war  must  dissipate  the  fond  expectations 
thus  raised.  The  charge  (still  unknown)  for  1879-80  is  more 
likely  to  exceed  than  to  fall  short  of  that  for  1878-9,  and  the 
choice  before  us  seems  to  lie  between  heavy  and  discreditable 
deficit,  and  fresh  taxation.  The  annual  surpluses  available  for 
the  reduction  of  debt,  which  averaged  more  than  three  and  a 
quarter  millions  during  the  five  years  of  the  late  Government, 
sank  during  the  first  three  years  of  the  present  Ministry  to  half 
a  million,  during  the  two  last  have  been  replaced  by  deficits 
of  £2,640,000  and  £2,292,000  respectively. 

Such  is,  in  brief,  Mr.  Gladstone's  financial  indictment  against 
the  Beaconsfield  Administration,  drawn  up  from  the  Statistical 
Abstracts  and  Parliamentary  Papers.  But  the  Economist,  a 
recognised  authority  on  questions  of  finance,  is  equally  damaging 
in  its  criticisms,  though  it  writes  from  a  somewhat  different  point, 
of  view.  4A  certain  deficiency  at.  the  end  of  the  year  1879  of  six 
and  a  half  millions,'  says  this  journal,  '  and  the  possibility  of  a 
still  larger  shortcoming,  is  what  we  have  to  look  forward  to.  Sir 
Stafford  Northcote's  schemes  for  gradually  reducing  the  floating 
debt  have  thus  all  come  to  nought.  Instead  of  a  diminution, 
each  year  sees  an  augmentation  of  the  uncovered  balances.  In 
April,  1878,  the  amount  unprovided  for  was  about  £2,000,000 :  in 
April,  1879,  it  had  grown  to  £5,350,000  ;  and  now  it  is  reaching 
up  to  nearly  £7,000,000.  This  is  the  result  of  the  new  system 
of  postponing  liabilities,  and  in  the  face  of  this  experience  the 
resolution  of  Sir  Stafford  Northcote  to  raise  the  nominal  deficit 
for  the  year  by  the  issue  of  another  £1,200,000  Exchequer  bonds 
is  much  to  be  regretted.  Already  the  practice  of  meeting  the 
cost  of  the  little  wars  to  which  we  are  always  exposed,  by 


510  WILLIAM    EWAEf    GLADSTONE. 

additions  to  debt,  instead  of  out  of  revenue,  has  burdened  us 
with  a  mass  of  floatirg  liabilities,  which  in  certain  conditions  of 
the  money  market  may  prove  a  source  of  danger.  It  has 
betrayed  us,  moreover,  into  acts  of  national  meanness  of  which 
we  may  well  feel  ashamed.  No  one  can  doubt  but  that  for  the 
unsatisfactory  condition  of  our  finances,  India  would  never  have 
been  saddled  with  the  expense  of  a  war  which  those  by  whom  it 
was  originated  have  declared  to  be  waged  for  Imperial  purposes, 
and  should  therefore  have  been  met  out  of  Imperial  funds.  The 
sooner  we  get  back  to  the  old  practice  of  meeting  the  expenditure 
of  each  year  out  of  that  year's  revenue,  the  better  will  it  be  in  every 
way.'  This  has  always  been  Mr.  Gladstone's  cardinal  financial 
principle,  but  the  present  Government  are  in  favour  of  a  procras- 
tinating policy,  forgetting  that  if  the  Liberals  should  ultimately 
have  to  make  good  their  defects,  and  to  bring  back  the  country 
to  sound  principles  of  finance,  the  obloquy  must  still  attach  to 
themselves.  The  ostrich  does  not  save  himself  from  impendipg 
danger  by  hiding  his  head  in  the  sand. 

The  money  saved  during  Mr.  Gladstone's  Administration 
enabled  a  reduction  of  twelve  and  a  half  millions  to  be  made  in 
the  annual  taxation,  such  remissions  being  a  notorious  cause  of 
national  prosperity  and  an  elastic  revenue.  The  increase  of 
public  expenditure  since  the  Conservatives  came  into  power  in  1874 
has  been  at  the  average  rate  of  nearly  three  millions  annually. 
But  not  only  did  the  five  Liberal  budgets  of  the  Gladstone  Adminis- 
tration remit  taxes  to  the  amount  of  nearly  £13,000,000,  but 
there  was  left  for  the  Conservatives  a  surplus  of  several  millions. 
The  Conservatives,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  five  years  they  have 
held  office,  have  imposed  charges  to  the  amount  of  upwards  of 
.€5,000,000  beyond  the  amount  of  the  Liberal  remissions.  The 
deficit  which  has  been  created  is  enormous,  and  we  have  not  yet 
arrived  at  its  culminating  point.  According  to  the  Statistical 
Abstract  of  the  United  Kingdom,  published  by  the  Board  of 
Trade,  the  following  figures  show  the  actual  amount  of  national 
expenditure  for  which  the  Liberals  were  responsible  during  five 
years  of  power  under  Mr.  Gladstone  :— 1870,  £68,864,752  ;  1871, 
'€69,548,539;  1872,  €71,490,020;  1873,  €70,7 14,448;  and  1874, 
€76,456,510,  The  expenditure  for  1874  embraced  a  sum  of 
upwards  of  €3,000,000  paid  in  settlement  of  the  Alabama  claims. 
The  expenditure  during  five  years  of  Tory  rule  has  been  as  follows : 
-1875,  €74,328,040;  1876,  €76,620,773;  1877,  €78,125,227  ; 
1878,  €82,403,495  ;  and  1879,  €85,407,789.  In  lieu  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  magnificent  surpluses,  moreover,  we  have  (as  already 
remarked)  a  large  deficit,  now  amounting  to  several  millions.  The 
army  and  navy  estimates  during  the  Liberal  regime — that  is,  from 


MB.    GLADSTONE'S    FINANCIAL    POLICY.  511 

1869  to  1873— yield  a  total  of  £149,273,630  ;  the  same  estimates 
during  the  Conservative  regime — viz.,  from  1874  to  1878 — gave  a 
total  of  £166,013,989.  Nor  does  this  excess  of  nearly  seventeen 
millions  include  the  enormous  sums  recently  voted  for  war  pur- 
poses. In  thirteen  years  during  which  the  Liberals  held  office, 
between  1857  and  1878,  they  repealed  or  reduced  taxes  to  the 
amount  of  £42,816,329,  and  laid  on  taxes  to  the  amount  of 
only  £3,050,086,  showing  abalance  in  their  favour  of  £39,766,243. 
The  Conservatives,  in  their  nine  years  of  power  during  the 
same  period,  reduced  taxation  by  £6,270,123  only;  while 
they  imposed  new  taxes  to  the  amount  of  £12,374,050,  thus  leav- 
ing a  balance  against  them  of  £6,103,927.  Now  we  do  not  mean 
to  imply  that  all  the  recent  enormous  additions  to  the  public 
expenditure  could  have  been  averted ;  the  Tories  have  in  some 
respects  been  unfortunate  since  they  came  into  office ;  but  a  Liberal 
Administration  would  in  all  probability  have  saved  us  from  much 
of  this  expenditure.  There  has  been  a  reckless  profusion  in  con- 
sequence of  the  war  spirit  that  has  obtained  such  dominance  over 
us,  and  it  is  not  alone  in  the  burdens  of  taxation  we  are  feeling 
it ;  industry  must  be  crippled  for  a  long  period  as  a  consequence 
of  this  policy.  Apart  from  the  moral  aspects  of  the  question, 
hunting  Zulus  is  an  expensive  pursuit ;  and  as  regards  our  Afghan 
difficulties,  it  may  yet  unfortunately  be  discovered  that  we  are 
only  on  the  threshold  of  grave  and  terrible  events.  All  will  wel- 
come a  settlement  of  our  foreign  complications  favourable  to  our- 
selves ;  but  it  is  the  opinion  of  many  that,  in  happier  seasons,  and 
when  the  results  of '  Imperialism '  are  calmly  reviewed,  our  recent 
policy  will  receive  the  strongest  condemnation. 

Meanwhile,  it  would  be  well  if  the  above  facts  and  figures  could 
reach  the  entire  body  of  the  people  of  the  three  kingdoms.  If 
they  like  the  picture,  and  do  not  object  to  the  enormous  loss  of 
blood  and  treasure  involved  in  wars  which  might  probably  have 
been  avoided,  and  which  are  certainly  not  amongst  the  most 
creditable  wars  in  which  England  has  engaged,  the  responsibility 
lies  with  them.  But  the  financial  history  of  the  past  twenty 
years  should  surely  have  taught  the  nation  the  vast  superiority  of 
a  policy  of  peace,  progress,  and  retrenchment,  over  that  of  a 
4  spirited  foreign  policy.'  War  is  sometimes  necessary  for  the 
maintenance  of  national  rights  and  the  vindication  of  national 
honour,  and  no  true  Englishman  would  be  wanting  in  patriotism 
at  such  a  crisis ;  but — we  again  urge — who  would  venture  to  affirm 
that  History  will  acquit  England  of  all  responsibility  for  the  wars 
she  has  recently  waged  ? 


THE    EASTERN    QUESTION. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  Views  on  the  Eastern  Question — The  Rising  in  the  Herzegovina — 
The  Andrassy  Note— Conference  of  the  Emperors  at  Berlin — England  and  the 
Berlin  Memorandum — The  Massacres  in  Bulgaria — Indignation  in  England — 
Servia  and  Montenegro  declare  War  against  Turkey. — The  English  Fleet  de- 
spatched to  Besika  Bay — Mr.  Disraeli  and  the  '  Bulgarian  Atrocities' — Mr.  Baring's 
Corroboration  of  the  Outrages  in  Bulgaria — Publication  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Pamphlet — The  Writer's  Demands — The  ex-Premier's  Address  on  Blackheath — 
The  Policy  of  Europe — Necessity  for  Co-operation  between  England  and  Russia 
— Lord  Beaconsfield  at  Aylesbury — Turkey  agrees  to  an  Armistice — The  Constan- 
tinople Conference — Great  Meeting  at  St.  James's  Hall  on  the  Eastern  Question 
— Speech  of  Mr.  Gladstone— Letter  from  Mr.  Carlyle — Failure  of  the  Conference 
at  Constantinople — Parliamentary  Debates  on  the  Eastern  Question — Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Reply  to  Mr.  Chaplin — Appeal  on  the  General  Question — Protocol  signed 
at  the  English  Foreign  Office — Rejected  by  Turkey — Declaration  of  War  by  Russia 
— Great  Debate  in  the  House  of  Commons — Mr.  Gla  Istone's  Five  Resolutions — 
Eloquent  Speech  of  the  Mover — The  First  Resolution  defeated — The  ex-Premier 
at  Birmingham  and  Holyhead — Elected  Lord  Rector  of  Glasgow  University — 
Course  of  the  Russo-Turkish  War — Lord  Beaconsfield  and  Mr.  Gladstone— 
Another  Debate  in  the  House  of  Commons — Panic  on  the  Stock  Exchange — 
Treaty  of  San  Stefano — The  Bases  of  Peace — Objected  to  by  England. 

PERHAPS  no  period  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  career  has  been  the  subject 
of  so  much  animadversion  as  that  in  which  he  made  his  series  of 
public  utterances  upon  the  complications  in  Eastern  Europe. 
It  has  frequently  been  urged  against  the  late  leader  of  the  Liberal 
party  that  his  views  upon  foreign  affairs  were  narrow,  contracted, 
and  impracticable ;  and  yet  it  was  by  no  means  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  his  much-canvassed  '  bag  and  baggage  '  policy  with 
regard  to  Turkey  would  prove  to  be  the  only  permanent  solution 
of  the  Eastern  Question,  as  it  specially  affected  the  Christian  pro- 
vinces of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  It  is  not  our  purpose,  however, 
to  show  either  that  Mr.  Gladstone  has  invariably  been  right  or 
that  his  opponents  have  invariably  been  wrong,  in  the  attitude 
they  have  respectively  assumed  at  the  various  stages  of  this  vexed 
and  intricate  question.  The  time  is  too  near  for  a  final  deliver- 
ance upon  the  subject,  and  more  than  any  other,  probably,  it  is 
one  which  it  will  be  wise  to  leave  to  the  unbiassed  judgment  and 
the  calm  arbitrament  of  history.  At  the  same  time,  we  cannot 
pass  to  the  mere  retrospect  of  facts  which  it  is  our  intention  only 
to  give,  without  recalling  to  general  recollection  how  closely  many 


THE  EASTEBN  QUESTION.  sis 

of  the  earliest  predictions  of  Mr.  Gladstone  upon  the  Eastern 
Question  have  been  verified  and  fulfilled. 

Before  dealing  with  those  addresses  in  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
roused  in  so  remarkable  a  degree  the  feelings  of  the  English 
people  in  favour  of  the  oppressed  nationalities  of  Turkey,  we  will 
rapidly  recapitulate  the  events  which  led  to  the  great  conflict  in 
the  East  of  Europe.     Turkish  oppression,  which  had  long  pre- 
vailed in  its  worst  forms,  at  length  resulted  in  an  outbreak  in 
the  Herzegovina.     This  insurrectionary  movement  began  on  the 
1st  of  July,  1875,  and,  without  tracing  its  gradual  stages,  it  will 
be  sufficient  to  state  that  it  ultimately  led  to  an  open  and  formal 
conflict  with  the  Ottoman  Government.     This  movement  was  as 
the  letting  out  of  waters,  and  in  a  short  time  the  Eastern  Ques- 
tion was  re-opened  in  all  its  fulness.    The  cruel  oppression  of  the 
Herzegovinian  peasantry  by  their  Mahommedan  landlords,  was 
the  first  stage  in  the  new  phase  of  that  question  for  which  the 
wisest  diplomatic  minds  in  Europe  saw  no  settlement  save  by  the 
adoption  of  thoroughly  root  measures.    Hostilities  ensued,  and  in 
January,  1876,  the  Herzegovinians  gained  a  victory  over   the 
Turks.    A  few  days  later,  the  Austrian  statesman,  Count  An- 
drassy,  drew  up  a  Note  containing  a  scheme  of  reforms  in  favour 
of  the  insurgents  of  Herzegovina  ;  and  this  being  communicated 
to  the  Porte  by  the  Austrian,  Russian,  and  German  Ambassadors, 
it    was   accepted   by  the   Sultan's   Government  on  the    6th  of 
February.     Early  in  May,  however,  another  insurrection  broke 
out  in  several  Bulgarian  villages,  and  this  was  followed  a  week 
afterwards  by  the  atrocities   at  Batak,   committed  by   Bashi- 
Bazouks — atrocities   which    sent  a  thrill  of  horror   throughout 
Europe.    Affairs  had  become  so  serious  that  on  the  llth  of  May, 
the  Emperor  of  Eussia,  accompanied  by  Prince  Gortschakoff, 
arrived  at  Berlin  to  confer  with  Count  Andrassy,  the  Emperor 
William,  and  Prince  Bismarck,  on  the  Eastern  Question  generally. 
On  the  22nd,  in  both  Houses  of  the  English  Parliament,  Ministers 
announced  that  they  had  been  unable  to  concur  in  the  Memo- 
randum drawn  up  at  the  Berlin  Conference — an  intimation  which 
caused  considerable  surprise  throughout  the  country.    The  public 
feeling  was  not  calmed  when  it  became  known  two  days  later  that 
the  British  fleet  in  the  Mediterranean  had  been  ordered  to  Besika 
Bay.    By  the  28th  of  June  the  insurrection  in  Bulgaria  was  sup- 
pressed, and  on  the  10th  the  Sultan  Abdul  Aziz  was  deposed  at 
Constantinople.     He  was  succeeded  by  Murad  V.,  who  issued  an 
imperial  Hatt,  stating  that  he  desired  a  Government  which  should 
best  guarantee  the  liberties  of  all.    In  consequence  of  the  changed 
condition  of  affairs,  on  the  9th  of  June  Mr.  Disraeli  stated  in 
the  House  of  Commons  that  the  Berlin  Memorandum  would  not 

LIi 


Sl4  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

be  presented,  and  that  the  steps  taken  by  her  Majesty's  Grovern- 
ment  in  Turkish  affairs  were  such  as  he  believed  would  lead  to 
the  maintenance  of  an  honourable  peace. 

How  far  these  optimist  views  were  justified  was  speedily  shown 
by  events  which  we  now  look  back  upon  with  horror.  Within 
a  fortnight  only  from  Mr.  Disraeli's  declaration,  England  was 
moved  with  indignation  at  the  revelations  published  in  the 
Daily  News  from  its  correspondent  at  Constantinople,  respecting 
the  massacres  in  Bulgaria  by  the  Moslems.  Thousands  of 
innocent  men,  women,  and  children,  it  was  stated,  had  been 
slaughtered  ;  at  least  sixty  villages  had  been  utterly  destroyed  ; 
the  most  terrible  scenes  of  violence  had  been  committed  ;  and  a 
district  once  the  most  fertile  in  the  empire  had  been  completely 
ruined.  Crimes  had  been  committed  on  a  scale  unknown  in 
Europe  for  many  years.  Forty  girls  were  shut  up  in  a  straw  loft 
and  burnt,  and  outrages  of  the  most  fearful  description  were 
committed  upon  hundreds  of  unfortunate  captives. 

While  the  whole  heart  of  GTreat  Britain  was  stirred,  it  was  left 
for  an  English  Prime  Minister  to  grow  jocular  upon  cruelties 
and  sufferings  almost  unparalleled  in  the  world's  history.  In 
the  House  of  Commons,  in  answer  to  an  interpellation  upon  the 
Bulgarian  massacres,  Mr.  Disraeli  expressed  his  belief  that  the 
outrages  committed  by  the  Turkish  troops  had  been  exaggerated  ; 
while  as  to  the  torture  of  impalement  (which  had  caused 
universal  disgust  and  anger),  he  had  only  to  remark  that  an 
Oriental  people  generally  terminated  their  connection  with 
culprits  in  a  more  expeditious  manner !  Mr.  Disraeli's  belief, 
however,  was  as  unfounded  as  his  witticism  was  callous  and 
heartless,  for  the  substantial  accuracy  of  the  statements  in  the 
Daily  News  was  afterwards  duly  attested. 

Before  the  end  of  June,  Prince  Milan  left  Belgrade  and  joined 
his  army  on  the  frontier.  In  a  proclamation  issued  to  his 
people,  he  declared  that,  since  the  insurrection  broke  out  in 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  the  situation  of  Servia  had  become 
intolerable.  Notwithstanding  his  neutral  attitude,  the  Porte  had 
continued  to  send  military  forces  and  savage  hordes  to  the 
Servian  frontier.  '  To  remain  longer  in  moderation,'  said  the 
Prince,  '  would  be  weakness.'  The  Montenegrins  next  united 
with  Servia  in  declaring  war  against  Turkey.  The  Servians 
were  defeated  ruear  Novi  Bazar,  in  Bosnia-,  on  the  6th  of  July, 
with  considerable  loss.  It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  the  fortunes 
of  the  warfare  now  set  on  foot  between  Turkey  and  the 
insurrectionary  provinces.  Debates  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons on  the  progress  of  events  in  the  East  were  of  frequent 
occurrence,  and  on  the  30th  of  July — in  answer  to  Mr.  Grlad- 


THE    EASTERN    QUESTION.  515 

stone,  who  had  defended  the  Crimean  War,  and  expressed  his 
strong  desire  for  the  restoration  of  the  European  concert  in  the 
East — Mr.  Disraeli  explained  that  the  despatch  of  the  Fleet  to 
Besika  Bay  implied  no  threat  to  anybody :  it  was  not  sent  to  pro- 
tect the  Turkish  Empire,  but  the  British  Empire.  On  the  follow- 
ing day  Mr.  Gladstone  again  returned  to  tbe  subject,  and  Mr. 
Disraeli  rejoined  that  the  Berlin  Memorandum  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  present  war,  which  was  one  of  aggression.  The  policy 
of  the  English  Government,  he  said,  had  been  approved  by  the 
other  Powers.  Lord  Derby  and  other  members  of  the  Ministry 
had  previously  defined  this  policy  as  one  of  strict  neutrality.  On 
the  llth  of  August  Mr.  Disraeli  made  his  last  speech  in  the  House 
of  Commons.  It  was  one  distinguished  by  much  of  his  old  brilli- 
ancy and  power,  and  was  delivered  during  the  debate  raised  by 
Mr.  Evelyn  Ashley  on  the  Eastern  Question.  He  explained  that  he 
had  not  denied  the  existence  of  the  '  Bulgarian  atrocities,'  but  that 
he  had  no  official  knowledge  of  them.  In  answer  to  Sir  W.  Har- 
court,  he  affirmed  that  we  were  not  responsible  for  what  occurred  in 
Turkey,  nor  were  the  Turks  our  especial  proteges.  The  Premier 
announced  that  the  duty  of  the  Government  at  that  critical 
moment  was  to  maintain  the  Empire  of  England,  and  they  would 
never  agree  to  any  step  that  hazarded  the  existence  of  that  Empire. 
On  the  morning  after  this  speech  it  was  publicly  announced  that 
Mr.  Disraeli  would  immediately  be  elevated  to  the  peerage  under 
the  title  of  Earl  of  Beaconsfield. 

Parliament  was  prorogued  on  the  15th  of  August,  and  shortly 
afterwards  appeared  the  official  report  of  Mr.  W.  Baring, 
corroborating  the  reported  outrages  in  Bulgaria.  After  strict 
investigation,  Mr.  Baring  came  to  the  conclusion  that  no  fewer 
than  12,000  persons  had  perished  in  the  sandjak  of  Philippopolis  I 
But  the  most  fearful  tragedy  during  the  whole  insurrection  was 
the  one  at  Batak.  A  large  number  of  people,  probably  about 
1,000  or  1,200,  took  refuge  in  the  church  and  churchyard.  The 
church  was  a  solid  building,  and  resisted  all  attempts  by  the 
Ba.shi-Bazouks  to  burn  it  from  the  outside.  They  consequently 
fired  in  through  the  windows,  arid,  getting  upon  the  roof,  tore 
off  the  tiles,  and  threw  burning  pieces  of  wood  and  rags  dipped 
in  petroleum  among  the  mass  of  unhappy  human  beings  inside. 
At  last  the  door  was  forced  in,  the  massacre  completed,  and  the 
inside  of  the  church  burnt.  Hardly  any  one  escaped  out  of 
the  fatal  walls.  The  scene  for  some  time  afterwards  beggared 
description.  The  massacre  at  Batak  was  the  most  heinous  crime 
which  has  stained  the  history  of  the  present  century  ;  and  Mr. 
Baring  added  that  for  this  exploit  the  Turkish  leader,  Achmet 
Agha,  had  received  the  Order  of  the  Medjidie. 

LL2 


516        .  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Mr.  Gladstone  deemed  it  high  time  that  the  voice  of  England 
should  be  heard  upon  these  infamous  deeds,  and  in  September 
published  a  pamphlet  entitled  Bulgarian  Horrors,  and  the 
Question  of  the  East.  He  urged  that  England  should  aim  at 
the  accomplishment  of  three  great  objects,  in  addition  to  the 
termination  of  the  war,  viz.,  1.  To  put  a  stop  to  the  anarchical 
misrule,  the  plundering,  the  murdering,  which  still  desolated 
Bulgaria  ;  2.  To  make  effectual  provision  against  the  recurrence 
of  the  outrages  recently  perpetrated  under  the  sanction  of  the 
Ottoman  Government  by  excluding  its  administrative  action  for 
the  future  not  only  from  Bosnia  and  the  Herzegovina,  but  also, 
and  above  all,  from  Bulgaria ;  3.  To  redeem  by  such  measures 
the  honour  of  the  British  name,  which  in  the  deplorable  events 
of  the  year  had  been  more  gravely  compromised  than  he  had 
known  it  to  be  at  any  former  period.  '  Let  us  insist,'  he  said, 
1  that  our  Government,  which  has  been  working  in  one  direction, 
shall  work  in  the  other,  and  shall  apply  all  its  vigour  to  concur 
with  the  other  States  of  Europe  in  obtaining  the  extinction  of 
the  Turkish  Executive  power  in  Bulgaria.  Let.  the  Turks  now 
carry  away  their  abuses  in  the  only  possible  manner,  namely,  by 
carrying  off  themselves.  Their  Zaptiehs  and  their  Mudirs,  their 
Bimbashis  and  their  Yuzbachis,  their  Kaimakams  and  their 
Pashas,  one  and  all,  bag  and  baggage,  shall,  I  hope,  clear  out 
from  the  province  they  have  desolated  and  profaned.  ...  If 
it  be  allowable  that  the  executive  power  of  Turkey  should  renew 
at  this  great  crisis,  by  permission  or  authority  of  Europe,  the 
charter  of  its  existence  in  Bulgaria,  then  there  is  not  on  record, 
since  the  beginnings  of  political  society,  a  protest  that  man  has 
lodged  against  intolerable  misgovernment,  or  a  stroke  he  has 
dealt  at  loathsome  tyranny,  that  ought  not  henceforward  to  be 
branded  as  a  crime.' 

A  few  days  later.  Mr.  Gladstone  followed  up  his  pamphlet  by  an 
address  to  his  constituents  on  Blackheath.  This  speech  not  only 
furnished  a  watchword  for  the  campaign  which  followed,  but  is 
amongst  the  most  eloquent  and  impassioned  of  the  ex-Premier's 
political  orations.  The  speaker  was  received  with  the  greatest 
enthusiasm,  and  at  various  points  in  his  address  the  meeting  was 
literally  carried  away  by  the  strength  of  its  emotions.  Referring 
to  the  massacre  at  Glencoe,  the  atrocities  of  Badajoz,  the  revolt 
of  Cephalonia,  and  the  more  recent  revolt  in  Jamaica,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone said,  *  To  compare  those  proceedings  to  what  we  are  now 
dealing  with,  is  an  insult  to  the  common-sense  of  Europe.  They 
may  constitute  a  dark  page  in  British  history,  but  if  you  could 
concentrate  the  whole  of  that  page,  or  every  one  of  them,  into  a 
single  point  and  a  single  spot,  it  would  not  be  worthy  to  appear 


THE    EASTERN    QUESTION.  517 

upon  one  of  the  pages  that  will  hereafter  consign  to  everlasting 
infamy  the  proceedings  of  the  Turks  in  Bulgaria.'  With  regard 
to  the  policy  to  be  pursued,  and  the  terms  to  be  offered  to  the 
Turk,  he  would  say  to  the  latter,  '  You  shall  receive  a  reasonable 
tribute ;  you  shall  retain  your  titular  sovereignty ;  your  empire 
shall  not  be  invaded ;  but  never  again  while  the  years  roll  their 
course,  so  far  as  it  is  in  our  power  to  determine,  never  again  shall 
the  hand  of  violence  be  raised  by  you  ;  never  again  shall  the  dire 
refinements  of  cruelty  be  devised  by  you  for  the  sake  of  making 
mankind  miserable  in  Bulgaria.'  Parsing  on  to  the  question  how 
this  effectual  prevention  was  to  be  secured,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  it 
could  only  be  done  with  safety  by  the  united  action  of  the  Powers 
of  Europe.  The  mind  and  the  heart  of  Europe  must  be  one  in 
this  matter.  The  assent  of  Russia,  Germany,  Austria,  France, 
England,  and  Italy  was  not  only  important,  but  indispensable, 
to  entire  success  and  satisfaction.  Yet  there  were  two  Powers 
whose  position  was  such  that  they  stood  forth  far  before  the  rest 
in  authority,  in  the  means  of  effectually  applying  that  authority, 
and  in  responsibility  upon  this  great  question,  viz.,  England  and 
Russia.  Enlarging  still  further  upon  this  point,  Mr.  Gladstone 
observed : — 

'I  am  far  from  supposing — I  am  not  such  a  dreamer  as  to  suppose  that  Russia, 
more  than  any  other  country,  is  exempt  from  selfishness  and  ambition.  But  she 
lias  also  within  her,  like  other  countries,  tlie  pulse  of  humanity,  and,  for  my  own 
part,  I  believe  it  is  the  pulse  of  humanity  which  is  now  throbbing  almost  ungovern- 
ably in  her  people.  Upon  the  concord  and  hearty  co-operation — not  upon  a  mere 
hollow  truce  between  England  and  Russia,  but  upon  their  concord  and  hearty 
cordial  co-operation — depend  a  good  settlement  of  this  question.  Their  power  is 
immense.  The  power  of  Russia  by  land  for  acting  upon  these  countries  as  against 
Turkey  is  perfectly  resistless ;  the  power  of  England  by  sea  is  scarcely  less  impor- 
tant at  this  moment.  For  I  ask  you  what  would  be  the  condition  of  the  Turkish 
armies  if  the  British  Admiral  now  in  Besika  Bay  were  to  inform  the  Government 
of  Constantino} tie  that  from  that  hour,  until  atonement  had  been  made — until 
punishment  had  descended,  until  justice  had  been  vindicated — not  a  man,  nor  a 
t-hip,  nor  a  beat  should  cross  the  waters  of  the  Bosphorus,  or  the  cloudy  Euxine,  or 
the  bright  ^Egi-an,  to  carry  aid  to  the  Turkish  troops  ? ' 

This  address  drew  forth  a  reply  from  Lord  Beaconsfield.  Speak- 
ing at  Aylesbury,  he  admitted  that  the  Ministerial  policy  was 
unpopular, but  went  on  to  describe  the  conduct  of  his  opponents 
as  worse  than  any  Bulgarian  atrocity :  he  strongly  condemned  the 
'designing  politicians-  who  take  advantage  of  sublime  sentiments, 
and  apply  them  for  the  furtherance  of  their  sinister  ends.'  This 
language,  though  endorsed  in  some  quarters,  was  warmly  denounced 
as  painful  and  extraordinary  trifling  in  others. 

Lord  Derby  directed  Sir  Henry  Elliot,  our  ambassador  at 
Constantinople,  to  lay  the  results  of  Mr.  Baring's  inquiry  into  the 
Turkish  atrocities  in  Bulgaria  before  the  Sultan  and  to  demand 
the  punishment  of  the  offenders.  This  demand,  however,  prac- 


518  WILLIAM    EWAKT    GLADSTONE. 

tically  went  unenforced.  On  the  1st  of  November,  Turkey,  under 
pressure  from  Russia,  agreed  to  an  armistice  of  eight  weeks.  On 
the  2nd,  the  Emperor  of  Russia  pledged  his  sacred  word  of  honour 
to  the  English  ambassador,  in  the  most  serious  and  solemn  manner, 
that  he  had  no  intention  of  acquiring  Constantinople ;  and  that, 
if  necessity  compelled  him  to  occupy  a  portion  of  Bulgaria,  it 
would  only  be  provisionally,  and  until  the  peace  and  safety  of  the 
Christian  population  were  secured.  He  desired  the  ambassador 
to  dispel  the  cloud  of  suspicion  and  distrust  which  had  gathered 
in  England  against  Russia.  Notwithstanding  these  pacific  assur- 
ances, on  the  9th  Lord  BeaconsSeld  delivered  a  warlike  speech  at 
the  Ministerial  banquet  at  the  Guildhall.  Apprised  of  the  tenor 
of  his  speech,  the  Czar  stated  on  the  following  day  at  Moscow  that, 
if  the  Porte  did  not  accede  to  his  demands,  Russia  would  be 
prepared  to  act  independently. 

Lord  Salisbury  arrived  at  Constantinople  on  the  5th  of 
December,  to  attend  the  Conference,  and  on  the  8th  a  great 
meeting  took  place  at  St.  James's  Hall,  for  the  purpose  of  discuss- 
ing the  Eastern  Question.  The  Duke  of  Westminster  occupied 
the  chair  at  the  afternoon  conference,  which  was  addressed  by 
representative  men  connected  with  the  army,  with  letters,  and 
with  religion,  including  Mr.  Anthony  Trollope,  Professor  Bryce, 
Mr.  Richard,  Sir  T.  F.  Buxton,  Sir  G.  Campbell,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Allon,  and  Sir  H.  Havelock.  The  evening  meeting,  which  was 
presided  over  by  Lord  Shaftedbury,  was  addressed  by  the  ex-Premier, 
Canon  Liddon,  Lord  Waveney,  Mr.  Trevelyan,  Mr.  Fawcett,  Mr. 
E.  A.  Freeman,  and  others.  Mr.  Freeman,  referring  to  one  inter- 
pretation of  the  doctrine  of  British  interests,  said,  '  Perish  the 
interests  of  England,  perish  our  dominion  in  India,  sooner  than 
•we  should  strike  one  blow,  or  speak  one  word  on  behalf  of  the 
wrong  against  the  right.'  Professor  Fawcett  said  they  had  been 
enjoined  to  '  forgive  and  forget,'  but  they  could  never  forget  that 
England's  present  rulers  had  done  all  that  they  could  do  to 
associate  the  name  of  England  with  the  most  abominable  cruelties 
that  ever  disgraced  Europe,  and  with  the  most  detestable  Govern- 
ment that  ever  afflicted  mankind.  There  was  one  Minister  at 
least  who  ought  never  to  be  forgiven,  and  that  was  the  present 
Prime  Minister.  The  chief  interest  of  the  proceedings,  however, 
centred  in  the  speech  which  it  was  known  that  Mr.  Gladstone 
would  deliver.  When  the  right  hon.  gentleman  rose,  he  was 
received  (as  at  Blackheath)  with  almost  unbounded  demonstra- 
tions of  applause.  After  declaring  that  no  change  of  the  public 
sentiment  of  England  had  taken  place  on  this  question,  and 
repudiating  the  assertion  that  the  conveners  of  that  meeting  had 
any  desire  to  embarrass  the  Government,  he  expressed  what  he 


THE    EASTERN    QUESTION.  519 

l>elieved  to  be  the  general  feeling  and  knowledge  of  the  Conference 
— that  the  power  and  reputation  and  influence  of  England  had, 
for  a  long  period  of  time  within  the  past  twelve  months,  and 
in  regard  to  that  enormous  question,  been  employed  for 
purposes  and  to  an  effect  directly  at  variance  with  the  convictions 
of  the  country.  Lord  Beacons  field,  he  observed,  had  made 
several  speeches,  but  it  was  not  until  his  latest  utterance  at 
Aylesbury  that  he  appeared  conscious  that  England  had  duties 
to  perform  towards  the  Christian  populations  of  Turkey.  '  In 
that  speech  I  recognise  first  of  all  this  admission,  that  we  had 
duties  towards  the  subject  populations — an  acknowledgment  which 
we  were  never  able  to  obtain  during  the  session.  Not  one  word, 
not  one  syllable,  to  that  effect,  could  we  draw  from  the  lips  of 
the  Minister.  The  first  declaration  of  it,  if  I  remember  aright, 
was  made  by  Sir  Stafford  Northcote,in  some  speech  in  the  north, 
in  which  he  said,  "  Of  course,  we  are  all  aware  of  our  duties  to 
the  Christian  populations  ot  Turkey."  I  am  extremely  glad 
that  they  were  aware  of  it ;  but  I  am  not  the  less  sorry  that 
during  the  whole  session  of  Parliament,  and  during  the  whole  of 
the  correspondence  that  filled  the  Blue-books,  the  recognition 
of  that  obligation  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  nowhere  to  be  found.' 

After  making  this  effective  point,  Mr.  Gladstone  turned  to  the 
Conference,  and  expressed  a  fervent  hope  that  Lord  Salisbury's 
instructions  were  not  in  accordance  with  the  Guildhall  speech, 
but  that  his  lordship's  own  clear  sight  and  generous  instincts  would 
have  free  scope  at  Constantinople.  He  also  trusted  that  the 
Plenipotentiaries  would  insist  on  the  future  independence  of  the 
provinces,  or  at  least  of  such  a  mediate  autonomy  as  would  insure 
them  against  arbitrary  inj  ustice  and  oppression.  The  speaker,  in 
his  peroration,  referred  to  the  work  indicated,  not  merely  as  a 
worthy  deed,  but  as  an  absolute  duty.  *  It  is  a  case  of  positive 
obligation,  and,  under  the  stringent  pressure  of  that  obligation, 
I  say  that,  if  at  length  long-suffering  and  long-oppressed  humanity 
in  these  provinces  is  lifting  itself  from  the  ground,  and  beginning 
again  to  contemplate  the  heavens,  it  is  our  business  to  assist  the 
work.  It  is  our  business  to  acknowledge  the  obligation,  to  take 
part  in  the  burden,  and  it  is  our  privilege  to  claim  for  our  country 
a  share  in  the  honour  and  in  the  fame.  This  acknowledgment  of 
duty,  this  attempt  to  realise  the  honour,  is  what  we  at  least  shall 
endeavour  to  obtain  from  the  Government ;  and  with  nothing  less 
than  this  shall  we  who  are  assembled  here  be,  under  any  circum- 
stances, persuaded  to  say  "  Content."  ' 

Mr.  Carlyle,  who  had  been  invited  to  join  the  Conference, 
wrote  a  letter  in  which  he  said,  *  The  only  clear  advice  I  have  to 
give  is,  as  I  have  stated,  that  the  unspeakable  Turk  should  be 


620  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

immediately  struck  out  of  the  question,  and  the  country  left  to 
honest  European  guidance,  delaying  which  can  be  profitable  or 
agreeable  only  to  gamblers  on  the  Stock  Exchange,  but  distress- 
ing and  unprofitable  to  all  other  men.'  One  excellent  effect  of 
this  public  agitation  had  been  to  convince  the  Government  of 
the  reality  of  the  grievances  of  the  Christian  populations  of 
Turkey,  and  of  the  necessity  for  stronger  measures  than  they  had 
at  first  contemplated.  The  Conference  at  St.  James's  Hall  would 
have  had  an  even  deeper  and  wider  influence,  however,  but  for 
the  fact  that  the  result  of  the  diplomatic  Conference  at  Con- 
stantinople was  being  awaited  with  considerable  anxiety,  and  yet 
at  the  same  time  strong  hopefulness,  by  the  English  people. 

The  Constantinople  Conference  met  on  the  23rd  of  December, 
and  just  as  a  stringent  scheme  of  reform  and  guarantees  had 
been  drawn  up,  the  Plenipotentiaries  were  informed  of  the  pro- 
mulgation of  a  new  Ottoman  constitution.  On  the  30th,  the 
Porte  announced  that  it  had  a  counter-proposition  to  make. 
This  was  not  then  produced,  and  matters  dragged  their  slow 
length  along  until  the  20th  of  January,  1877,  when  the 
Conference  closed.  The  Turkish  Government  had  rejected  the 
proposals  of  the  European  Powers.  These  proposals  had  been 
reduced  to  two,  viz.,  an  International  Commission  nominated  by 
Europe  without  executive  powers,  and  the  appointment  of  Valis 
(governors-general)  by  the  Sultan  for  five  years,  with  the  approval 
of  guaranteeing  Governments.  Less  than  these  demands  the 
Powers  would  not  accept,  but  they  were  rejected  by  the  Ottoman 
Government  as  'contrary  to  the  integrity,  independence,  and 
dignity  of  the  Empire.' 

During  the  recess  Mr.  Gladstone  spoke  on  several  occasions 
upon  the  all-absorbing  topic  then  agitating  the  public  mind. 
At  Hawarden  he  dwelt  upon  the  condition  of  Turkey,  and 
pleaded  that  it  was  the  wretched  Turkish  system,  and  not  the 
Turks  themselves,  whom  we  should  judge.  He  hoped  that  a 
remedy  might  be  found  for  the  existing  melancholy  condition  of 
things.  When  the  Constantinople  Conference  failed,  the  right  hon. 
gentleman,  alluding  to  this  '  great  transaction  and  woeful  failure,' 
threw  the  responsibility  of  the  situation  on  the  Government.  In 
an  address  to  the  electors  of  Frome  he  referred  strongly  to  the 
tremendous  responsibility  of  Ministers ;  and  in  a  speech  at  the 
Taunton  Railway-station,  he  said,  with  reference  to  the  injunc- 
tion to  himself  and  his  friends  to  mind  their  own  business,  that 
the  Eastern  Question  was  their  own  business.  As  to  the  treaties 
of  1856  being  in  force,  his  opinion  upon  this  point  was  given  in 
one  sentence — Turkey  had  entirely  broken  those  treaties  and 
trampled  them  under  foot.  If  the  treaties  were  in  force,  we  were 


THE    EASTERN    QUESTION.  521 

bound  to  Turkey  by  a  several  as  well  as  a  joint  guarantee.  But 
it  was  ridiculous  to  say  that  these  treaties  were  in  force  as 
between  Turkey  and  ourselves. 

Parliament  opened  on  the  8th  of  February.  In  the  House  of 
Lords,  in  reply  to  a  powerful  speech  by  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  the 
Premier  said  he  believed  that  any  interference  directed  to  the 
alleviation  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Turkish  Christians  would  only 
make  their  sufferings  worse.  He  asked  fora  calm,  sagacious,  and 
statesmanlike  consideration  of  the  whole  subject,  never  forget- 
ting the  great  interests  of  England,  if  it  was  to  have  any  solution 
at  all.  In  the  House  of  Commons,  during  the  debate  on  the 
Address,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  he  was  prepared  to  stand  by 
every  statement  he  had  made  in  the  autumn  :  and  on  the  16th 
he  initiated  a  debate  upon  the  Eastern  Question  generally,  but 
with  special  reference  to  our  treaty  obligations.  The  right  hon. 
gentleman  demanded  the  entire  freedom  of  England  from  any 
obligation  to  the  Porte,  and  enlarged  upon  the  contradictory 
declarations  of  recent  negotiations,  Foreign  Office  documents, 
Queen's  Speech,  and  Ministerial  orations.  The  country,  he  main- 
tained, must  be  left  absolutely  free  to  act  upon  the  dictates  of 
policy,  justice,  and  humanity.  Mr.  Gathorne  Hardy  said  that 
if  the  Eastern  knot  were  difficult  to  untie,  the  time  had  not  yet 
arrived  for  England  to  apply  the  sword  to  cut  it.  The  Govern- 
ment, without  being  obliged  to  go  to  war  with  Turkey,  were 
pledged  to  maintain  the  faith  of  treaties  which  they  had  no  right 
to  violate. 

During  the  animated  debate  which  ensued,  Mr.  Gladstone 
furnished  another  proof  of  his  claim  to  be  accounted,  perhaps, 
the  readiest  and  most  effective  debater  of  his  time.  Having 
been  taken  to  task  by  Mr.  Chaplin,  he  retorted  in  an  impromptu 
speech,  which,  for  incisiveness  and  effect,  can  never  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  listened  to  it.  Mr.  Chaplfh  complained  that  Mr. 
Gladstone  and  a  certain  portion  of  the  Liberal  party  had  endea- 
voured to  regulate  the  foreign  policy  of  the  country  by  pamphlets, 
by  speeches  at  public  meetings,  and  by  a  so-called  National 
Conference,  instead  of  leaving  it  in  the  hands  of  the  Executive 
Government.  One  of  two  things  he  maintained  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  must  do — he  must  either  make  good  or  withdraw  his 
assertions  ;  there  was  no  other  course  which  it  was  open  to  a  man 
of  honour  to  follow.  The  Speaker,  being  appealed  to,  ruled  that 
the  last  expression  exceeded  the  limits  of  Parliamentary  dis- 
cussion. The  hon.  member  withdrew  it,  but  concluded  by  expros:  - 
ing  his  regret  that  the  right  hon.  member  for  Greenwich  had, 
during  the  recess,  done  so  much  to  impair  that  respect  and  esteem 
which  they  on  all  sides  felt  for  him  in  that  House,  and  to  shake 


52!  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

to  its  foundation  the  great  and  splendid  reputation  of  a  man 
whom  England  had  long  learnt  to  regard,  and  as  he  and  all 
admitted  him  to  be,  among  the  greatest  of  her  sons.  He  moved 
the  adjournment  of  the  debate. 

Mr.  Chaplin  speedily  discovered  how  profound  had  been  his 
mistake  in  bearding  the  lion  of  debate.  Mr.  Gladstone  at  once 
rose ;  and,  in  seconding  the  motion  for  adjournment,  expressed  his 
surprise  that  for  the  first  time  in  a  public  career  extending  over 
nearly  half  a  century,  he  should  be  accused  of  a  disinclination 
to  meet  his  opponents  in  fair  fight.  Why  had  not  the  hon. 
gentleman  attended  those  public  meetings  of  which  he  com- 
plained ?  As  far  as  he  (Mr.  Gladstone)  was  concerned,  it  was 
perfectly  well  known  to  Liberals  and  Tories  alike  that  he  had 
shrunk  from  meeting  the  public  on  this  question.  '  But  such  is 
the  depth  and  strength  of  the  sentiment  which  has  taken 
possession  of  the  mind  and  heart  of  England  in  reference  to  this 
question  that  I,  in  my  poor  and  feeble  person,  simply  because  I 
have  been  associated  with  that  sentiment,  have  felt  it  almost 
impossible  to  avoid  the  manifestation  of  this  almost  unexampled 
national  and  popular  feeling.'  After  a  scathing  rebuke  of  Lord 
George  Hamilton,  who  had  twice  interrupted  the  course  of  his 
speech,  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  returned  to  Mr.  Chaplin  : — '  He  says, 
sir,  that  I  have  been  an  inflammatory  agitator,  and  that,  as  soon 
as  I  have  got  into  this  House,  I  have  no  disposition  to  chant  in 
the  same  key.  But  before  these  debates  are  over — before  this 
question  is  settled — the  hon.  gentleman  will  know  more  about  my 
opinions  than  he  knows  at  present,  or  is  likely  to  know  to-night. 
I  am  not  about  to  reveal  now  to  the  hon.  gentleman  the  secrets 
of  a  mind  so  inferior  to  his  own.  I  am  not  so  young  as  to  think 
that  his  obliging  inquiries  supply  me  with  the  opportunities 
most  advantageous  to  the  public  interest  for  the  laying  out 
of  the  plan  of  a  campaign.  By  the  time  the  hon.  member 
is  as  old  as  I  am,  if  he  comes  in  his  turn  to  be  accused 
of  cowardice  by  a  man  of  the  next  generation  to  himself,  he  pro- 
bably may  find  it  convenient  to  refer  to  the  reply  I  am  now 
making,  and  to  make  it  a  model,  or,  at  all  events,  to  take  from 
it  hints  and  suggestions,  with  which  to  dispose  of  the  antagonist 
that  may  then  rise  against  him.'  Mr.  Gladstone  was  glad  that 
there  was  a  tremendous  feeling  abroad  upon  this  Eastern  Question. 
He  had  been  told  that  by  the  pamphlet  he  wrote,  and  the  speech 
he  delivered,  he  had  done  all  this  mischief,  and  agitated  Europe 
and  the  world  ;  but  if  that  were  the  case,  why  did  not  the  hon. 
gentleman,  by  writing  another  pamphlet,  and  delivering  another 
speech,  put  the  whole  thing  right  ?  If  he  (the  speaker)  had  done 
anything,  it  was  only  in  the  same  way  that  a  man  applies  a  match 


THE    EASTERN    QUESTION.  523 

to  an  enormous  mass  of  fuel  which  had  been  already  prepared. 
Before  his  pamphlet  appeared,  Lord  Derby  had  telegraphed  to  Sir 
Henry  Elliot  that  the  outrages  committed  by  the  Turkish  troops 
had  roused  an  universal  feeling  of  indignation  in  all  classes  of 
English  society.  It  was  the  nation  that  led  the  classes  and  the 
leaders  in  this  matter,  and  not  the  classes  and  leaders  who  led 
the  nation.  i  I  will  tell  the  hon.  gentleman,'  continued  Mr. 
Gladstone, '  something  in  answer  to  his  questions,  and  it  is  that 
I  will  tell  him  nothing  at  all.  I  will  take  my  own  counsel,  and 
beg  to  inform  him  that  he  shall  have  no  reason  whatever  to 
complain,  when  the  accounts  come  to  be  settled  and  cast  up  at 
the  end  of  the  whole  matter,  of  any  reticence  or  suppressions  on 
my  part.'  As  to  what  he  (the  speaker)  had  told  the  people  of 
Taunton,  it  was  briefly  this — that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
watch  the  policy  of  the  Government ;  that  in  the  acts,  in  the 
language,  and  in  the  tendency  of  Lord  Salisbury  he  had  great  con- 
fidence ;  but  that  he  did  not  know  whether  the  Government  had 
one  policy  or  two  policies.  Mr.  G-ladstone  concluded  his  spirited 
retort  with  this  appeal  upon  the  general  question  : — 

'  We  have,  I  think,  the  most  solemn  and  the  greatest  question  to  determine  that 
has  come  before  Parliament  in  my  time.  It  is  only  under  very  rare  circumstances 
that  such  a  question — the  question  of  the  East — can  be  fully  raised,  fully  developed 
and  exhibited,  and  fully  brought  home  to  the  minds  of  men  with  that  force,  with 
that  command,  with  that  absorbing  power,  which  it  ought  to  exercise  over  them.  In 
t  he  original  entrance  of  the  Turks  into  Europe,  it  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  turning 
point  in  human  history.  To  a  great  extent  it  continues  to  be  the  cardinal  question, 
i  he  question  which  casts  into  the  shade  every  other  question,  and  the  question  which 
is  now  brought  before  the  mind  of  the  country  far  more  fully  than  at  any  period  of 
our  history,  far  more  fully  than  even  at  the  time  of  the  Crimean  War,  when  we 
were  pouring  forth  our  blood  and  treasure  in  what  we  thought  to  be  the  cause  of 
justice  and  right.  And  I  endeavoured  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  my  audience  at 
Taunton,  not  a  blind  prejudice  against  this  man  or  that,  but  a  great  watchfulness, 
and  the  duty  of  great  activity.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  to  feel  that  he  is  bound 
for  himself,  according  to  his  opportunities,  to  examine  what  belongs  to  this  ques- 
tion, with  regard  to  which  it  can  never  be  forgotten  that  we  are  those  who  set  up 
the  power  of  Turkey  in  1854 ;  tlia  t  we  are  those  who  gave  her  the  strength  which  has 
been  exhibited  in  the  Bulgarian  massacres  ;  that  we  are  those  who  made  the  treaty 
arrangements  that  have  secured  her  for  twenty  years  from  almost  a  single  hour  of 
uneasiness  brought  about  by  foreign  intervention  ;  and  that,  therefore,  nothing  can 
be  greater  and  nothing  deeper  than  our  responsibility  in  the  matter.  It  is  incum- 
bent upon  us,  one  and  all,  that  we  do  not  allow  any  consideration,  either  of  partv 
or  personal  convenience,  to  prevent  us  from  endeavouring  to  the  best  of  our  ability 
to  discharge  this  great  duty,  that  now,  at  length,  in  the  East,  has  sprung  up  ;  and 
that  in  the  midst  of  this  great  opportunity,  when  all  Europe  has  been  callod  to 
collective  action,  and  when  something  like  European  concert  has  been  established 
— when  we  learn  the  deep  human  interests  that  are  involved  in  every  stage  of  the 
question — as  far  as  England  at  least  is  concerned,  every  Englishman  should  strive 
to  the  utmost  of  his  might  that  justice  shall  be  done.' 

These  eloquent  words  were  followed  by  protracted  cheering — 
cheering  at  which  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  himself  said 
he  could  not  feel  surprised.  Another  debate  on  the  Eastern 

Question  took  place  Ix'l'oiv  the  recess,  on  a  motion,  by  Mr.  Faw- 
cett,  affirming  the  necessity  of  obtaining  adequate  securities  for 


524  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

the  better  government  of  Turkey.  Sir  H.  Drurnmond  Wolff  read 
extracts  from  speeches  by  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Crimean  War 
and  the  Cretan  Insurrection,  to  show  that  whereas  he  now  refused 
the  Turks  even  a  twelvemonth's  respite,  and  acknowledged  none 
but  humanitarian  motives,  he  then  contemplated  Turkish  reform 
must  be  the  work  of  a  generation,  and  that  the  duty  of  neutrality 
was  superior  to  that  of  humanity.  Upon  this  Mr.  Gladstone 
showed  that  his  assailant  had  used  garbled  extracts  from  old 
speeches,  which  were  susceptible  of  a  different  interpretation 
being  put  upon  them.  In  a  correspondence  with  Sir  Henry 
Elliot,  Mr.  Gladstone  also  vindicated  himself  from  an  erroneous 
interpretation  that  had  been  put  on  his  '  bag  and  baggage ' 
declaration,  which,  he  explained,  did  not  mean  turning  the  Turks 
out  of  Europe,  but  that  all  the  civil,  military,  and  police 
authorities  should  leave  the  country. 

A  Protocol  was  signed  at  the  English  Foreign  Office,  on  the 
31st  of  March,  stating  that  the  Powers  proposed  to  watch  care- 
fully, by  means  of  their  representatives  at  Constantinople,  and 
their  local  agents,  the  manner  in  which  the  promises  of  the  Otto- 
man Government  were  carried  into  effect.  If  their  hopes  should 
once  more  be  disappointed,  and  if  the  condition  of  the  Christian 
subjects  of  the  Sultan  should  not  be  improved  in  a  manner  to  pre- 
vent the  return  of  the  complications  which  periodically  disturbed 
the  peace  of  the  East,  they  thought  it  right  to  declare  that  such 
a  state  of  affairs  would  be  incompatible  with  their  interests,  and 
those  of  Europe  in  general.  The  Turkish  Government  replied 
that  it  was  not  aware  how  it  could  have  deserved  so  ill  of  justice 
and  civilisation  as  to  see  itself  placed  in  a  humiliating  position 
without  example  in  the  world.  On  the  24th  of  April  war  was 
declared  by  Russia,  the  Czar's  manifesto  giving  as  the  reasons 
for  this  step  the  refusal  of  guarantees  by  the  Porte  for  the  pro- 
posed reforms,  the  failure  of  the  Conference,  and  the  rejection  of 
the  Protocol.  England,  France,  and  Italy  issued  proclamations, 
on  the  1st  of  May,  enjoining  strict  neutrality  in  the  war  then 
pending  between  Turkey  and  Eussia. 

On  the  7th,  a  great  debate  was  opened  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons by  Mr.  Gladstone.  Disappointed  with  the  course  of  the 
negotiations,  and  incensed  at  the  attitude  of  Turkey,  he  had  given 
notice  that  he  should  move  the  following  resolutions : — 

'First:  That  this  House  finds  just  cause  of  dissatisfaction  and  complaint  in  the 
conduct  of  the  Ottoman  Porte  with  regard  to  the  despatch  written  by  the  Earl 
of  Derby  on  September  21,  1876,  and  relating  to  the  massacres  in  Bulgaria. 
Second:  That  until  such  conduct  shall  have  been  essentially  changed,  and  guaran- 
tees on  behalf  of  the  subject  populations  other  than  the  promises  or  ostensible 
measures  of  the  Porte  shall  have  been  provided,  that  Government  will  be  deemed  by 
this  House  to  have  lost  all  claim  to  receive  either  the  material  or  the  moral  support 


THE    EASTEBN    QUESTION.  525 

of  the  British  Crown.  Third :  That  in  the  midst  of  the  complications  which  exist, 
and  the  war  which  has  actually  begun,  this  House  earnestly  desires  the  influence  of 
the  British  Crown  in  the  Councils  of  Europe  to  be  employed  with  a  view  to  the 
early  and  effectual  development  of  local  liberty  and  practical  self-government  in 
the  disturbed  provinces  of  Turkey,  by  putting  an  end  to  the  oppression  which  they 
now  suffer,  without  the  imposition  upon  them  of  any  other  foreign  dominion. 
Fourth  :  That  bearing  in  mind  the  wise  and  honourable  policy  of  this  country  in 
the  Protocol  of  April,  1826,  and  the  Treaty  of  July,  1827,  with  respect  to  Greece,  this 
House  furthermore  earnestly  desires  that  the  influence  of  the  British  Crown  may 
be  addressed  to  the  promoting  the  concert  of  the  European  Powers  in  exacting 
from  the  Ottoman  Porte,  by  their  United  authority,  such  changes  in  the  Govern- 
ment of  Turkey  as  they  may  deem  to  be  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  humanity 
and  justice,  for  effectual  defence  against  intrigue,  and  for  the  peace  of  the  world. 
Fifth  :  That  a  humble  Address,  setting  forth  the  prayer  of  this  House,  according  to 
the  tenor  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  be  prepared  and  presented  to  her  Majesty.' 

These  Resolutions  were,  of  course,  on  the  face  of  them,  hostile 
to  the  Government,  and  it  was  found  that  many  members  of  the 
Liberal  party  declined  to  give  them  their  support  on  the  ground 
that  they  pledged  England  to  a  joint  policy  offeree  with  Russia. 
When  the  time  came  for  moving  them,  therefore,  Mr.  Gladstone 
announced  that  he  accepted  a  verbal  amendment  of  the  second 
resolution,  which  in  its  amended  form  simply  declared  that  Turkey 
had  forfeited  all  claim  to  support,  moral  and  material.  The  last 
three  resolutions  would  not  be  proceeded  with.  Sir  John  Lubbock, 
who  had  given  notice  to  move  the  '  previous  question,'  now  said 
he  should  not  do  so,  but  would  cordially  support  the  amended 
resolutions.  A  long  preliminary  discussion  ensued  upon  the  altered 
condition  of  affairs,  but  ultimately  the  standing  orders  were 
postponed,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  rose  to  propose  his  resolutions  in 
their  altered  form. 

He  began  by  alluding  to  the  enormous  number  of  manifesta- 
tions of  the  opinion  of  the  country,  reports  of  nearly  one  hundred 
meetings  having  reached  him  that  morning.  With  regard  to 
the  resolutions  passed  at  these  meetings,  in  more  than  nineteen 
cases  out  of  twenty  their  general  scope  had  been  in  correspondence 
not  merely  with  the  first  two  of  his  resolutions,  but  with  the 
whole.  Coming  then  to  the  general  question,  Mr.  Gladstone, 
with  clear  and  tempered  eloquence,  discussed  the  resolutions  in 
their  entirety,  affirming  their  justice.  He  exposed  the  different 
views  prevailing  in  the  Cabinet,  though  the  Government  had  never 
disclaimed  their  ill-omened  phrase  of  promised '  moral  support '  to 
Turkey.  The  Conduct  of  the  Government  for  eighteen  months 
back  had  been  more  deplorable  than  the  conduct  of  any  Govern- 
ment since  the  Peace  of  Vienna,  and  its  position  had  been  most 
ambiguous.  The  public  mind  had  been  prepared  for  war,  and 
Lord  Derby's  answer  to  the  Gortschakoff  Circular  was  redolent 
with  the  old  odious  doctrine  of  '  moral  support.'  With  regard 
to  our  expostulations  and  remonstrances,  the  Porte,  which  well 
understood  the  force  of  words,  knew  that  our  expostulations 


526  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

began  in  words  and  that  they  ended  in  words  ;  and  it  was  time 
that  the  people  of  England  and  the  people  of  Turkish  Christian 
provinces  should  begin  to  understand  as  much.  If  we  went  no 
further  than  this,  the  work  must  pass  into  the  hands  of  others. 
Reviewing  the  history  of  the  atrocities,  Lord  Derby's  despatch, 
and  the  existing  deplorable  condition  of  the  provinces,  he 
insisted  that  the  guilt  must  be  fixed,  not  on  the  minor  instru- 
ments, but  on  the  Turkish  Government,  which  had  caused  and 
encouraged  the  massacres.  The  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte 
had  been  led  by  the  conduct  of  the  British  Government  to  look 
upon  Russia  as  their  best  friend,  and  we  had  forced  upon  the 
Czar  the  task  of  redeeming  them  from  oppression.  Mr.  Gladstone 
next  showed  how  firmly  and  vigorously  a  Liberal  Government 
had  acted  in  the  case  of  the  Syrian  massacres  ;  and  giving  what 
he  believed  to  be  the  true  interpretation  of  the  treaty  of  Kainardji, 
he  contended  that  the  Crimean  War  deprived  the  Christians 
of  a  safeguard  which  we  were  bound  to  make  good  to  them. 
He  steadfastly  adhered  to  the  whole  of  his  resolutions,  but,  though 
he  could  not  understand  why  they  should  not  in  their  entirety 
receive  the  support  of  Lord  Hartington,  he  had  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  would  not  be  expedient  or  becoming  in  him  to 
ask  the  Speaker  to  go  through  the  idle  form  of  putting  each  of 
them  in  succession  from  the  chair. 

Mr.  Gladstone  asked,  in  conclusion,  whether,  with  regard  to 
the  great  battle  of  freedom  against  oppression  then  going  on,  we 
in  England  could  lay  our  hands  upon  our  hearts,  and  in  the  face 
of  God  and  man  say,  '  We  have  well  and  sufficiently  performed 
our  part '  ?  Then  came  this  noble  peroration : — 

'  Sir,  there  were  other  days  when  England  was  the  hope  of  freedom.  Wherever 
in  the  world  a  high  aspiration  was  entertained  or  a  noble  blow  was  struck,  it  was 
to  England  that  the  eyes  of  the  oppressed  were  always  turned — to  this  favourite, 
this  darling  home  of  so  much  privilege  and  so  much  happiness,  where  the  people 
that  had  built  up  a  noble  edifice  for  themselves  would,  it  was  well  known,  be  ready 
to  do  what  in  them  lay  to  secure  the  benefit  of  the  same  inestimable  boon  for 
others.  You  talk  to  me  of  the  established  tradition  and  policy  in  regard  to  Turkey. 
I  appeal  to  an  established  tradition,  older,  wider,  nobler  far — a  tradition  not  which 
disregards  British  interests,  but  which  teaches  you  to  seek  the  promotion  of  these 
interestsvin  obeying  the  dictates  of  honour  and  justice.  And,  sir,  what  is  to  be  the 
end  of  this  ?  Are  we  to  dress  up  the  fantastic  ideas  some  people  entertain  about 
this  policy  and  that  policy  in  the  garb  of  British  interests,  and  then,  with  a  new 
and  base  idolatry,  fall  down  and  worship  them  j>  Or  are  we  to  look  not  at  the 
sentiment,  but  at  the  hard  facts  of  the  case  which  Lord  Derby  told  us  fifteen 
years  ago — viz.,  that  it  is  the  populations  of  those  countries  that  will  ultimately 
possess  them— that  will  ultimately  determine  their  abiding  condition  ?  It  is  to 
this  fact,  this  law,  that  we  should  look.  There  is  now  before  the  world  a  glorious  " 
prize.  A  portion  of  those  unhappy  people  are  still  as  yet  making  an  effort  to 
retrieve  what  they  have  lost  so  long,  but  have  not  ceased  to  love  and  to  desire. 
I  speak  of  those  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.  Another  portion — a  band  of  heroes 
such  as  the  world  has  rarely  seen — stand  on  the  rocks  of  Montenrgro,  and  are 
ready  now,  as  they  have  ever  been  during  the  400  years  of  their  exile  from  their 
fertile  plains,  to  sweep  down  from  their  fastnesses,  and  meet  the  Turks  at  any 


THE  EASTERN  QUESTION.  52? 

odds  for  the  re-establishment  of  justice  and  of  peace  in  those  countries.  Another 
portion  still,  the  5,000,000  of  Bulgarians  cowed  and  beaten  down  to  the  ground, 
hardly  venturing  to  look  upwards,  even  to  their  Father  in  Heaven,  have  extended 
their  hands  to  you ;  they  have  sent  you  their  petition,  they  have  prayed  for  your 
help  and  protection.  They  have  told  you  that  they  do  not  seek  alliance  with  Russia 
or  with  any  foreign  Power,  but  that  they  seek  to  be  delivered  from  an  intolerable 
burden  of  woe  and  shame.  That  burden  of  woe  and  shame — the  greatest  that 
exists  on  God's  earth — is  one  that  we  thought  united  Europe  was  about  to  remove, 
but  to  removing  which,  for  the  present,  you  seem  to  have  no  efficacious  means  of 
offering  even  the  smallest  practical  contribution.  But,  sir,  the  removal  of  that 
load  of  woe  and  shame  is  a  great  and  noble  prize.  It  is  a  prize  well  worth  compet- 
ing for.  It  is  not  yet  too  late  to  try  to  win  it.  I  believe  there  are  men  in  the 
Cabinet  who  would  try  to  win  it  if  they  were  free  to  act  on  their  own  beliefs  and 
aspiration.  It  is  not  yet  too  late,  I  say,  to  become  competitors  for  that  prize,  but 
be  assured  that  whether  you  mean  to  claim  for  yourselves  even  a  single  leaf  in  that 
immortal  chaplet  of  renown,  which  will  be  the  reward  of  true  labour  in  that  cause, 
or  whether  you  turn  your  backs  upon  that  cause  and  upon  your  own  duty,  I 
believe  for  one  that  the  knell  of  Turkish  tyranny  in  these  provinces  has  sounded. 
So  far  as  human  eye  can  judge,  it  is  about  to  be  destroyed.  The  destruction  may 
not  come  in  the  way  or  by  the  means  that  we  should  choose  ;  but  come  this  boon 
from  what  hands  it  may,  it  will  be  a  noble  boon,  and  as  a  noble  boon  will  gladly 
be  accepted  by  Christendom  and  the  world.' 

The  debate  was  continued  for  five  days.  In  the  course  of  it, 
Mr.  Cross  stated  that,  now  that  war  had  broken  out,  absolute 
neutrality  was  the  rule  of  the  Government,  and  neither  side 
would  have  either  moral  or  mate^«l  support  from  England. 
Conscious  of  their  strength,  the  Government  would  watch  the 
course  of  events,  and,  if  an  opportunity  offered  for  interposing 
their  good  offices,  they  would  not  diiow  it  to  pass.  These  Minis- 
terial assurances  appeared  to  satisfy  a  large  party  in  the  House 
and  the  country.  The  speakers  for  and  against  the  resolutions 
included  most  of  the  able  men  of  both  parties.  Mr.  Courtney,  Mr. 
Chamberlain,  and  other  advanced  Liberal  members  spoke  strongly 
against  the  Government,  and  Mr.  Walter  strongly  regretted  that 
they  had  not  used  the  power  of  coercion  earlier,  affirming  that 
public  opinion  would  have  enforced  it  if  only  the  Bulgarian  mas- 
sacres had  preceded  the  Berlin  Memorandum.  Mr.  Koebuck  ( type 
of  Liberals  so-called )  rendered  a  service  to  the  Government  which 
was  gratefully  accepted,  and  delivered  a  speech  against  the  resolu- 
tions. The  one  sentence  in  this  address,  perhaps,  which  is  now 
best  worth  preserving  is  that  in  which  he  described  Mr.  Gladstone 
as  *  a  man  whom  the  country  has  believed  to  be  one  of  its  greatest 
and  most  deserving  and  most  patriotic  Ministers  at  one  time  or 
another — a  man  endowed  with  great  ability,  with  vast  power, 
with  a  winning  manner,  and  whose  influence  in  this  House  li;is 
been  almost  illimitable.'  Men  like  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  Mr. 
Roebuck  failed  to  perceive  that  in  this  Eastern  Question  (as  in 
many  others  in  the  past)  it  was  his  high  moral  courage  and 
loftiness  of  purpose  which  had  given  Mr.  Gladstone  this  'almost 
illimitable '  influence,  and  that  were  now  urging  him  forward  in 
'  the  cause  of  oppressed  humanity.' 


$28  WILLIAM   EWART  GLADSTONE. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  insisted  that  all  idea  of  con- 
certed action  was  now  out  of  the  question  ;  but.Lord  Hartington 
maintained  that  the  resolutions  pointed  to  the  only  true  policy 
that  ought  to  guide  the  action  of  the  Government.  In  summing 
up  the  debate,  Sir.  Gladstone  passed  in  review  many  of  the  speeches 
delivered,  and  pointed  out  that  Mr.  Cross's  assurances  (of  which 
he  approved)  were  in  direct  contradiction  to  Lord  Derby's 
despatch.  He  did  not  believe  that  the  time  for  an  authoritative 
interference  by  combined  Europe  had  gone  by.  Such  an  inter- 
ference was  the  only  satisfactory  settlement  that  could  be  arrived 
at.  He  denied  emphatically  that  coercion  meant  war.  The  shortest 
way  to  put  an  end  to  the  conflict  and  stop  bloodshed  would  be  by 
drawing  a  naval  cordon  round  Turkey,  and  neutralising  the 
Turkish  fleet.  In  concluding,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  said : — 

'  We  are  engaged  in  a  continuous  effort ;  we  roll  the  atone  of  Sisyphus  against  the 
slope,  and  the  moment  the  hand  shall  be  withdrawn,  down  it  will  begin  to  run. 
However,  the  time  is  short ;  tho  sands  of  the  hour-glass  are  running  out.  The  longer 
you  delay,  the  less  in  all  likelihood  you  will  be  able  to  save  from  the  wreck  of 
the  integrity  and  independence  of  the  Turkish  Empire.  If  Eussia  should  fail,  her 
failure  would  be  a  disaster  to  mankind,  and  the  condition  of  the  suffering  races,  for 
whom  we  are  supposed  to  have  laboured,  will  be  worse  than  it  was  before.  If  she 
succeeds,  and  if  her  conduct  be  honourable,  nay,  even  if  it  be  but  tolerably  prudent, 
the  performance  of  the  work  she  has  in  hand  will,  notwithstanding  all  your 
jealousies  and  all  your  reproaches,  secure  for  her  an  undying  fame.  When  that 
work  shall  be  accomplished,  though  it  be  not  in  the  way  and  by  the  means  I  would 
have  chosen,  as  an  Englishman  I  shall  hide  my  head,  but  as  a  man  I  shall  rejoice. 
Nevertheless,  to  my  latest  day  I  will  exclaim — Would  God  that  in  this  crisis  the 
voice  of  the  nation  had  been  suffered  to  prevail ;  would  God  that  in  this  great,  this 
holy  deed,  England  had  not  been  refused  her  share ! ' 

For  Mr.  Gladstone's  first  resolution  there  appeared  223  ; 
against,  354.  Six  Liberals  voted  with  the  Government,  and  only 
one  Conservative  (Mr.  Newdegate)  against  them.  Sixteen  Con- 
servatives were  absent,  and  twenty  Liberals ;  while  nineteen  Home 
Rulers  voted  with  the  Government,  and  eleven  with  Mr.  Glad- 
stone. It  was  matter  of  complaint  that  English  statesmanship  at 
this  time  was  not  at  a  very  high  level,  but  the  country  generally 
was  for  the  moment  content  with  a  policy  of  watchfulness  and 
strict  neutrality/ 

Before  the  session  closed  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  a  large  meet- 
ing at  Bingley  Hall,  Birmingham,  on  the  Eastern  Question  and 
the  present  condition  of  the  Liberal  party,  and  in  the  autumn  he 
paid  a  visit  to  Ireland.  On  his  return  to  Holyhead,  in  obedience 
to  the  demand  of  those  who  had  gathered  to  receive  him,  he 
referred  to  the  great  question  yet  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the 
people.  He  still  expressed  his  belief  that  Turkey  would  have 
yielded  to  the  concerted  action  of  Europe,  and  noticed  the  change 
in  the  tone  of  the  Government,  which  was  shown  by  the  careful 
omission  in  the  Premier's  speech  of  the  old  phrase,  *  the  indepen- 


THE    EASTERN    QUESTION.  529 

dence  of  Turkey.'  Again  lie  protested  strongly  against  the  country 
being  dragged  into  war,  and  warmly  eulogised  the  Nonconformists 
for  the  consistency  and  unanimity  with  which  they  had  insisted 
on  justice  to  the  Eastern  Christians.  Political  feeling  at  this 
time  entered  into  everything ;  but  Scotland  remained  true  to  Mr. 
Gladstone.  It  was  not  without  significance,  perhaps,  that  in 
November  he  was  elected  Lord  Kector  of  Glasgow  University  by 
a  large  majority  in  all  the  nations,  his  opponent  being  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer.  Lord  Beaconsfield  was  the  retiring  Lord 
Hector,  and  the  Conservatives  nominated  Sir  Stafford  Northcote 
as  his  successor.  The  polling  gave  the  following  result — For 
Mr.  Gladstone,  1,153;  for  Sir  S.  Northcote,  609. 

We  shall  not  follow  the  course  of  the  Kusso-Turkish  war,  which 
is  matter  of  familiar  history.  The  splendid  bravery  of  Osman 
Pasha  and  other  Turkish  generals  could  not  avert  the  fortunes  of 
war,  which,  speaking  generally,  may  be  said  in  this  instance  to 
have  resulted  righteously.  The  Eussians  were  doubtless  guilty  of 
atrocities,  most  of  which  were,  perhaps,  inseparable  from  Oriental 
warfare,  yet  none  the  less  to  be  deplored  ;  but  nothing  can  for  one 
moment  be  alleged  against  them  to  compare  with  the  deliberate 
and  continuous  system  of  massacre  and  outrage  pursued  by  the 
Turks  when  as  yet  there  was  not  even  the  poor  excuse  of  open  war 
to  plead  in  their  behalf.  And  there  would  probably  have  been 
fewer  even  of  these  Kussian  outrages  had  it  not  been  for  the  senti- 
ments of  indignation  and  retaliation  which  it  is  difficult  at  such 
times,  and  under  the  influence  of  vindictive  feelings,  altogether 
to  repress.  Turkey  suffered  irremediable  defeats  by  the  fall  of 
Kars  and  Plevna,  and  the  Kussian  capture  of  the  Schipka  Pass. 
On  the  23rd  of  January,  the  Turkish  Plenipotentiaries  at  Adrian- 
ople  received  instructions  from  the  Porte  to  accept  the  bases  of 
peace  as  submitted  to  them  in  writing  by  the  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas. 

At  a  meeting  of  Oxford  undergraduates,  held  on  the  30th  of 
January,  1878,  to  celebrate  the  formation  of  a  Liberal  Palmerston 
Club,  Mr.  Gladstone  strongly  condemned  the  sending  of  the 
British  Fleet  into  the  Dardanelles.  He  was  afraid  it  would  be 
found  that  it  was  a  breach  of  European  law.  He  had  been 
accused  of  being  an  agitator,  and  with  regard  to  the  last  eighteen 
months  that  was  true.  To  his  own  great  pain,  and  with  infinite 
reluctance,  but  under  the  full  and  strong  conviction,  he  might 
say  of  political  old  age,  for  the  last  eighteen  months  he  might 
be  said  to  have  played  the  part  of  an  agitator.  His  purpose  had 
been  to  the  best  of  his  power,  day  and  night,  week  by  week, 
month  by  month,  to  counterwork  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
purposes  of  Lord  Beaconsfield.  The  proposed  vote  of  credit, 

M  M 


530  WILLIAM   EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Mr.  Gladstone  said,  was  the  most  indefensible  proposition  that 
in  his  time  had  ever  been  submitted  to  Parliament.  Lord 
Beaconsfield,  replying  to  this  and  other  speeches  of  his  rival,  at 
a  banquet  held  at  the  Hiding  School  at  Knightsbridge,  described 
him  as  '  a  sophistical  rhetorician,  inebriated  with  the  exuberance 
of  his  own  verbosity,  and  gifted  with  an  egotistical  imagination 
that  can  at  all  times  command  an  interminable  and  inconsistent 
series  of  arguments  to  malign  his  opponents  and  to  glorify 
himself.'  This  description  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  eloquence  bears  no 
inconsiderable  resemblance  to  a  passage  in  Lord  Macaulay's 
Edinburgh  Review  article,  but  the  language  of  the  former  lacks 
the  clearness  and  simplicity  which  distinguish  that  of  the  great 
Whig  historian.* 

The  Government  having  asked  for  a  vote  of  credit,  a  long  dis- 
cussion ensued  in  the  House  of  Commons  early  in  February.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  while  willing  to  allow  bygones  to  be  bygones,  said  that 
the  vote  could  not  possibly  give  the  Government  the  strength 
of  an  undivided  nation.  He  regretted  having  to  play  such  a 
prominent  extra-Parliamentary  part,  and,  though  he  had  never 
impugned  anybody's  motives,  not  a  single  speech  had  been  made 
in  which  the  worst  motives  were  not  attributed  to  himself.  The 
vote  would  not  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  Government,  nor  was 
it  needed  for  any  endangered  British  interests,  and  with  ordinary 
military  estimates  of  £26,000,000,  we  were  surely  already  on  a 
footing  of  equality  with  other  Powers.  The  vote  was,  moreover, 
a  complete  violation  of  the  constitutional  rule  that  no  burden 
should  be  placed  on  the  people  without  its  necessity  being  proved. 
Besides,  to  usher  in  a  Conference  with  the  clash  of  arms  would 
destroy  its  peaceful  character.  He  next  specified  the  points  upon 
which  the  Government  should  insist  at  the  Conference,  and  in 
which  they  would  have  the  support  of  the  Opposition.  Interfer- 
ence with  the  freedom  of  the  Danube,  by  a  cession  of  Koumanian 
territory,  should  be  resisted ;  the  claims  of  the  subject  races  to 
freedom  and  good  government  should  be  supported ;  but  there  was 
no  reason  why  Bulgaria  should  not  be  content  to  pay  a  tribute, 
seeing  that  she  had  relied  on  the  efforts  of  others  for  her  liberty. 
Great  Britain  ought  to  act  as  the  champion  of  the  Hellenic  pro- 
vinces, and  the  Government  should  be  content  to  join  with  the 
other  Powers  in  regard  to  the  Straits.  In  order  to  secure  unity 
and  concord,  and  to  unite  a  now  divided  nation,  Mr.  Gladstone 

*  In  this  Knightsbridge  speech,  also,  Lord  Beaconsfield  strongly  attacked  Mr. 
Gladstone  for  his  alleged  personalities.  Being  courteously  requested  by  his  rival  to 
furnish  references  to  these  personalities,  his  lordship  excused  himself  for  searching 
over  the  speeches  of  two  years  and  a  half,  but  admitted  that  the  word  '  devilish ' 
had  not  been  used  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  either  in  the  Oxford  speech  or  elsewhere. 
This  was  the  only  reparation  Mr.  Gladstone  could  obtain. 


THE    EASTERN    QUESTION.  531 

suggested  that  the  Government  should  postpone  the  proposed  vote 
for  a  time,  with  liberty  to  renew  it  if  the  Government  thought 
fit ;  and  he  added  that  an  address  should  be  presented  to  her 
Majesty  from  both  Houses,  expressing  their  readiness  to  support 
the  Government  in  bringing  about  a  permanent  peace  at  the  Con- 
ference, recognising  the  promise  which  the  Government  had  given 
to  obtain  good  terms  for  Turkey,  but  expressing  a  hope  that  the 
influence  of  the  country  would  be  used  to  obtain  liberty  and  good 
government  for  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte. 

Before  the  debate  closed,  a  serious  panic  occurred  on  the  Stock 
Exchange,  in  consequence  of  a  report  that  the  Russians  were 
advancing  on  Constantinople.  On  the  7th,  however,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  read  a  telegram  from  Prince  Gortschakoff, 
declaring  that  there  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  the  telegrams, 
but  that  orders  had  been  given  to  the  Russian  troops  in  Europe 
and  in  Asia  to  stop  all  hostilities.  Next  day  it  was  announced 
that  a  portion  of  the  British  Mediterranean  fleet  had  been 
despatched  to  Constantinople.  The  vote  of  credit  was  ultimately 
carried  by  328  against  124.  The  Marquis  of  Hartington  and 
other  prominent  Liberals  refrained  from  voting.  On  the  3rd  of 
March  a  treaty  of  peace  between  Russia  and  Turkey  was  signed 
at  San  Stefano.  The  treaty  consisted  of  twenty-nine  articles,  of 
which  the  following  were  the  chief: — Turkey  agreed  to  pay  a 
large  war  indemnity ;  Servia  and  Montenegro  were  to  acquire 
their  independence,  and  to  receive  accessions  of  territory ;  Bul- 
garia was  to  be  formed  into  a  new  Principality  with  greatly 
extended  boundaries,  and  to  be  governed  by  a  prince  elected  by 
the  inhabitants ;  the  navigation  of  the  Straits  was  declared  free 
for  merchant  vesssels  both  in  time  of  peace  and  war  ;  fifty 
thousand  Russian  troops  would  occupy  Bulgaria  for  about  two 
years,  until  the  formation  of  a  Bulgarian  militia,  whose  strength 
would  be  fixed  by  Russia  and  Turkey  ;  Batoum,  Ardahan,  Kars, 
and  Bayazid,  with  the  territories  comprised,  were  to  be  ceded  to 
Russia;  a  treaty  was  to  be  concluded  between  Turkey  and 
Roumania,  and  the  latter  was  to  demand  her  indemnity  from 
the  Porte ;  and  finally,  Russia,  not  wishing  to  annex  territory, 
was  to  receive  the  Dobrudscha,  in  order  to  cede  it  to  Roumania 
in  exchange  for  the  Roumanian  portion  of  Bessarabia. 

These  terms  were  regarded  as  oppressive  by  her  Majesty's 
Government,  who  demanded  that  the  whole  treaty  should  be 
submitted  to  the  proposed  Congress  at  Berlin. 


II  M  2 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

FOEEIGN    POLICY— 1878-79. 

Calling  out  of  the  Reserve  Forces— Circular  to  Foreign  Courts— Results  of  the  Berlin 
Congress — Reception  of  the  English  Plenipotentiaries  in  London — 'Peace  with 
Honour' — Despatch  of  Indian  troops  to  Malta — The  Act  condemned  by  Mr. 
Gladstone  as  unconstitutional — Dangers  of  Government  Policy — Mr.  Gladstone 
at  Bermondsey — The  Anglo-Turkish  Treaty  an  '  Insane  Covenant ' — Debate  on 
E  vstern  Affairs  in  the  House  of  Commons — Speech  of  the  ex-Premier — Work  of 
the  Berlin  Congress  reviewed — English  Hostilityto  Greece — Our  Responsibilities 
in  Asiatic  Turkey — Lord  Beaconsfield's  Imperial  Policy — Mr.  Gladstone  at  Rhyl 
— Lord  Beaconsfield  at  the  Lord  Mayor's  Banquet — A  '  Scientific  Frontier '  in 
India — The  Frontier  criticised  by  Mr.  Gladstone — The  Representation  of  Green- 
wich— Farewell  Visit  of  the  ex-Premier — Important  Speech  at  Plumstead — 
'Personal  Government' — The  Afghan  War — Its  Origin — Responsibility  for  the 
War — It  is  debated  in  the  House  of  Commons — The  War  eloquently  condemned 
by  Mr.  Gladstone — Proposed  Vote  of  Censure  on  the  Government  defeated — 
Debate  on  the  Greek  Question — Mr.  Gladstone  advances  the  Claims  of  Greece — 
Speeches  on  Prerogative — On  the  Zulu  War  — The  Speaker  and  the  Privileges  of 
Parliament — Corporal  Punishment  in  the  Army — Mr.  Gladstone  attacks  the 
Financial  Policy  of  the  Government — The  Gladstone  and  Beaconsfield  Adminis- 
trations compared. 

TOWARDS  the  close  of  March,  1878,  the  chances  of  the  meeting  of 
the  Berlin  Congress  seemed  to  be  very  shadowy,  and  the  public 
uneasiness  in  England  was  intensified  by  the  step  which  the 
Government  took  of  calling  out  the  reserve  forces  of  the  country. 
In  consequence  of  this  decision  of  the  Cabinet,  Lord  Derby  resigned 
his  position  as  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs.  Explaining  his  reasons 
at  length  in  the  House  of  Lords,  his  lordship  said  that  although 
the  conclusions  at  which  the  Cabinet  had  arrived  were  of  a  grave 
and  important  nature,  they  did  not,  in  his  opinion,  necessarily 
and  inevitably  lead  to  a  state  of  war.  Three  days  afterwards,  the 
Marquis  of  Salisbury,  the  new  Foreign  Minister,  issued  a  circular 
to  Foreign  Courts,  in  which  be  said, '  Neither  the  interests  which 
her  Majesty's  Government  are  specially  bound  to  guard,  nor  the 
well-being  of  the  regions  with  which  the  Treaty  deals,  would  be 
consulted  by  the  assembling  of  a  congress  whose  deliberations 
were  to  be  restricted  by  such  reservations  as  those  which  have 
been  laid  down  by  Prince  Gortschakoff  in  his  most  recent  com- 
munication.' A  long  diplomatic  correspondence  ensued,  but  at 
length  the  Congress  met  at  Berlin  on  the  30th  of  June,  the  English 
Plenipotentiaries  being  the  Earl  of  Beaconsfield  and  the  Marquis 


FOEEIGN   POLICt— 1878-79.  533 

of  Salisbury.  One  month  later,  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  was  signed, 
and  the  Congress  closed.  Some  modifications  were  effected  on 
the  original  Treaty  of  San  Stefano.  The  Balkan  mountains  formed 
the  southern  frontier  of  Bulgaria,  and  to  Austria  was  entrusted 
the  task  of  occupying  Bosnia  and  the  Herzegovina  in  the  interests 
of  Europe.  Full  liberty  was  left  to  Austria  in  regard  to  the  organi- 
sation of  the  provinces.  Montenegro  received  the  seaport  of  Anti- 
vari,  and  a  considerable  increase  of  territory.  Servia's  frontier 
was  also  extended ;  and  the  Porte  was  requested  to  negotiate  a 
rectification  of  the  Greek  frontier.  Russia  was  to  receive  that 
portion  of  Bessarabia  detached  by  the  Treaty  of  1856,  and  to  cede 
in  return  the  Dobrudscha  to  Roumania,  including  Silistria  and 
Magnolia.  Batoum,  Kars,  and  Ardahan  were  ceded  to  Russia ; 
and  a  war  indemnity  of  £47,500,000  was  to  be  charged  after 
guaranteed  loans  and  anterior  hypothecations. 

For  their  share  in  negotiating  this  treaty,  the  English  represen- 
tatives received  a  popular  ovation  on  arriving  in  England,  and 
rewards  from  the  Sovereign  followed.  Addressing  the  crowd  from 
a  window  of  the  Foreign  Office  on  his  arrival  in  London,  Lord 
Beaconsfield  said, *  Lord  Salisbury  and  myself  have  brought  you 
back  peace,  but  a  peace,  I  hope,  with  honour,  which  may  satisfy 
our  Sovereign  and  tend  to  the  welfare  of  the  country.'  It  has 
been  pointed  out,  however,  that  at  this  very  time  the  envoy  of 
Russia  (whose  policy  we  believed  ourselves  to  be  circumventing) 
was  entering  the  Afghan  capital ;  so  that,  although  there  was 
peace  on  the  Bosphorus,  as  a  direct  result  of  our  Eastern  policy 
war  broke  out  in  Afghanistan.  The  phrase  '  peace  with  honour  ' 
became  the  watchword  of  the  Conservatives,  but  it  became  also 
the  occasion  of  much  ridicule  subsequently,  in  consequence  of  the 
disturbed  state  of  Europe,  and  the  difficulties  which  arose  in  the 
fulfilment  of  the  Berlin  Treaty.  Certainly,  if  any  Power  had 
reason  to  congratulate  itself  upon  the  result  of  the  Berlin  Con- 
gress it  was  Russia,  who  had  substantially  obtained  her  demands. 
The  Greeks,  whom  we  ought  to  have  supported,  were  practically 
left  in  the  hands  of  Turkey,  with  what  result  is  well  known. 

Though  Mr.  Gladstone  had  retired  from  the  leadership  of  the 
Liberal  party,  the  Government  found  in  him  a  sleepless  critic  of 
every  development  of  its  Eastern  policy.  During  the  debate  on 
the  calling  out  of  the  Reserves,  he  recapitulated  arguments  which 
he  had  used  out  of  doors  against  the  retrocession  of  Roumanian 
Bessarabia,  and  against  other  points  of  the  treaty.  But  he  saw 
no  ground  for  war,  nor  any  reasons  for  declining  to  attend  the 
Congress. 

The  very  day  after  Parliament  had  adjourned  for  the  Easter 
recess,  it  was  announced  that  the  Ministry  had  ordered  the  Indiao 


i/34  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

Government  to  despatch  some  7,000  native  troops  to  Malta. 
This  important  proceeding  gave  rise  to  every  kind  of  controversy, 
political,  legal,  and  constitutional.  In  deciding  upon  this  step, 
Lord  Beaconsfield  had  undoubtedly  strained  the  Statute,  which 
required  that  a  vote  of  Parliament  should  provide  for  the  outlay  in 
the  employment  of  these  troops.  His  lordship,  however,  depended 
upon  the  action  of  the  majority  to  endorse  his  policy ;  and  this 
docility  the  majority  continued  to  show  under  other  circumstances, 
and  upon  other  questions.  The  employment  of  the  Indian  troops 
was  warmly  debated  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Mr.  Gladstone, 
in  an  animated  speech,  declared  that  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer had  been  guilty  of  an  unconstitutional  act  in  concealing 
in  his  budget  a  heavy  item  of  expense  which  he  knew  was  to  be 
incurred.  Government  also  ought  to  have  consulted  the  House 
upon  the  expenditure  before  incurring  it ;  they  had  violated  the 
Bill  of  Eights  and  the  Indian  Government  Act.  The  right  hon. 
gentleman  thus  exposed  the  dangers  of  the  Government  policy  : — 

'  The  Crown  obtains  from  Parliament  the  right  to  raise  135,000  and  odd  men,  and 
is  strictly  limited  as  to  the  use  of  those  men.  But  within  two  or  three  hours,  by 
telegram,  she  has  in  another  quarter  of  the  world  200,000  or  300,000  men,  which, 
if  the  Government  like,  may  be  doubled,  with  no  control  from  voting  the  number, 
and  no  control  from  voting  the  money,  and  no  control  from  a  Mutiny  Act  to 
expire  next  April.  This  vast  force,  having  none  of  these  restraints,  and  unlimited 
in  respect  of  number  and  backed  by  a  treasury  filled  with  more  than  fifty  millions 
a-year,  is  at  the  will  of  those  gentlemen  on  the  benches  opposite,  without  their 
saying  why  or  wherefore.  Is  that  to  be  the  state  of  things  under  which  we  live  ? 
I  do  not  listen  for  a  moment  to  the  plea  that  there  is  no  practical  danger  Will 
we  consent  to  part  with  the  securities  that  the  Constitution  gives  us?  The 
question  is  not  whether  we  will  rush  right  into  the  midst  of  danger,  but  whether 
we  will  tread  within  an  inch  of  it.  Do  we  think  that  liberty  is  a  tiling  so  safe  at  all 
times,  and  under  all  circumstances,  that  the  sentinels  of  the  Constitution  may 
occasionally  go  to  sleep  ?  Is  that  the  view  entertained  by  the  House  of  Commons  ? 
It  may  be  that  this  division  will  prove  that  we  have  less  liberty  now  than  we  had 
in  1865  or  even  in  1775.  ...  I  think  it  is  our  duty,  from  generation  to 
generation,  not  to  abandon  or  suffer  to  be  impaired  the  ancient  and  ancestral 
liberties  of  the  country,  and  to  regard  with  the  utmost  jealousy  every  security 
which  has  been  thought  wise  by  the  great  sages  of  the  community  in  past  times 
for  the  purpose  of  guaranteeing  the  maintenance  of  the  Constitution.  The 
majority  in  favour  of  these  proceedings  will  be  an  historical  fact  of  cardinal 
importance,  and  it  is  pur  duty  to  run  the  risk  of  a  vote.  It  will  be  a  great  evil 
and  a  national  calamity,  but  there  is  one  evil  greater — one  calamity  deeper  still, 
and  that  is,  that  the  day  should  come  when  at  any  rate  the  minority  of  the 
House  of  Commons  should  shrink  from  its  duty  and  fail  to  use  every  effort  in  its 
power  to  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  the  people  the  mode  in  which,  and  the  circum- 
stances under  which,  its  liberties  are  being  dealt  with  by  its  representatives.' 

The  men  who  complained  that  Mr.  Gladstone  strained  the 
Constitution  by  the  Purchase  Warrant,  supported  in  overwhelm- 
ing numbers  this  far  clearer  violation  of  the  Statute.  There 
voted  for  the  Government,  347  ;  against,  226.  The  Ministerial 
majority  (which  had  been  puzzled  by  the  publication  in  the 
Globe  of  the  famous  Anglo-Russian  Agreement,  and  by  the  course 
of  diplomacy  generally)  could  not  allow  its  faith  in  the  Beacons- 


FOREIGN   POLICY— 1878-79.  535 

field  Administration  to  be  shaken  by  anything — not  even  by  this 
latest  exhibition  of  a  high-handed  policy,  in  ordering  the  Indian 
troops  to  Malta.  For  a  member  to  differ  from  this  policy  was 
almost  to  incur  the  imputation  of  caring  nothing  for  the  honour 
of  his  country.  The  Marquis  of  Salisbury  compared  his  relative 
and  predecessor,  the  Earl  of  Derby,  to  Titus  Gates ;  and  Mr. 
Hanbury  gravely  brought  a  charge  of  treason  against  Mr.  Glad- 
stone for  an  article  in  the  Nineteenth  Century.  The  right  hon. 
gentleman  said  he  was  '  not  greatly  concerned '  in  the  matter ;  and 
the  Conservative  party  itself  thought  Mr.  Hanbury  was  going  a 
little  too  far  in  his  abortive  motion. 

On  the  20th  of  July  Mr.  Gladstone  addressed  a  meeting  of 
Liberals  in  the  Drill  Hall,  Bermondsey.  In  the  outset  he  pointed 
out  the  importance  of  working  on  such  a  plan  of  organisation  as 
that  upon  which  the  Southwark  Liberals  had  based  their  action, 
and  showed  that  the  Liberal  party  had  failed  to  pay  such  atten- 
tion to  this  subject  as  it  deserved.  Too  many  amongst  them 
were  actuated  by  mere  sectional  views.  There  never  had  been  a 
time  when  the  differences  between  the  various  sections  were  more 
broadly  pronounced,  or  more  plainly  declared.  While  they  had 
the  opportunity,  and  before  the  Dissolution,  which  could  not  be 
very  long  postponed,  they  ought  to  take  measures  for  obtaining 
what  they  thought  they  did  not  now  possess,  viz.,  a  fair  repre- 
sentation in  Parliament  of  the  party  to  which  they  belonged. 
Glancing  back  over  the  legislation  of  the  past  five  sessions,  he 
contended  that  the  Liberals  were  now  fully  justified  in  judging 
the  Government  by  its  acts ;  and  the  time  had  come  when  it 
would  be  well  for  the  people  to  have  the  opportunity  of  express- 
ing an  opinion  upon  them.  Coming  to  the  Anglo-Turkish 
Treaty,  Mr.  Gladstone  pointed  out  the  serious  obligations  which 
devolved  upon  England  under  it,  and  added,  *  There  is  but  one 
epithet  which,  I  think,  fully  describes  a  covenant  of  this  kind. 
I  think  it  is  an  insane  covenant.  I  have  known  well  the  most 
eminent  statesmen  of  the  last  forty  years.  I  have  known  them 
on  both  sides  of  politics.  I  was  in  my  early  life  a  follower  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel  and  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  of  Lord  Aber- 
deen ;  and  although  I  regret  some  things  that  I  did,  and  have 
altered  some  opinions  that  I  then  held,  yet,  in  point  of  honour 
and  public  duty,  I  am  not  in  the  least  ashamed  of  any  act  of 
my  public  life.  I  do  not  think  that  the  country  ever  had  more 
honourable  public  servants  ;  and,  moreover,  I  will  venture  to  say, 
particularly  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  Lord  Aberdeen,  that  I  have 
known  under  the  name  of  Liberals  men  much  less  Liberal  than 
they.  But,  gentlemen,  what  I  wish  to  say  is  this,  that  having 
known  them  on  the  other  side — and  having  known  well  and 


636  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

worked  with  such  men  as  Lord  Kussell,  Lord  Palmerston,  Lord 
Lansdowne,  and  many  more  now  called  to  their  account — I  do 
not  believe  that  there  is  one  of  those — I  am  perfectly  confident 
that  there  never  was  one  of  those — men  who,  under  any  circum- 
stances, would  have  been  induced  to  put  his  hand  to  such  an 
arrangement  as  that  which  to  our  shame,  as  I  think  now,  has 
gone  forth  under  the  name  of  the  Anglo-Turkish  Convention.' 
Stronger  language,  however,  followed  as  Mr.  Gladstone  described 
the  course  of  the  English  Government  upon  the  subject  of  the 
treaty : — 

'  It  is  perfectly  well  known  that  if  Russia  is  to  attack  India,  which  I  for  one 
believe  to  be  a  perfectly  chimerical  idea,  she  must  attack  India  through  the  heart 
of  Asia,  and  that  is  not  through  Asia  Minor — it  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  Caspian, 
on  the  other  side  of  Persia,  far  away  from  Asia  Minor,  and  our  defending  Turkey 
in  Asia  Minor  against  Russia  has  no  imaginable  connection  with  driving  Russia 
off  the  road  to  India,  so  that  the  absurdity  of  the  arrangement  is  gross ;  but  it  has 
other  qualities  worse  than  its  absurdity — its  duplicity.  I  say  that  it  has  been  a 
work  of  duplicity,  and  what  I  tell  you  here  I  hope  to  restate  next  week — that  this 
is  an  act  of  duplicity  of  which  every  Englishman  should  be  ashamed.  Why,  what 
have  we  been  doing  ?  Why  has  the  country  been  kept  in  hot  water  since  the 
Treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  signed?  Because  we  insisted  that  no  part  of  that  treaty 
could  be  established  without  the  consent  of  Europe  unless  it  affected  the  interior 
of  the  Turkish  Empire,  and  we  must  have  it  brought  before  Europe.  It  was 
brought  before  Europe,  accordingly,  without  reserve,  and  at  that  very  time  we  our- 
selves, without  the  consent  of  Europe,  were  framing  a  secret  engagement  with 
Turkey — which  interfered  at  every  point  with  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano — an  act  of 
duplicity  which,  I  am  sure,  has  never  been  surpassed,  and,  I  believe,  has  rarely 
been  equalled  in  the  history  of  nations.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  said  he  had  heard  the  remark  that  the  Turkish 
Convention  was  concluded  because  it  was  necessary  to  do  some- 
thing. Possibly  it  was  necessary  to  do  something  for  the  credit 
of  the  Government,  and  it  remained  for  the  people  to  decide 
whether  the  credit  of  the  Government  ought  to  be  sustained  at 
such  a  price.  He  rejoiced  to  think  that  these  most  unwise, 
extravagant,  unwarrantable,  unconstitutional,  and  dangerous 
proceedings  had  not  been  the  work  of  the  Liberal  party ;  but 
he  grieved  to  think  that  any  party  should  have  been  found  in 
England  to  perform  such  transactions. 

Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  session  a  great  debate  arose  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  extending  over  the  whole  range  of  Eastern 
affairs,  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  the  Anglo-Turkish  Convention,  the 
acquisition  of  Cyprus,  the  claims  of  Greece,  &c.  The  Marquis  of 
Hartington  opened  this  debate  by  proposing  the  following  resolu- 
tion : — '  That,  whilst  this  House  has  learned  with  satisfaction  that 
the  troubles  which  have  arisen  in  the  East  of  Europe  have  been 
terminated  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  without  a  further  recourse  to 
arms,  and  rejoices  in  the  extension  of  the  liberty  and  self-govern- 
ment of  some  of  the  populations  of  European  Turkey,  this  House 
regrets  that  it  has  not  been  found  practicable  to  deal  in  a  satisfac- 


FOREIGN   POLICY— 1878-79.  537 

tory  manner  with  the  claims  of  the  kingdom  of  Greece,  and  of 
the  Greek  subjects  of  the  Porte  ;  that  by  the  assumption,  under 
the  Anglo-Turkish  Convention,  of  a  sole  guarantee  of  the  integrity 
of  the  remaining  territories  of  Turkey  in  Asia,  the  military  lia- 
bilities of  this  country  have  been  unnecessarily  extended  ;  that  the 
undefined  engagements  entered  into  by  her  Majesty's  Government 
in  respect  of  the  better  administration  of  these  provinces  have 
imposed  heavy  responsibilities  upon  the  State,  whilst  no  sufficient 
means  have  been  indicated  for  securing  their  fulfilment ;  and  that 
such  engagements  have  been  entered  into  and  responsibilities 
incurred  without  the  previous  knowledge  of  Parliament.' 

Mr.  Gladstone's  speech  on  this  occasion,  delivered  on  the  second 
night  of  the  debate,  has  been  described  as  '  a  long  and  eloquent 
address,  unsurpassable  for  its  comprehensive  grasp  of  the  subject, 
its  lucidity,  point,  and  the  high  tone  which  animated  it  through- 
out.' After  some  reference  to  the  observations  of  the  preceding 
speaker,  Lord  Sandon,  Mr.  Gladstone  referred  to  the  Premier's 
attack  upon  him  at  Knightsbridge,  observing  that  he  reflected 
with  considerable  pleasure  and  comfort  upon  the  fact  that  it  gave 
a  much  better  account  of  him  than  was  given  in  a  speech  delivered 
by  the  same  noble  earl  at  Aylesbury  about  two  years  ago.  He 
(the  speaker)  admitted  that  he  had  strongly  denounced  the  Minis- 
try, but  he  denied  that  the  fact  that  he  had  declared  the  policy 
of  the  Government  to  be  a  dishonouring  policy  for  the  country 
constituted  a  personal  provocation,  or  could  be  rightly  regarded 
as  a  personal  attack.  If  criticism  of  this  kind  was  forbidden,  they 
might  as  well  shut  the  doors  of  the  House.  '  The  liberty  of  speech 
which  we  enjoy,  and  the  publicity  which  attends  our  political  life 
and  action  are,  I  believe,  the  matters  in  which  we  have  the  greatest 
amount  of  advantage  over  some  other  countries  of  the  civilised 
world.  That  liberty  of  speech  is  the  liberty  which  secures  all 
other  liberties,  and  the  abridgment  of  which  would  render  all  other 
liberties  vain  and  useless  possessions.' 

Passing  now  to  graver  matters,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  he  had 
been  unable  to  discern  for  many  months  past  any  danger  to  the 
existence  of  the  peace  which  was  re-established  at  San  Stefano, 
excepting  in  the  opinions  and  the  warlike  preparations  of  her 
Majesty's  Government.  Sketching  in  general  outline  the  work 
accomplished  by  the  Congress  at  Berlin,  the  right  hon.  gentleman 
said  that  before  the  late  war  there  were  not  less  than  17,000,000  of 
people  who  were  subjects  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  in  absolute  or 
qualified  subordination;  and  out  of  these  not  less  than  11,500,000 
had  undergone  a  total  change  in  their  relations.  After  this  it 
was  a  little  difficult  to  lay  down  the  doctrine  that  there  had  been 
no  partition  of  Turkish  territory.  *  We  have,  indeed,  been  told 


538  WILLIAM   EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

that  the  rule  of  the  Sultan  in  Europe  has  been  concentrated 
exactly  in  the  same  sense  in  which  a  man's  body  is  concen- 
trated when  his  limbs  have  been  amputated.  It  is  reduced, 
curtailed ;  it  is  hemmed  in  on  every  side  by  absolute  or  quali- 
fied freedom.  If  that  be  concentration,  it  is  concentrated  ;  but 
not  otherwise.'  Taking  the  whole  of  the  provisions  of  the  Berlin 
Treaty  together,  he  thankfully  and  joyfully  acknowledged 
that  great  results  had  been  achieved  in  the  diminution  of 
human  misery,  and  towards  the  establishment  of  human  hap- 
piness and  prosperity  in  the  East.  Yet  he  could  not  shut  his 
eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  Sclavs,  looking  to  Eussia,  had  been  freed ; 
while  the  Greeks,  looking  to  England,  remained  with  all  their 
aspirations  unsatisfied.  Russia  had  obtained  the  sanction  of  Europe 
to  her  territorial  conquests,  and  established,  free  from  all  European 
interference,  her  title  to  a  large  war  indemnity.  Discussing  the 
conduct  of  the  British  Plenipotentiaries  at  the  Congress,  he  found 
that,  as  a  general  rule,  they  took  the  side  opposed  to  that  of 
freedom : — 

'  I  say,  sir,  that  in  this  Congress  of  the  Great  Powers  the  voice  of  England  has  not 
been  heard  in  unison  with  the  institutions,  the  history,  and  the  character  of  England. 
On  every  question  that  arose  and  that  became  a  subject  of  serious  contest  in  the 
Congress,  or  that  could  lead  to  any  important  practical  result,  a  voice  had  been  heard 
from  Lord  Beaconsfield  and  Lord  Salisbury  which  sounded  in  the  tones  of  Metternich 
and  not  in  the  tones  of  Mr.  Canning,  or  of  Lord  Palmerston,  or  of  Lord  Russell.  I  do 
not  mean  that  the  British  Government  ought  to  have  gone  to  the  Congress  deter- 
mined to  insist  upon  the  unqualified  prevalence  of  what  I  may  call  British  ideas. 
They  were  bound  to  act  in  consonance  with  the  general  views  of  Europe.  But 
within  the  limits  of  fair  difference  of  opinion,  which  will  always  be  found  to  arise 
on  such  occasions,  I  do  affirm  that  it  was  their  part  to  take  the  side  of  liberty ; 
and  I  do  also  affirm  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  took  the  side  of  servitude.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  complained  that  there  had  been  a  persistent  hos- 
tility, limited  only  by  the  more  favourable  desires  of  others,  on  the 
part  of  England  to  the  pretensions  of  Greece.  With  regard  to  the 
agreement  made  between  Lord  Salisbury  and  Count  Schouvaloff, 
he  should  be  glad  to  know  in  what  manner  the  Government  recon- 
ciled the  conclusion  of  that  agreement  with  the  distinct  professions 
upon  which  they  had  been  standing  for  three  or  four  months 
before  in  the  face  of  Europe,  or  with  that  perfect  good  faith  which 
ought  to  prevail  in  all  the  transactions  of  the  Powers.  Coming 
to  the  Anglo-Turkish  Convention,  the  right  hon.  gentleman  said 
it  appeared  to  him  that  the  acquisition  of  Cyprus  was  the  Alpha 
and  the  Omega  of  that. convention.  With  regard  to  the  English 
responsibilities  in  Asiatic  Turkey  devolving  upon  us  through  the 
convention,  he  asked  what  were  the  reasons  for  this  unheard-of, 
this  mad  undertaking.  Not  one  of  the  leading  English  statesmen 
of  the  last  forty  years,  from  the  Duke  of  Wellington  downwards, 
would  for  one  moment  have  consented  to  look  at  such  a  scheme 


FOREIGN  POLICY— 1878-79.  539 

as  had  been  contrived  and  accomplished  in  the  dark  by  the  present 
Government.  The  cession  of  Cyprus  violated  both  the  letter  and 
the  spirit  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris ;  and  if  Turkey  was  entitled  to 
give  Cyprus  to  England  by  secret  treaty,  was  she  forbidden  to 
give  over  Mitylene  to  Kussia  by  another  and  equally  secret  agree- 
ment? We  had  altered  the  Treaty  of  1856,  behind  the  back  of 
Europe,  by  establishing  a  sole  protectorate,  and  a  single-handed 
right  of  intervention  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  by  assuming  the 
administration  and  occupation  of  the  island  of  Cyprus.  The  Powers 
of  Europe  had  reason  to  complain  of  our  conduct.  Dealing  next 
with  the  treaty-making  power  of  this  country,  as  bearing  upon 
the  dignity  and  the  rights  of  Parliament,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  it  had 
been  endured  because  it  had  been  uniformly  used  with  modera- 
tion, with  careful  regard  to  precedent,  with  a.  just  estimate  of  the 
rights  of  the  people,  and  with  due  knowledge  of  the  existing  sense 
and  convictions  of  the  people.  But  when  it  ceased  to  be  so  used, 
it  was  a  power  that  became  intolerable.  These  most  recent  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Administration,  if  persevered  in,  would  undoubt- 
edly end  in  raising  controversies  with  respect  to  that  power 
which  all  should  be  desirous  to  avoid.  Mr.  Gladstone  thus 
concluded  his  speech  : — 

'We  are  perplexed  with  the  apprehension  that  as  long  as  these  proceedings 
continue  to  be  sustained  by  a  majority  in  this  House,  and  as  long  as  the  country  has 
had  no  opportunity  of  passing  its  final  and  conclusive  judgment,  they  will  be 
repeated  and  renewed,  from  time  to  time,  as  may  seem  good  to  the  Ministers  in 
power.  More  and  more  damage  will  thus  be  done  both  to  the  great  name  and 
honour  of  this  country,  and  to  the  prerogatives  and  rights  of  Parliament,  bound 
up,  as  they  are,  with  the  liberties  o£  the  people.  First,  we  have  the  setting  up  of 
British  interests,  not  real  but  imaginary.  Then,  we  have  the  prosecution  of  those 
supposed  British  interests,  by  means  of  strange  and  unheard-of  schemes,  such  as 
never  occurred  even  to  the  imagination  of  statesmen  of  other  days.  Then  we  have 
those  strange  and  unheard-of  schemes,  prosecuted  in  a  manner  which  appears,  as  I 
conceive,  to  indicate  a  very  deficient  regard  to  the  authority  of  the  law  of  Europe, 
and  to  that  just  respect  which  is  due  to  all  foreign  Powers.  Then  we  have, 
associated  with  this  grievous  lack,  a  disregard,  a  neglect — it  may,  perhaps,  even  be 
said  a  contempt — for  the  rights  of  Parliament.  Lastly,  along  with  all  this,  we 
create  a  belief,  rather  strengthened  than  weakened  by  the  evident  absence  of  any 
eagerness  on  the  part  of  her  Majesty's  Government  to  give  us  financial  information, 
that  the  result  of  those  operations  of  the  Government,  so  unstmnd  in  their  founda- 
tion, so  wild  in  their  aims,  is  likely  to  be  an  increase  of  responsibility,  with  no 
addition,  but  rather  a  diminution  of  strength;  a  loss  of  respect  abroad;  a  shock 
to  constitutional  instincts  and  practices  at  home ;  and  also  an  augmentation  of  the 
burdens  which  are  borne  with  such  exemplary  patience  by  a  too  confiding  people.' 

Notwithstanding  this  powerful  speech,  when  the  vote  came  to 
be  taken  it  was  found  that  the  Ministerial  phalanx  was  un- 
broken. The  numbers  were — For  Lord  Hartington's  resolution, 
195;  against,  338.  Amongst  other  descriptions  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's address,  the  Spectator  said  it  was  'a  terse  and  vivid 
specimen  of  statement,  argument,  and  denunciation,'  and  added, 
upon  the  debate  generally,  that  *  reason,  prudence,  and  patriotism 


540  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

have  hardly  ever  in  our  time  been  voted  down  with  so  little  show  of 
argument,  or  even  of  plausible  suggestion.'  'For  the  first  time 
in  a  hundred  years,'  said  the  same  journal  in  reviewing  the  session, 
*  at  a  very  great  crisis  of  English  history,  Parliament  has  I  een 
treated  as  Napoleon  III.  used  to  treat  his  Senate  and  Corps 
Legislatif,  as  a  mere  supplement  to  the  Crown  and  Administra- 
tion, instead  of  as  the  keystone  of  the  Constitution.'  The 
Government  was  omnipotent ;  and  the  Conservative  majority 
performed  its  bidding  with  unwavering  patience  and  submission. 
Lord  Beaconsfield's  Imperial  policy  proceeded  apace.*  .Russia 
had  been  successful  in  Europe,  but  the  Government  conceived  a 
plan  by  which  they  hoped  to  checkmate  her  in  Asia.  When  we 
say  that  a  war  was  forced  upon  Afghanistan,  we  are  endeavouring 
to  use  the  impartial  language  which  we  believe  will  be  used  by 
history.  With  regard  to  this  unhappy  country,  England  repeated 
her  oppressive  policy  of  forty  years  ago.  Acting  upon  the  impres- 
sion that  Shere  Ali  was  the  secret  friend  of  Russia,  we  sought 
grounds  for  quarrelling  with  him.  A  strong  nation  never  lacks 
pretences  of  affront  when  it  has  to  deal  with  a  weak  one,  and 
England  was  not  long  in  precipitating  hostilities  with  the  Afghans 
upon  grounds  miserably  weak  and  inadequate.  It  was  the  war  of 
1838-41  which  rankled  in  the  minds  of  the  rulers  of  Afghanistan, 
and  made  them  steadily  resolve  to  refuse  British  Residents,  which 
they  had  a  perfect  right  to  do.  The  rejection  of  Sir  Neville  Cham- 
berlain's Mission,  so  far  from  being  unprovoked,  was  the  reply  of 
the  Ameer  to  English  policy,  which  had  long  projected  an  advance 
into  his  territory.  In  furtherance  of  this  policy,  on  the  part  of 
Lord  Beaconsfield's  Government,  the  Viceroy  was  instructed  to 
find  some  pretext  for  despatching  a  Mission  to  the  Ameer.  The 
result  of  our  subsequent  proceedings  is  well  known.  Even  when 
the  Ameer  was  ready  to  make  concessions,  the  opportunity  was 
denied  him.  We  went  to  war  with  Afghanistan ;  Shere  ALL  lost 
his  life ;  we  concluded  the  Treaty  of  Gandamak  with  his  succes- 
• 

*  Various  are  the  renderings  and  definitions  of  an  '  Imperial '  policy ;  but  we  may 
supplement  the  observation  of  the  Spectator,  given  above,  by  the  following  passage 
from  Mr.  S.  Laing's  address  to  his  constituents,  which  is  doubtless  representative  of 
Liberal  opinion  generally  on  this  matter  : — '  When  I  talk  of  an  Imperial  policy  I 
attach  a  distinct  meaning  to  the  words.  I  mean  a  policy  which  in  its  fundamental 
ideas  and  modes  of  proceeding  resembles  that  of  the  last  French  Empire,  a  policy 
which  trades  upon  national  vanity  and  national  prejudices,  and  seeks  by  a  series 
of  national  surprises  to  divert  attention  from  domestic  matters,  and  prop  up  the 
fortunes  of  a  dynasty  or  a  Ministry.'  Mr.  Laing  further  remarked  that  since  Lord 
Derby's  retirement  from  the  Cabinet,  the  history  of  England  had  '  read  like  the 
chapters  of  a  sensational  novel  or  the  scenes  of  a  stirring  melodrama  ; '  and  he 
added  that  he  had  done  what  he  could  '  to  assert  the  foreign  policy  of  Canning 
against  that  of  Castlereagh,  of  Gladstone  against  that  of  Beaconsfield.'  These 
•words  are  the  more  significant  as  coming  from  one  who  a  few  years  ago  opposed 
Mr.  Gladstone,  and  they  demonstrate,  moreover,  a  close  approximation  of  sentiment 
amongst  the  various  classes  of  Liberals  throughout  the  country. 


FOREIGN    POLICY— 1878-79.  54, 

sor,  Yakoob  Khan,  whereby  the  English  Government  secured  its 
demands.  But  the  old  and  ineradicable  hatred  of  the  Afghans 
to  the  British  led — ostensibly  through  other  pretexts,  of  course 
— to  the  massacre  of  Sir  Louis  Cavagnari  and  his  escort  at  Cabul. 
We  have  now  discovered  that  the  people  of  Afghanistan  do  not 
receive  us  as  deliverers  from  their  own  rulers ;  and  although  we 
may  take  swift  vengeance  upon  them  for  recent  events,  and  procure 
a  temporary  settlement  of  affairs,  what  policy  can  we  adopt  to 
ensure  that  such  settlement  shall  be  a  lasting  and  a  permanent 
one  ?  India  may  not  only  prove  fatal  to  the  existence  of  the 
present  Ministry — which  is  responsible  for  the  late  and  present 
Afghan  wars — but  may  yet  bring  the  severest  chastisement  which 
our  national  pride  has  received.  All  Englishmen  hope  that  such 
a  catastrophe  may  be  averted  ;  but  if  Justice  be  immutable,  and 
it  be  impossible  to  divert  her  from  her  course,  we  have  yet  much 
to  answer  for  in  regard  to  Indian  policy. 

With  respect  to  the  war  waged  with  Shere  Ali,  Lord  Lawrence 
—who  in  this  case  may  be  fairly  taken  as  the  representative  of 
those  most  thoroughly  acquainted  both  with  this  and  other  Indian 
questions — appealed  to  the  Government  to  arrest  their  action ; 
but  Lord  Beaconsfield  replied  that  the  press  was  not  the  place  in 
which  to  discuss  these  matters,  although  the  Premier  himself  had 
conduced  to  this  by  his  Parliamentary  reticence.  Mr.  Gladstone, 
however,  could  not  remain  quiescent  under  the  adventurous  policy 
of  the  Premier.  Speaking  at  Rhyl,  he  condemned  the  Ministerial 
action  which,  having  first  made  the  Queen  an  empress,  then 
manipulated  the  prerogative  in  a  manner  wholly  unexampled  in 
this  age,  and  employed  it  in  inaugurating  policies  about  which 
neither  the  nation  nor  the  Parliament  had  ever  been  consulted. 

The  right  hon.  gentleman  went  on  to  say  that  he  did  not  throw 
upon  the  Government  the  full  responsibility  for  those  times  of 
almost  unexampled  depression  from  which  England  suffered  in 
1878-9  :  but  he  contended  that  the  erratic  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment had  greatly  aggravated  the  hardness  of  those  times.  He 
asked  how  commerce  could  flourish  when  no  exporter  knew  whether 
war  might  not  break  out  before  his  merchandise  reached  the  port 
to  which  it  was  consigned:  and  he  asserted  that  every  £10,000,000 
spent  unproductively  in  needless  military  or  naval  expenditure 
really  represented  a  loss  of  double  the  amount — for  £10,000,000 
productively  invested  would  have  produced  another  £10,000,000 
worth  of  wealth  and  something  more. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  arguments,  however,  might  as  well  have  been 
addressed  to  empty  air.  The  Conservative  majority  did  not  feel 
— or  felt  it  by  comparison  only  in  an  infinitesimal  degree — the 
pressure  of  the  times,  and  they  had  imbibed  an  idea  that  the 


542  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

honour  of  England  must  be  protected.  By  many  persons  it  was 
considered  that  it  had  never  really  been  assailed ;  but  the 
Beaconsfield  Administration  having  on  several  occasions  declared 
it  to  be  in  danger,  there  was  no  lack  of  readiness  to  vote  men 
and  money  to  defend  it.  So  the  order  was  given  for  distant 
peoples  to  be  attacked,  English  blood  to  be  spilt,  the  burdens  of 
the  people  (already  too  heavy)  to  be  swollen,  and  the  future 
liabilities  of  this  country  to  be  enormously  increased. 

At  the  Lord  Mayor's  Banquet,  in  November,  Lord  Beaconsfield 
explained,  with  regard  to  our  Indian  difficulties,  that  the  Govern- 
ment  were  not  apprehensive  of  any  invasion  of  India  by  its  north- 
western frontier ;  but  the  frontier  was  a  '  haphazard  and  not  a 
scientific  one,'  and  the  Government  were  desirous  of  obtaining  a 
really  satisfactory  frontier.  It  is  difficult  now  to  understand  Lord 
Beaconsfield's  desire  to  obtain  a  '  rectification  of  frontier '  except 
on  the  ground  of  buttressing  up  his  Administration,  and,  by  keep- 
ing the  nation  in  a  fever  of  excitement,  thus  to  prevent  a  fierce 
introspective  light  from  being  brought  to  bear  upon  his  policy. 
Mr.  Gladstone,  in  writing  to  the  Bedford  Liberal  Association, 
pertinently  asked  the  question,  why,  if  an  invasion  from  the  north- 
west were  considered  impracticable,  the  frontier  there  should  be 
described  as  unscientific,  and  how  any  foe  could  so  embarrass  and 
disturb  our  dominion  as  to  put  us  to  great  expense  on  a  frontier 
which  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  invade  ?  The  right  hon.  gentle- 
man thus  continued : — '  What  right  have  we  to  annex  by  war  or 
to  menace  the  territory  of  our  neighbours,  in  order  to  make 
"  scientific  "  a  frontier  which  is  already  safe  ?  What  should  we 
say  of  such  an  act  if  done  by  another  Power  ?  Our  frontier,  we 
are  told,  causes  anxiety  to  our  Viceroys.  I  ask,  which  among  the 
Viceroys  who  have  taken  and  quitted  office,  and  sometimes  life, 
with  so  much  honour,  since  we  reached  our  North-Western  Fron- 
tier, have  recommended  such  a  rectification  ?  Upon  the  whole,  I 
must  say  that  the  great  day  of  "  sense  and  truth,"  instead  of 
relaxing  the  reserve  unhappily  maintained,  has  added  a  new,  and, 
to  all  appearance,  a  dangerous,  mystery  to  those  which  before  pre- 
vailed ;  has  left  us  more  than  ever  at  the  mercy  of  anonymous 
paragraphs ;  and  is,  so  far,  likely  to  increase  rather  than  dispel 
the  gloom  which  is  settling  on  the  country.  That  we  are  bound 
to  observe  and  promote  the  observance  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin 
there  is  no  doubt.  We  should  do  it  with  better  grace  if  we  had 
not  ourselves  broken  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  and  violated  the  honour- 
able understanding  under  which  the  Powers  met  in  Congress,  by 
the  Anglo-Turkish  Convention.'  Mr.  Gladstone  went  on  to  observe 
that  the  best  barrier  against  Kussia  was  to  be  found  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  local  liberties  that  men  will  value,  and  will  fight  for, 


FOEEIGN    POLICY— 1878-9.  543 

and  will  not  willingly  surrender  either  to  Eussia  or  to  any  other 
Power.  He  also  referred  to  the  apparent  inaction  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  relation  to  the  report  of  the  Ehodope  Commission,  and 
regretted  their  indifference  to  a  commercial  distress  greatly  inten- 
sified by  their  own  reckless  expenditure.  But  the  only  effective 
criticism  upon  the  Government,  he  observed,  would  be  the 
criticism  of  the  polling  booths. 

To  that  appeal,  however,  the  Government  did  not  submit  them- 
selves. England  was  shortly  afterwards  at  war  with  Shere  Ali, 
the  Ameer  having  declined  to  receive  an  English  mission.  This 
was  no  new  decision,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  nor  ought  it  fairly 
to  have  been  construed  as  an  insult  to  us,  seeing  that  the  Ameer 
had  always  protested  against  receiving  a  British  Envoy. 

Mr.  Gladstone  having  announced  his  intention  of  retiring  from 
the  representation  of  Greenwich  at  the  next  election,  on  the  30th 
of  November  he  paid  a  farewell  visit  to  his  constituency.  At  a 
luncheon  given  at  the  Ship  Hotel  by  the  Liberal  Association,  the 
right  hon.  gentleman  proposed  the  toast  of  'Prosperity  to  the 
Borough  of  Greenwich  Liberal  Association,'  and  in  doing  so 
enlarged  upon  the  necessity  for  Liberal  union.  The  Liberals, 
owing  to  their  dissensions,  gave  twenty-six  votes  to  their  opponents 
in  1874.  Now  when  they  remembered  that  Governments  had  been 
carried  on  for  years  with  a  smaller  majority  than  twenty-six,  they 
would  see  how  important  the  subject  of  organisation  became. 
With  regard  to  the  Birmingham  plan,  he  warned  Liberals  against 
its  precipitate  or  imperfect  adoption.  Whenever  a  minority  only 
of  the  party  in  any  town  joined  such  an  association,  it  was  plain 
that  that  town  was  not  yet  ripe  for  the  introduction  of  the  new 
system ;  and  if  the  plan  continued  to  be  forced  under  those  cir- 
cumstances, more  harm  than  good  must  result  from  the  false 
application  of  the  principle.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Gladstone 
attended  a  great  public  meeting  in  the  Plumstead  Skating  Eink. 
On  his  entrance  the  whole  audience  rose  and  cheered  for  several 
minutes.  An  address  was  presented  to  the  ex-Premier  expressing 
regret  at  the  severance  of  his  connection  with  the  borough  of  Green- 
wich, and  the  pride  which  the  borough  would  ever  feel  at  having 
been  associated  with  his  name  and  fame. 

Mr.  Gladstone  began  his  reply  by  an  allusion  to  Lord  Beacons- 
field's  phrase  of  five  years  ago,  respecting  '  harassed  interests.' 
At  present  he  (the  speaker)  knew  of  only  one  harassed  interest, 
viz.,  the  British  nation.  The  question  how  the  country  was  to 
be  governed  should  occupy  the  people  at  the  next  election. 
Although  he  protested  against  the  words  '  personal  government ' 
being  taken  to  imply  that  the  Sovereign  desired  to  depart  from 
the  traditions  of  the  Constitution,  he  charged  her  Majesty's 


644  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

advisers  with  having  insidiously  begun  a  system  intended  to 
narrow  the  liberties  of  the  people  of  England,  and  to  reduce 
Parliament  to  the  condition  of  the  French  parliaments  before  the 
great  Kevolution.  Replying  to  the'  charge  that  he  and  his 
supporters  were  the  friends  of  Russia,  Mr.  Gladstone  showed  that 
it  was  the  Government  who  had  been  the  real  friends  of  that 
Power,  having  brought  her  back  to  the  Danube,  from  which  she 
was  driven  in  1856 ;  left  it  in  her  power  to  make  herself  the 
liberator  of  Bulgaria  ;  and,  by  the  device  of  creating  the  province 
of  Eastern  Roumeiia,  had  given  her  an  opportunity  for  intriguing 
pretty  effectively  among  that  portion  of  the  Bulgarians  still  left 
under  the  rule  of  the  Sultan. 

The  Afghan  war  was  dwelt  upon  with  great  fulness.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  having  expressed  his  fear  that  it  was  a  wholly  unjust 
war,  pointed  out  that  it  had  been  waged  by  the  Government  in 
furtherance  of  a  settled  intention  on  its  part  to  force  the  Ameer 
to  receive  European  Residents  in  his  cities,  contrary  to  the  treaty 
arrangements  entered  into  with  him,  and  in  opposition  to  his 
known  preference  for  native  agents.  He  denied  that  the  late 
Government  had  refused  to  give  conditional  assistance  to  the 
Ameer,  and  also  that  the  Viceroy  was  instructed  to  postpone  the 
subject.  In  1874,  as  was  proved  from  a  despatch  by  Sir  R. 
Pollock,  the  Ameer  leaned  as  much  as  ever  on  the  British  Govern- 
ment. The  Ameer  gave  as  his  reason  for  refusing  to  receive 
an  English  mission  at  all  four  letters  which  had  been  addressed 
to  him  in  a  threatening  tone  by  the  Commissioner  of  Peshawur, 
at  the  instance  of  the  Viceroy ;  and  these  letters  were  omitted 
from  the  Blue-book.  If  Russia  sent  a  Mission  to  Cabul,  why  had 
we  not  called  Russia  to  account  ?  asked  Mr.  Gladstone. 

'  If  an  offence  has  been  committed,  I  want  to  know  whose  has  been  the  greater 
share  of  that  offence  ?  The  Ameer  was  under  no  covenant  that  he  was  not  to  receive 
a  Russian  Mission ;  we  were  under  a  covenant  with  him  not  to  force  on  him  a 
British  Mission.  He  was  under  no  covenant  not  to  receive  a  Russian  Mission ; 
Russia  was  under  a  covenant  with  us  to  exercise  no  influence  in  Afghanistan.  II 
there  was  an  offence,  whose  was  the  offence  ?  The  offence,  if  any,  was  committed 
by  the  great  and  powerful  Emperor  of  the  North,  with  his  eighty  millions  of 
people,  with  his  1,400,000  or  1,500,000  soldiers,  and  fresh  from  his  recent  victories, 
and  not  by  the  poor,  tiemblhig,  shuddering  Ameer  of  Afghanistan,  with  his  few 
troops,  over  which  he  exercises  a  precarious  rule.  But  now,  having  received  from 
the  Czar  of  Russia  the  greater  offence,  we  sing  small  to  Russia,  and  ask  her  to 
withdraw  her  Mission ;  and  when  she  says  it  is  only  a  Mission  of  courtesy,  we 
seemingly  rest  content,  but  we  march  our  thousands  into  Afghanistan.  Anything 
so  painful  and  so  grievous  has  not  come  under  my  notice.' 

The  responsibility  for  this  war  he  threw  absolutely  upon  the 
Cabinet ;  but  Parliament  would  shortly  be  asked  what  it  thought 
of  these  transactions,  and  he  was  not  sanguine  as  to  the  reply. 
However,  the  appeal  to  Parliament  was  not  the  final  appeal.  Mr. 
Gladstone  maintained  that  we  had  departed  from  the  manners  01 


FOREIGN    POLICY— 1878-9.  545 

our  forefathers ;  the  policy  of  the  present  Government  was  not 
that  which  had  been  adopted  by  Lord  Chatham  and  Mr.  Burke, 
and  by  Lord  Derby  when  he  appealed  to  both  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment in  1857.  Mr.  Gladstone  thus  forcibly  concluded  his 
address : — 

'  This  question  cannot  be  settled  by  injunctions  to  be  dumb ;  it  cannot  be  settled 
by  the  production  of  garbled  evidence ;  it  cannot  be  settled  by  a  chorus  of  leading 
articles  written  to-day,  and  forgotton,  or  contradicted,  or  disavowed  to-morrow  ;  it 
cannot  be  settled  by  military  success — for,  thank  God,  the  arbitrament  of  the 
sword  is  not  the  supreme  or  the  sole  arbitrament  of  the  affairs  of  civilized  nations  ; 
it  cannot  be  settled  by  Parliamentary  majorities.  But  that  responsibility,  which  at 
this  moment  is  an  undivided  responsibility,  resting  upon  ten  or  twelve  men,  will 
next  week  or  the  week  afterwards  very  likely  be  divided  between  them  and  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament,  and  within  no  long  period — it  may  be  within  a  very  short 
period — the  people  of  England  will  have  to  say  whether  they  will  take  upon 
themselves  their  share  of  that  responsibility.  And  remember  that,  if  they  do,  their 
share  will  be  the  largest  of  all.  They  are  the  tribunal  of  final  appeal.  Upon  them, 
upon  every  constituency,  upon  every  man  in  every  constituency,  who  gives  his 
sanction  to  an  unjust  war,  the  guilt  and  the  shame  will  lie.  No  ;  there  is  something 
a  great  deal  higher  than  all  those  external  manifestations  by  which  we  are  apt  to 
be  swayed  and  carried  away;  something  that  is  higher,  something  that  is  more 
inward,  something  that  is  more  enduring.  External  success  cannot  always  silence 
the  monitor  that  lies  within.  You  all  know  the  noble  tragedy  of  our  great  Shakespeare, 
in  which  Lady  Macbeth,  after  having  achieved  the  utmost  external  success,  after 
having  waded  through  blood  to  a  crown,  and  that  crown  at  the  moment  seemingly 
undisputed,  yet  is  so  troubled  with  the  silent  action  of  conscience  residing  within  the 
breast  that  reason  itself  is  shaken  in  its  seat,  and  she  appears  at  night  wandering 
through  the  chambers  of  her  castle.  What  does  she  say  ?  There  she  had  nothing  to 
warn  her  from  without,  nothing  to  alarm  her.  Her  success  had  been  complete.  She 
had  reached  the  top  of  what  some  thinkto  be  human  felicity,  and  what  all  admit  to 
be  human  authority.  What  does  she  say  in  that  condition  ?  "  Here's  the  smell  of 
the  blood  still;  all  the  perfumes  of  Arabia  will  not  sweeten  this  little  hand."  And 
the  physician  appointed  to  wait  on  her,  in  the  few  simple  pregnant  words  of  the 
poet,  says,  "This  disease  is  beyond  my  practice."  Yes,  gentlemen,  the  disease  of  an 
evil  conscience  is  beyond  the  practice  of  all  the  physicians  of  all  the  countries  in 
the  world.  The  penalty  may  linger ;  but,  if  it  lingers,  it  only  lingers  to  drive  you 
on  further  into  guilt,  and  to  make  retribution  when  it  comes  more  severe  and 
more  disastrous.  It  is  written  in  the  eternal  laws  of  the  universe  of  God  that  sin 
shall  be  followed  by  suffering.  An  unjust  war  is  a  tremendous  sin.  The  question 
which  you  have  to  consider  is  whether  this  war  is  just  or  unjust.  So  far  as  I  am 
able  to  collect  the  evidence,  it  is  unjust.  It  fills  me  with  the  greatest  alarm  lest  it 
should  be  proved  to  be  grossly  and  totally  unjust.  If  so,  we  should  come  under 
the  stroke  of  the  everlasting  law  that  suffering  shall  follow  sin  ;  and  the  day  will 
arrive — come  it  soon  or  come  it  late — when  the  people  of  England  will  discover 
that  national  injustice  is  the  surest  road  to  national  downfall.' 

A  brief  sitting  of  Parliament  was  held  in  December,  when  a 
long  debate  ensued  upon  the  war  in  Afghanistan.  Mr.  Whitbread 
moved  the  following  amendment  to  the  Address: — 'That  this 
House  disapproves  the  conduct  of  her  Majesty's  Government, 
which  has  resulted  in  the  war  with  Afghanistan.' 

Mr.  Gladstone  followed  up  his  vigorous  speech  to  his  con- 
stituents by  one  quite  worthy  of  it  from  his  place  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  There  were  three  points,  he  said,  on  which  the  public 
decision  as  to  the  nature  of  this  war  ought  to  rest.  First,  the 
extraordinary  confusion  and  inconsistencies  of  the  evidence  on 
which  tne  Government  had  framed  their  case  for  this  unjust  and 

NN 


646  WILLIAM   EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

disastrous  war ;  secondly,  the  extraordinary  and  prolonged  secrecy 
in  which  a  policy  had  been  enveloped,  the  earlier  disclosure  of 
which  would  have  put  Parliament  on  its  guard,  and  elicited 
remonstrances  which  must,  in  all  probability,  have  stopped  the 
war ;  thirdly,  the  direct  evidence  of  injustice  in  relation  to  the 
origin  of  the  war,  the  deliberate  breach  with  the  policy  of 
forbearance  towards  Afghanistan,  the  alarming  menaces  addressed 
to  the  Ameer  of  Afghanistan  both  by  words  and  deeds,  the  mild- 
ness of  the  remonstrance  with  Russia,  into  whose  arms  we  had 
driven  the  Afghan  prince,  and  the  severe  retribution  which  we 
were  visiting  upon  the  protege,  whilst  we  complacently  accepted 
the  explanations  of  the  patron,  on  condition,  of  course,  that  we 
were  permitted  to  flog  the  protege  without  interference  from  the 
patron,  The  right  hon,  gentleman  then  drew  a  striking  picture 
of  the  miseries  and  perils  to  which  the  last  Afghan  war  had  led, 
and  pressed  home,  with  renewed  force,  the  chief  conclusions  of 
his  Plumstead  speech.  In  answer  to  Lord  John  Manners,  who 
had  declared  that  the  war  must  be  prosecuted  until  Shere  Ali 
had  made  due  submission,  Mr.  Gladstone  asked  what  would  be 
done  if  the  Ameer,  instead  of  making  submission,  followed 
precedent,  and  disappeared  ?  In  that  case,  how  long  should  we 
have  to  keep  an  army  of  occupation  ?  The  principal  official 
documents  contained  the  most  gross  misstatements  of  facts, 
involving  reckless  negligence.  There  was  no  ground  whatever 
for  alleging  that  at  the  Peshawur  Conference  it  became  evident 
that  the  Ameer  was  dissatisfied  with  his  relations  with  us.  So 
far  from  being  discontented,  he  begged  us  to  let  things  alone. 
Such  was  the  position  of  affairs  up  to  the  end  of  1876  ;  and  if  the 
papers  relating  to  the  Peshawur  Conference  had  been  laid  before 
Parliament  shortly  after  its  close,  he  ventured  to  say  we  should 
have  had  no  Afghan  war.  When  the  Aineer  was  ready  to  make 
concessions,  the  opportunity  was  denied  him,  the  Conference  was 
hastily  closed,  the  promises  of  Lords  Mayo  and  Northbrook  were 
revoked,  measures  of  hostility  were  adopted,  Quettah  was  occupied, 
and  our  native  agent  was  withdrawn  from  Cabul.  Lastly,  not 
the  least  discreditable  act  of  the  English  Government  was  their 
treating  the  reception  of  the  Russian  Mission  as  an  offence,  and 
their  visiting  it  with  punishment  at  the  very  time  when  they 
had  accepted  the  transparent  pretext  of  Russia  that  their  Mission 
to  Cabul  was  within  the  meaning  of  the  arrangement  made  with 
the  late  Government.  The  Russians  forced  the  Mission  upon 
Shere  Ali,  who  unwillingly  accepted  it.  The  Russians,  however, 
asked  permission  before  sending  their  envoy ;  but  we  did  not  do 
so,  and  the  Ameer's  subordinates  had  no  authority  to  let  our 
Mission  pass.  Now  Ministers  called  that  an  insult  which  was 


FOREIGN    POLICY— 1878-79.  547 

merely  the  result  of  the  grossest  blundering.  Further,  they  had 
tamely  acquiesced  in  Kussia's  new  and  unfounded  claim  to  send 
to  Cabul  missions  of  courtesy  under  the  convention  with  the  late 
Government.  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  his  peroration,  spoke  earnestly 
and  eloquently  upon  the  historical  and  moral  aspects  of  the 
question : — 

'  You  have  made  this  war  in  concealment  from  Parliament,  in  reversal  of  the 
policy  of  every  Indian  and  Home  Government  that  has  existed  for  the  last  twenty- 
five  years,  in  contempt  of  the  supplication  of  the  Ameer,  and  in  defiance  of  the 
advice  of  your  own  agent,  and  all  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  a  scientific  frontier.  We 
made  war  in  error  upon  Afghanistan  in  1838.  To  err  is  human  and  pardonable.  But 
we  have  erred  a  second  time  upon  the  same  ground  and  with  no  better  justification. 
This  error  has  been  repeated  in  the  face  of  eveiy  warning  conceivable  and  imaginable, 
and  in  the  face  of  an  unequalled  mass  of  auttiorities.  May  heaven  avert  a  repetition 
of  the  calamity  which  befell  our  army  in  1841 !  .  .  .  I  remember  a  beautiful 
description  of  one  of  our  modern  poets  of  a  great  battle-field  during  the  Punic,  wars, 
in  which  he  observed  that  for  the  moment  Nature  was  laid  waste  and  nothing  but 
the  tokens  of  carnage  were  left  upon  the  ground;  but  day  by  day  and  hour  by  hour 
she  began  her  kindly  task,  and  removed  one  by  one  and  put  out  of  sight  those 
hideous  tokens,  and  restored  the  scene  to  order,  to  beauty,  and  to  peace.  It  was 
such  a  process  that  the  Viceroys  of  India  had  been  carrying  on  for  years  in 
Afghanistan.  I  now  ask — is  all  this  to  be  undone?  The  sword  is  drawn,  and  misery 
is  to  come  upon  this  unhappy  country  again.  The  struggle  may  perhaps  be  short. 
God  grant  that  it  may  be  short !  God  grant  that  it  may  not  be  sharp  I  But  you, 
having  once  entered  upon  it,  cannot  tell  whether  it  will  be  short  or  long.  You  have 
again  brought  in  devastation  and  again  created  a  necessity  which,  I  hope,  will  be 
met  by  other  men,  with  other  minds,  in  happier  days ;  that  other  Viceroys  and 
other  Governments,  but  other  Viceroys  especially — such  men  as  Canning,  Lawrence, 
Mayo,  and  Northbrook — will  undo  this  evil  work  in  which  you  are  now  engaged. 
It  cannot  be  undone  in  a  moment,  although  the  torch  of  a  madman  may  burn 
down  an  edifice  which  it  has  taken  the  genius,  the  skill,  the  labour,  and  the  lavish 
prodigality  of  ages  to  erect.  ...  I  should  have  hope  of  this  division  if  I 
really  believed  that  many  hon.  members  had  made  themselves  individually  masters 
of  the  case  which  is  disclosed  in  the  recesses  of  those  two  volumes  of  Parliamentary 
papers.  They  have  not  done,  and  cannot  do  this,  and,  therefore,  this  vote  will  go  as 
other  votes  have  gone.  You  will  obtain  the  warrant  of  Parliament  and  the  triumph 
of  military  success  for  the  moment.  That  military  success  has  not  been  quite  so 
unchecked  up  to  the  present,  but  it  has  in  substance  corresponded  to  that  which 
led  us  on  in  1838,  and  blinded  us  to  the  perilous  nature  of  the  step  which  we  were 
taking.  Be  that  as  it  may,  however,  you  will  probably  obtain  sanction  and  the  war- 
rant which  you  seek.  The  responsibility,  which  is  now  yours  alone,  will  be  shared 
with  you  by  the  majority  of  this  House ;  but  many  who  will  decline  to  share  in  it 
will  hope  for  the  ultimate  disapproval  and  reversal  of  your  course  by  the  nation. 
But  even  if  the  nation  should  refuse  such  reversal,  those  members  of  this  House  who 
oppose  your  course  will  believe  that  they  have  performed  a  duty  incumbent  upon 
men  who  believe  that  truth  and  justice  are  the  only  sure  foundations  of  interna- 
tional relations,  and  that  there  is  no  possession  so  precious,  either  for  peoples  or 
for  men,  as  a  just  and  honourable  name.' 

This  powerful  speech  greatly  impressed  both  sides  of  the  House, 
but  the  majority — not,  it  was  believed,  without  some  compunction 
— endorsed  the  policy  of  the  Government.  In  the  course  of  the 
debate,  Mr.  Leatham  made  a  witty  comparison.  The  Cabinet, 
he  said,  reminded  him  of  the  gentleman  who,  seeing  his  horses 
run  away,  and  being  assured  by  his  coachman  that  they  must  drive 
into  something,  replied,  '  Then  smash  into  something  cheap  ! ' 
The  discussion  closed  with  very  able  speeches  by  Lord  Ihirtington 
and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  the  vote  of  censure  was 

NN  2 


548  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

defeated  by  328  votes  to  227.  On  a  motion  by  the  Government 
that  the  revenues  of  India  should  be  applied  for  the  purposes  of  the 
Avar,  Mr.  Fawcett  moved  an  amendment  to  the  effect  that  it  would 
be  unjust  that  the  revenues  of  India  should  be  applied  to  defray 
the  extraordinary  expenses  of  the  military  operations  being  carried 
on  against  the  Ameer  of  Afghanistan.  Mr.  Gladstone  seconded 
the  motion,  and  observed  that  it  was  the  people  of  England  who 
had  had  all  the  glory  and  all  the  advantage  which  had  resulted 
from  the  destruction  of  the  late  Government,  and  the  accession 
to  office  of  the  present  Administration ;  and  it  was  they  who  must 
measure  all  the  pros  and  the  cons,  and  who  must  be  content,  after 
having  reaped  benefits  so  immeasurable,  to  encounter  the  dis- 
advantage of  meeting  charges  which  undoubtedly  the  existing 
Administration  would  leave  behind  it  as  a  legacy  to  posterity. 
For  Mr.  Fawcett's  amendment  there  voted  125  ;  against,  235 — 
majority  for  the  Government,  110. 

England  gained  her  ends  in  the  Afghan  war,  and  humiliated 
Russia  ;  but  there  are  those  who  naturally  predict  that  the  direct 
remit  of  our  policy  will  be  further  Russian  advances  in  Central 
Asia.  Russia,  they  urge,  will  never  rest  until  she  has  strongly 
established  herself  upon  the  Afghan  frontier.  Meanwhile,  we 
may  repress  the  Afghans  by  force,  but  hostile  measures  will  never 
make  them  friendly  to  us.* 

Early  in  the  session  of  1879  the  Greek  question  came  before 
the  House  of  Commons  on  the  following  motion  by  Mr.  Cart- 
wright  : — '  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  House,  tranquillity  in  the 
East  demands  that  satisfaction  be  given  to  the  just  claims  of 
Greece,  and  no  satisfaction  can  be  considered  adequate  that  does 
not  ensure  execution  of  the  recommendations  embodied  in  Pro- 
tocol 13  of  the  Berlin  Congress.'  Mr.  Gladstone,  in  supporting 
this  motion,  said  he  was  sanguine  enough  to  believe  that  even  in 
the  present  House  of  Commons  there  might  be  found  a  disposition 
on  the  part  of  many  hon.  members  to  encourage  the  first  legiti- 
mate aspirations  on  the  part  of  the  Hellenic  races  after  freedom, 
and  he  hoped  that  the  declaration  of  the  Government  would  be 
such  as  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  House  and  to  the  country.  The 
Treaty  of  Berlin  contained  recommendations  which  were  valuable 
and  important  in  the  interests  of  the  liberty  and  happiness  of 
Greece,  and,  so  far  as  he  knew,  there  was  yet  no  evidence  whatr- 
ever  that  the  English  Government — the  whole  of  whose  tradi- 

*  As  to  the  value  of  our  scientific  frontier,  it.  has  been  pointed  out  that,  so  far  is 
it  from  facilitating  an  invasion  of  Afghanistan,  it  has  already  cost  the  Indian 
Government  the  services  of  four  good  brigades.  On  the  Candahar,  Khurum,  and 
Khybcr  routes  we  have  a  total  army  of  33,000  men  to  be  maintained  and  accoutred, 
while  the  force  really  fighting  its  way  to  Cabul  will  not  number  10,000,  and  will 
only  have  one  line  of  retreat  or  communication. 


FOREIGN    POLICY— 1878-79.  549 

tions  were  connected,  inseparably  connected,  with  freedom — 
had  acted  energetically  in  support  of  the  provisions  of  that 
treaty.  The  Porte  had  gone  back  upon  its  usual  resources  of 
craft,  and  inert  but  obstinate  resistance,  and  every  device  that 
ingenuity  could  suggest  had  been  used  to  evade  giving  effect  to 
the  recommendations  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.  Our  Government 
had  given  a  pledge  to  the  Government  of  Greece  to  support  and 
to  advance,  witbin  reasonable  limits,  the  territorial  claims  of 
Greece.  That  pledge,  down  to  the  present  time,  remained  entirely 
unredeemed ;  but  there  was  time  for  us  to  redeem  it.  It  certainly 
was  not  redeemed  at  the  Congress.  There  was  now  no  one  of  the 
European  Powers  antagonistic  to  the  claims  of  Greece.  France 
laboured,  and  had  always  consistently  and  energetically  done  so,  to 
promote  them,  and  their  complete  success  depended  upon  the  con- 
duct of  her  Maj  esty's  Government.  He  (Mr.  Gladstone)  wished  to 
convey  to  the  House  his  opinion  that  the  claims  on  the  part  of  the 
Greek  Kingdom  and  the  Greek  races  were  a  very  strong  claim 
indeed.  We  had  now  got  rid  of  the  superstition  that  all  these 
Greek  and  Christian  populations  of  Turkey  would  fling  themselves 
into  the  arms  of  Russia.  The  time  that  had  elapsed  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  our  promise  to  Greece  was  already  too  long,  and  there 
was  no  justification  for  it.  After  reviewing  the  greatly  improved 
condition  of  Greece — with  its  free  press,  an  increasing  population, 
a  trade  and  a  marine  enormously  augmented,  and  a  flourishing 
University — Mr.  Gladstone  said,  '  I  do  not  contend  that  the  civili- 
sation of  Greece  is  effective  for  all  purposes  ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
Greeks  are  behindhand,  and  have  so  much  to  do  that  their  resources 
may  be  strained  in  the  accomplishment  of  their  objects.  The 
Government  will  not  give  countenance,  I  hope,  to  coloured  and 
unfair  representations  of  the  condition  of  Greece,  but  will  join  us 
in  deprecating  them.' 

The  character  of  England  was  undoubtedly  tied  to  the  redemp- 
tion of  its  pledge  given  to  Greece,  but  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  said  the  matter  was  one  which  was  engaging,  and 
which  would  continue  to  engage,  the  earnest  sympathy  and  full 
attention  of  her  Majesty's  Government,  and  he  trusted  that  this 
assurance  would  satisfy  the  House.  The  motion  was  rejected, 
and  Greece  still  awaits  the  fulfilment  of  her  legitimate  aspirations. 

In  the  course  of  a  debate  raised  by  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  towards 
the  close  of  July,  on  the  obligations  of  Turkey  under  the  treaty 
of  Berlin,  Mr.  Gladstone  again  earnestly  enforced  the  claims  of 
Greece.  The  right  hon.  gentleman  observed  that  *  Greece,  weak 
as  she  may  be,  is  yet  strong  in  the  principles  on  which  she  rests. 
She  has  the  assertions  made  by  the  Turkish  Government:  she 
has  the  strong  sympathy  of  the  populations  concerned  ;  she  has 


550  WILLIAM   EWART   GLADSTONE. 

the  assertion  of  the  uselessness  of  these  populations  to  the  Sultan ; 
she  has  on  record  the  engagements  by  this  country,  now  some 
thirteen  months  ago,  promising  our  careful  consideration,  which 
is  well  known  to  mean  the  favourable  consideration  of  some  of  her 
territorial  claims.'  The  recent  course  of  England  upon  the  Greek 
Question  furnishes  a  very  unsatisfactory  chapter  in  our  history. 
Our  duty  to  the  Hellenic  race  was  clear,  and  more  strenuous 
efforts  should  have  been  made  for  its  fulfilment.  So  long  as  this 
question  remains  unsettled,  what  but  war  can  be  expected  between 
Turkey  and  Greece  ?  But  there  are  even  wider  aspects  in  which 
this  Greek  question  may  be  viewed.  Panhellenism  would 
unquestionably  be  a  powerful  counteracting  force  in  Eastern 
Europe  to  Panslavism.  The  dream,  no  doubt,  is  sanguine,  but 
a  Greece  which  should  include  the  present  territory,  together 
with  Thessaly,  Epiras,  Macedonia,  and  the  Archipelago  as  far  as 
the  shores  of  Anatolia,  has  always  received  the  sympathy  and 
adhesion  of  a  large  section  of  Greek  patriots.  Such  a  programme 
no  English  Ministry  would  at  present  support ;  but  Greece  has, 
notwithstanding,  reasonable  ground  of  complaint  over  the  defeat 
of  her  hopes  at  the  Berlin  Congress. 

Several  other  discussions  of  importance,  in  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
took  part,  arose  during  the  session.  In  the  middle  of  May,  Mr. 
Dillwyn  introduced  a  motion  affirming  the  necessity  of  more 
strict  observance  of  the  mode  and  limits  of  the  action  of  the  Pre- 
rogative, in  order  to  prevent  the  growing  abuse  and  extension  of 
it  by  her  Majesty's  Ministers,  under  cover  of  the  supposed  personal 
interposition  of  the  Sovereign.  Commenting  upon  the  chequered 
history  of  the  resolution,  Mr.  Gladstone  said  that  to  put  such  a 
motion  ultimately  on  the  paper  in  the  morning,  and  to  ask  the 
House  to  vote  it.  in  the  evening,  was  so  entirely  contrary  to  the 
rules  of  Parliamentary  procedure  that  he  declined  to  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  it.  There  was  no  connection,  he  further  pointed 
out,  between  the  abuse  of  the  Prerogative  and  the  supposed  inter- 
vention of  the  Sovereign.  Though  he  had  not  been  backward  in 
assailing  the  undue  use  of  the  Prerogative  under  the  existing 
Government,  in  every  case  it  had  been  sustained  by  large  majori- 
ties, and  the  censure,  if  there  was  to  be  any,  ought  to  be  directed 
against  the  majority,  which  had  assumed  the  responsibility. 

In  the  debate  on  the  Zulu  War,  Mr.  Gladstone  expressed  con- 
sideration and  sympathy  for  Sir  Bartle  Frere  in  the  difficulties  in 
•which  he  was  placed  ;  and  though  he  did  not  agree  with  him  in 
his  views  upon  South  Africa,  he  was  convinced  that  when  he 
returned  to  this  country  he  would  continue  to  attract  to  himself 
the  admiration  of  his  fellow-countrymen.  He  further  maintained 
that  our  relations  with  Cetewayo  must  be  regulated  by  his  rela- 


FOREIGN  POLICY—  1 878-79.  5&i 

tions  to  ourselves,  and  not  by  his  cruelties  to  his  own  people  ;  and 
he  agreed  that  when  the  safety  of  the  colony  was  assured,  the 
Government  ought  to  be  guided  by  considerations  of  moderation 
and  mercy.  He  believed,  however,  that  it  might  be  difficult  for 
the  Government  to  make  any  declarations  at  that  time. 

The  Speaker  having  ordered  notes  to  be  taken,  for  his  own  pri- 
vate use,  of  the  proceedings  and  debates  of  the  House,  the  Home 
Rulers  interpreted  his  action  as  being  aimed  specially  against 
themselves.  Mr.  Parnell  accordingly  brought  forward  a  resolu- 
tion that  this  proceeding  was  without  precedent,  was  a  breach  of 
the  privileges  of  Parliament,  and  a  danger  to  the  liberty  and 
independence  of  debate.  Rising  during  the  discussion,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone said  that  he  had  sat  in  the  House  during  the  rule  of  five 
different  Speakers,  and  this  was  the  first  occasion  upon  which  he 
could  recollect  the  submission  of  a  motion  to  the  House  impugn- 
ing in  any  way  the  conduct  of  the  gentleman  who  filled  the  chair. 
It  was  a  very  grave  occasion  ;  but  he  noticed  that  there  had  been 
withdrawn  from  the  motion  the  words  that^he  act  of  the  Speaker 
constituted  a  danger  to  the  liberty  of  debate.  Now,  the  Speaker 
either  possessed  their  confidence  or  he  did  not ;  and  while  no  one 
could  regard  with  pleasure  an  occurrence  of  this  kind,  it  brought 
with  it  this  satisfaction,  that  in  the  discharge  of  his  weighty  duties 
the  Speaker  would  find  his  hands  not  weakened  but  strengthened. 
Strange,  indeed,  would  be  their  position  if  the  House  now  made 
a  condemnation  of  the  practice  which  had  undoubtedly  been  within 
the  knowledge  of  many  of  the  leading  members  of  the  House  from 
time  to  time,  and  had  never  yet  attracted  a  word  of  disapproval. 
The  best  thing  to  do  would  be  to  subject  the  motion  to  a  direct 
negative.  Addressing  the  Speaker  direct,  the  right  hon.  gentle- 
man said  there  could  be  but  one  sentiment,  viz.,  that  he  was 
desirous  of  discharging  his  functions  in  the  most  efficient  manner ; 
and  they  therefore  desired  to  reciprocate  that  feeling  by  every 
declaration  in  their  power.  The  House  demonstrated,  by  292 
votes  to  24,  its  confidence  in  the  Speaker, 

On  the  consideration  of  the  Report  of  the  Army  Discipline  Bill, 
Lord  Hartington  moved  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  no  bill 
could  be  satisfactory  which  provided  for  the  permanent  retention 
of  corporal  punishment.  In  the  course  of  the  debate,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, arguing  for  the  abolition  of  the  punishment  of  flogging, 
said  the  Government  had  never  contradicted  the  statement  that 
at  one  time  they  had  arrived  at  the  decision  to  abolish  flogging, 
nor  had  they  once  stated  that  the  punishment  was  necessary  for 
the  maintenance  of  discipline.  After  what  had  recently  occurred, 
it  could  not  be  retained  long,  and,  believing  this  degrading  punish- 
ment to  be  contrary  to  our  recent  policy  of  raising  the  character 


65$  WILLIAM    EWAKT    GLADSTONE. 

of  the  army  in  every  possible  way,  he  gave  bis  cordial  support  to 
the  resolution. 

In  the  end,  notwithstanding,  the  retention  of  the  punishment 
was  voted  by  289  votes  to  183. 

The  financial  policy  of  the  Government — intimately  connected 
as  it  was  with  its  course  on  foreign  affairs — was  formally  arraigned 
upon  Mr.  Rylands's  motion  on  the  national  expenditure.  Mr. 
Gladstone,  in  supporting  it,  said  that  the  Ministry  was  not  now 
charged  with  not  meeting  the  necessities  of  the  year  by  imposing 
additional  taxation,  but  with  the  great  increase  in  the  national 
expenditure.  He  objected  to  it  both  in  regard  to  quantity  and 
quality ;  and  under  the  first  head  he  showed  that  the  augmenta- 
tion of  the  military  charges  amounted  to  over  six  millions,  while 
with  regard  to  the  reduction  in  the  present  year's  estimates,  he 
characterised  it  as  '  a  death-bed  repentance.'  He  next  proceeded 
to  challenge  the  causes  of  the  expenditure  from  first  to  last, 
vigorously  denouncing  the  foreign  policy  of  the  last  few  years, 
and  asserting  that  it  had  neither  increased  the  power  of  the  country 
nor  improved  our  relations  with  a  single  country  in  the  world. 
He  further  objected  to  the  mode  of  balancing  the  public  accounts, 
by  which  he  maintained  that  the  real  deficiency  was  concealed 
from  the  country.  The  Exchequer  bonds  were  an  essential  part 
of  the  deficiency  of  the  year,  and  as  to  the  estimated  surplus  of 
£1 ,900,000,  it  had  no  existence  at  all.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer ought  to  have  presented  an  estimate  of  the  expenses  of  the 
Zulu  war  ;  and  in  speaking  of  it  in  a  mere  general  way  as  a  charge 
which  could  not  be  calculated,  he  had  departed  from  universal 
precedent.  By  bringing  in  two  budgets  every  year,  Sir  Stafford 
Northcote  was  destroying  the  control  of  Parliament  over  the 
expenditure  and  income,  and  was  reversing  the  best  financial  pre- 
cedents of  our  history.  So  also  his  via  media  of  meeting  the 
deficiency  by  Exchequer  bonds  was  a  financial  revolution,  and 
was  at  daggers  drawn  with  the  principles  of  Sir  Robert  Peel.  The 
primary  rules  of  that  great  financier  were  to  make  proper  estimates 
for  the  charge  of  the  year,  and  to  bring  the  income  of  the  year 
up  to  the  charge ;  to  let  the  public  have  the  benefit  of  the  bulk 
of  the  surplu&es  when  they  occurred ;  and,  if  new  wants  arose,  to 
meet  them,  not  by  increased  taxes,  but  by  savings  in  other  direc- 
tions. In  conclusion,  Mr.  Gladstone  observed,  *  If  the  country 
approves  this  financial  revolution,  that  as  I  have  shown  by 
hard  facts  and  figures  is  in  progress,  the  country  is  its  own 
master,  and  can  return  again  a  Parliament  like-minded  with 
the  present,  to  perpetuate  an  Administration  under  which  we 
enjoy  such  bounteous  store  of  financial  as  well  as  other  bles- 
sings. I  do  not  undertake  to  predict  what  this  Parliament  will 


FOREIGN    POLICY— 1878-79.  553 

do,  or  what  the  nation  will  do,  in  considering  its  own  interest, 
and  in  making  provision  for  its  own  future ;  but,  unless  I  am 
mistaken,  the  doctrines  that  are  now  promulgated  on  the  part  of 
the  Government  are  financial  delusions,  and,  if  so  they  be,  I  can 
only  say  I  am  convinced  of  this,  that  the  longer  they  last,  the 
more  complete  sway  they  obtain  for  a  time  under  the  administra- 
tion and  influence  of  the  party  opposite,  the  sharper  will  be  the 
reaction  when  it  comes,  the  more  complete  the  reversal  of  your 
momentary  triumph,  and  the  more  severe  the  retribution  politi- 
cally inflicted  upon  the  party  that  has  invented  these  erroneous 
doctrines,  and  that  has  too  fatally  carried  them  into  effect.'  At 
a  later  stage  in  the  consideration  of  the  budget,  Mr.  Gladstone 
contrasted  the  financial  history  of  1860  with  that  of  1879,  and 
showed  that  the  former  afforded  no  justification  for  the  budget  of 
the  later  year.  In  1860  new  taxes  were  imposed,  and  there  was, 
therefore,  a  real  distribution  of  charge  between  the  present  and 
future ;  but  the  budget  of  1879  imposed  no  new  taxes,  so  that  no 
fair  parallel  could  be  drawn  between  them.  In  1860,  so  far  from 
there  being  remissions  of  taxation  almost  exceeding  the  new  taxes 
by  two  millions  and  more — as  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
had  stated — Mr.  Gladstone  pointed  out  that  while  £2,415,000 
had  been  remitted,  the  war  rates  of  tea  and  sugar  had  been  con- 
tinued, the  income-tax  had  been  raised  by  5d.,  other  duties  had 
been  increased,  and  in  all  fresh  taxes  had  been  imposed  to  the 
amount  of  £8,775,000,  leaving  a  balance  of  £6,360,000  of  increased 
taxation  in  that  year.  This  was  the  justification  for  borrowing 
money  on  terminable  annuities  for  the  fortifications ;  but  no  such 
plea  could  now  be  advanced  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, 

Mr.  Gladstone's  denunciations  of  the  Government  have  to 
some  appeared  unmeasured  and  unwarrantable ;  but  those  who  thus 
judge  him  forget  that,  whether  rightly  or  wrongly,  his  successors 
have  traversed  every  political  and  financial  principle  to  which 
he  has  steadfastly  adhered  through  a  public  career  extending 
over  nearly  half  a  century.  Those  who  most  differ  from  him  on 
questions  of  foreign  policy  cannot  deny  that,  with  regard  to 
financial  and  domestic  measures,  the  country  has  exhibited  a 
confidence  in  him  rarely  paralleled  in  our  political  annals.  The 
great  acts  of  his  Administration,  and  his  beneficent  fiscal  reform, 
stand  almost  alone ;  and  they  appear  all  the  nobler  and  the 
greater  when  contrasted  with  the  policy  of  his  successors.  The 
country  has  not  yet  ventured  to  look  the  results  of  the  Con- 
servative financial  policy  in  the  face ;  when  it  does  so,  it  cannot 
but  bitterly  regret  the  decision  which,  in  1874,  deprived  it  of  the 
services  of  the  greatest  of  living  statesmen  and  financiers 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  asked,  What  are  the  real  results  of 


554  WILLIAM   EWART    GLADSTONE. 

the  '  brilliant  foreign  policy  '  which  the  present  Government  has 
pursued  ?  Sir  Bartle  Frere  perversely  and  precipitately  forced 
upon  us  the  Zulu  war — a  war  which  many  of  the  usual  supporters 
of  the  Ministry  have  condemned.  The  war,  happily,  is  now 
virtually  over,  and  we  have  captured  the  brave  Zulu  king.  But 
what  is  to  be  the  end  of  our  interference  in  South  Africa  ?  If 
Federation  should  ultimately  be  established,  we  cannot  reflect 
with  satisfaction  upon  some  of  the  means  by  which  this  object 
will  have  been  gained.  Whatever  may  be  the  final  outcome 
of  the  Ministerial  policy  in  South  Africa,  the  unjust  war  with 
the  Zulus  forms  a  dark  spot  in  our  history.  Coming  to  India, 
what  do  we  find  ?  The  treaty  of  Orandamak  .  is  shrivelled 
up ;  and  although  we  may  hope  for  a  settlement  of  actual,  and 
perhaps  yet  greater  impending  difficulties,  it  is  almost  hoping 
against  hope.  England,  too,  though  a  great  and  a  rich  nation, 
is  neither  all-powerful  nor  inexhaustible  in  wealth.  The  question 
must  sooner  or  later  arise,  How  long  can  the  people  bear  the 
drain  upon  it  which  an  Imperial  policy  involves  ?  When  that 
limit  arrives,  there  will  be  a  strong  and  irresistible  revulsion  of 
national  feeling,  with  a  consequent  reversal  of  the  policy  of  an 
Administration  whose  name  is  written  in  blood.  It  may  be  that 
this  time  is  close  upon  us.  Even  in  the  midst  of  the  Saturnalia 
over  our  foreign  triumphs,  the  handwriting  begins  to  appear 
upon  the  wall. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ME.    GLADSTONE'S    MISCELLANEOUS    WRITINGS,  ETO. 

Characteristics  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Essays — Articles  on  the  Life  of  the  Prince  Con- 
sort— The  County  Franchise — '  Kin  Beyond  Sea'— Personal  and  Literary  Essays — 
Estimates  of  Macaulay  and  Tennyson — Wedgwood  and  his  Work — Mr.  Gladstone 
on  Art — Its  Relations  to  English  Manufactures — Historical  and  Speculative  Essays 
— Ecce  Homo — Articles  on  Foreign  Questions — Germany,  France,  and  England 
— The  Hellenic  Factor  in  the  Eastern  Problem — Aggression  in  Egypt — Miscel- 
laneous Essays — Comparison  between  Greece  and  Palestine— -'England's  Mission' 
— Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Policy  of  the  Ministry — Home  Questions  awaiting  Settle- 
ment—Speech at  Chester — Charges  against  the  Government — Effects  of  the 
Premier's  '  Imperial '  policy — Close  of  the  Survey  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Literary  and 
Political  Career, 

THE  plenitude  and  variety  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  intellectual  powers 
have  been  the  subject  of  such  frequent  comment  that  it  would  be 
superfluous  to  insist  upon  them  here.  On  the  political  side  of 
his  career  his  life  has  been  as  unresting  and  active  as  that  of  any 
other  great  party  leader ;  and,  if  we  regard  him  in  the  literary 
aspect,  we  are  equally  astonished  at  his  energy  and  versatility. 
Putting  out  of  view  his  various  works  upon  Homer,  his  miscel- 
laneous writings  of  themselves,  with  the  reading  they  involve, 
would  entitle  their  author  to  take  high  rank  on  the  score  of 
industry  with  the  majority -of  the  literary  craft.  As  a  writer, 
indeed,  fluency  may  be  said  to  be  his  besetting  sin.  Great  ideas 
do  not  come  either  to  the  world  or  to  individuals  in  battalions  ; 
they  are  the  product  of  thought,  action,  comparison.  So,  while 
we  stand  amazed  at  the  infinity  of  topics  which  have  received 
Mr.  Gladstone's  attention,  we  do  not  always  acquire  from  his 
essays  that  high  dry  light  which  it  is  the  privilege  of  the  greatest 
critics  to  shed  upon  the  subjects  and  the  men  they  undertake  to 
interpret. 

A  recent  reviewer,  while  scarcely  doing  Mr.  Gladstone  justice 
in  certain  respects,  furnishes  some  apposite  observations —  or  par- 
tially apposite,  at  least — upon  the  general  character  of  his  essays 
as  well  as  their  style.  '  It  is,'  he  says,  *  the  light  they  throw  on 
Mr.  Gladstone  and  upon  his  habits  and  modes  of  thought,  far 
more  than  any  light  they  throw  upon  the  special  subjects  tlu-y 
deal  with,  that  gives  these  essays  their  strongest  claim.  And 


556  WILLIAM   EWAET   GLADSTONE. 

this  internal  unity  of  thought  and  temperament  is  made  the 
more  prominent  by  the  comparative  absence  of  any  corresponding 
unity  of  style.  Indeed,  of  a  style,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term, 
Mr.  Gladstone  has  almost*little  or  none,  and  the  reader  is  almost 
startled  to  find  how  well  he  gets  along  without  it.  Sometimes 
we  have  a  sentence  so  long  and  involved  that  nothing  but  a  pas- 
sionate intensity  of  meaning  and  a  profuse  vocabulary  could  have 
averted  a  disastrous  collapse.  Elsewhere,  as  for  instance  in  his 
controversy  with  Mr.  Lowe,  the  "  Tempter,"  as  Mr.  Gladstone 
might  say,  leads  him  to  imitate,  with  very  partial  success,  the 
nimble  dialectics  of  his  skilful  opponent.  His  writing,  it  is  true, 
is  often  vigorous  and  trenchant,  his  phrases  not  unfrequently 
happy  and  well  turned  ;  but  a  distinctive  style,  such  for  instance  as 
Lord  Macaulay's,  he  most  certainly  has  not.'  *  The  essays  remind 
the  reader  more  of  the  flowing  eloquence  and  the  declamation  of 
a  Burke  than  of  the  massiveness,  the  dignity,  and  the  majesty 
of  a  Bacon. 

The  whole  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  miscellaneous  writings — with  the 
exception  of  essays  of  a  strictly  controversial  and  classical  kind — 
have  recently  been  collected  in  a  uniform  edition,  f  The  first 
volume  has  no  fewer  than  four  articles  upon  the  life  and  character 
of  the  Prince  Consort,  two  of  them  being  based  upon  Mr.  Martin's 
life.  The  critic  writes  sympathetically  upon  the  virtues  of  the 
Prince,  who  was  deserving  of  the  eulogy  passed  upon  him,  and 
who  undoubtedly  raised  the  life  of  the  Court,  and  the  influ- 
ence and  usefulness  of  our  highest  institution,  to  their  highest 
point.  He  also  laments  the  loss  which  society  has  sustained  from 
the  slackening  of  that  beneficial  action  to  which  the  Prince  so 
powerfully  contributed.  These  essays  are  followed  by  three  papers 
on  the  County  Franchise,  being  a  response  to  the  deliverances  of 
Mr.  Lowe  upon  this  subject.  Mr.  Gladstone  claims  to  regard  this 
question  with  strict  impartiality,  for  he  looks  upon  it  as  one  which 
calls  upon  him  for  adhesion  as  an  individual,  but  not  for  the 
guidance  of  others  in  any  larger  capacity.  He  warns  Englishmen, 
however,  against  one  of  the  greatest  moral  dangers  that  can  beset 
the  politics  of  a  self-governed  country — the  danger  of  having  a 
great  question  insincerely  dealt  with.  The  Conservatives  are 
ready  to  step  in  between  the  Liberal  leaders  and  their  work,  and 
to  do  the  exact  opposite  of  that  which  was  done  by  Sir  Robert 
Peel  in  1829  and  1846  :— « They  will  handle  the  subject,  to  the 
best  of  their  judgment,  as  one  which  may  legitimately  be  used, 
either  by  adoption  or  by  a  faint  and  procrastinating  repulse,  as 
shall  best  suit  the  interests  of  their  party.'  The  speech  of  the 

*  The  Atheixevm,  Feb.  1879. 

t  Gleaninys  of  Past  Years.    In  seven  volumes,    London:  1879. 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    MISCELLANEOUS    WHITINGS.  55^ 

present  majority  will  say  one  thing,  while  its  heart  conceals  another. 
In  legislating  upon  this  subject,  Mr.  Gladstone  is  not  afraid  that 
we  shall  fall  down  the  precipice  into  national  ruin,  inasmuch  as 
we  fell  down  a  much  greater  precipice  in  1832,  and  another  one 
in  1867,  and  are  none  the  worse  for  it.  His  arguments  upon  the 
whole  question  are  well  worthy  of  study. 

The  last  essay  in  this  volume,  '  Kin  Beyond  Sea,'  is  one  for 
which  Mr.  Gladstone  was  taken  severely  to  task  by  many 
English  journals,  on  its  appearance  originally  in  the  North 
American  Revieiu  for  September,  1878.  Heading  through  this 
essay  now  after  the  excitement  it  created  has  calmed  down,  it 
seems  to  us  to  contain  much  food  for  reflection  for  Englishmen. 
Mr.  Gladstone  is  not  alone  in  taking  the  following  view  of  the 
future  of  America,  and  we  should  do  well  to  heed  the  advice  with 
which  he  closes : — '  She  will  probably  become  what  we  are  now, 
the  head  servant  in  the  great  household  of  the  world,  the 
employer  of  all  employed  ;  because  her  services  will  be  the  most 
and  ablest.  We  have  no  more  title  against  her  than  Venice,  or 
Genoa,  or  Holland  has  had  against  us.  One  great  duty  is 
entailed  upon  us,  which  we,  unfortunately,  neglect ;  the  duty  of 
preparing,  by  a  resolute  and  sturdy  effort,  to  reduce  our  public 
burdens,  in  preparation  for  a  day  when  we  shall  probably  have 
less  capacity  than  we  have  now  to  bear  them.'  Again,  'the 
England  and  the  America  of  the  present  are  probably  the  two 
strongest  nations  in  the  world.  But  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt, 
as  between  the  America  and  the  England  of  the  future,  that  the 
daughter,  at  some  no  very  distant  time,  will,  whether  fairer  or 
less  fair,  be  unquestionably  yet  stronger  than  the  mother.'  Mr. 
Gladstone  argues  in  support  of  this  position  from  the  concentrated 
continuous  empire  which  America  possesses,  and  the  enormous 
progress  she  has  made  within  a  century.  The  writer's  brief 
review  of  the  British  Constitution,  and  his  summary  of  possible 
dangers  which  may  beset  the  mother-country,  are  deserving  ot 
careful  consideration,  especially  when  we  reflect  that  these  things 
have  driven  one  who  is  perhaps  better  acquainted  with  them 
than  most  students  of  the  Constitution  to  this  general  con- 
clusion : — '  We  of  this  island  are  not  great  political  philosophers ; 
and  we  contend  with  an  earnest  but  disproportioned  vehemence 
about  changes  which  are  palpable,  such  as  the  extension  of  the 
suffrage,  or  the  re-distribution  of  Parliamentary  seats,  neglecting 
wholly  other  processes  of  change  which  work  beneath  the  surface, 
and  in  the  dark,  but  which  are  even  more  fertile  of  great  organic 
results.' 

The  second  volume  consists  of  essays  exclusively  personal  and 
literary.  The  author  discourses  both  pleasantly  and  profitably 


55S  WILLIAM  EWART  GLADSTONE. 

upon  such  differently  constituted  beings  as  Blanco  White,  Giacomo 
Leopardi,  Bishop  Patteson,  Dr.  Norman  Macleod,  Macaulay, 
Tennyson,  and  Wedgwood.  While  we  could  willingly  linger  over 
each  of  these  names,  it  is  only  the  last  three  to  which  we  can  give 
some  attention.  In  treating  of  Macaulay,  Mr.  Gladstone  is  not 
so  incisive  as  some  other  English  critics — Mr.  John  Morley,  for 
example ;  but  the  essay  is  written  with  admirable  temper  and  a 
certain  largeness  of  spirit.  '  Prosperous  and  brilliant,  a  prodigy, 
a  meteor,  almost  a  portent,  in  literary  history,'  the  great  Whig 
historian  is  described,  and  yet  withal  there  was  much  of  the  com- 
monplace about  him ;  while  his  fierceness  as  an  advocate  prevented 
him  from  attaining  to  that  atmosphere  of  calm  impartiality  which 
surrounds  the  greatest  historians.  An  accurate  man,  in  the  long 
run,  is  of  more  service  to  the  world  than  a  fascinating  man, 
though  the  latter  may  in  the  outset  absorb  all  the  honours  ;  and 
this  rule  will,  we  think,  be  found  to  hold  good  in  all  kinds  of 
intellectual  effort.  Mr.  Gladstone  observes  that '  as  the  serious 
flaw  in  Macaulay 's  mind  was  want  of  depth,  so  the  central  defect 
with  which  his  productions  appear  to  be  chargeable,  is  a  per- 
vading strain  of  more  or  less  exaggeration.'  The  truth  is  that 
'  Macaulay  was  not  only  accustomed,  like  many  more  of  us,  to 
go  out  hobby-riding,  but,  from  the  portentous  vigour  of  the 
animal  he  mounted,  was  liable,  more  than  most  of  us,  to  be  run 
away  with.'  Once  more — in  drawing  a  comparison  between 
Macaulay  and  Thucydides,  the  latter  of  whom  was  greatly  admired 
by  the  modern  historian — '  Ease,  brilliancy,  pellucid  clearness, 
commanding  fascination,  the  effective  marshalling  of  all  facts 
belonging  to  the  external  world  as  if  on  parade ;  all  these  gifts 
Macaulay  has,  and  Thucydides  has  not.  But  weight,  breadth,  pro- 
portion, deep  discernment,  habitual  contemplation  of  the  springs 
of  character  and  conduct,  and  the  power  to  hold  the  scales  of 
human  action  with  firm  and  even  hand,  these  must  be  sought  in 
Thucydides,  and  are  rarely  observable  in  Macaulay.'  Yet  with  all 
his  defects — and  they  are  nearly  as  pronounced  and  conspicuous 
as  his  excellences — Macaulay  remains  one  of  the  most  considerable 
figures  in  English  literature  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  merits  of  Mr.  Tennyson,  as  a  poet,  excite  less  controversy. 
As  the  essayist  remarks,  *  from  his  very  first  appearance  he  has 
had  the  form  and  fashion  of  a  true  poet ;  the  delicate  insight 
into  beauty,  the  refined  perception  of  harmony,  the  faculty  of 
suggestion,  the  eye  both  in  the  physical  and  moral  world  for 
motion,  light,  and  colour,  the  sympathetic  and  close  observation 
of  nature,  the  dominance  of  the  constructive  faculty,  and  that  rare 
gift,  the  thorough  mastery  and  loving  use  of  his  native  tongue. 
His  turn  for  metaphysical  analysis  is  closely  associated  with  a 


MB.    GLADSTONE'S    MISCELLANEOUS    WHITINGS.  559 

deep  ethical  insight ;  and  many  of  his  verses  form  sayings  of  so 
high  a  class  that  we  trust  they  are  destined  to  contribute  a  per- 
manent part  of  the  household  words  of  England.'  It  is  twenty 
years  since  these  words  were  written,  and  each  of  those  years  has 
witnessed  something  towards  their  fulfilment.  Like  Wordsworth, 
Mr.  Tennyson  has  won  his  way  with  the  public  against  the  vati- 
cinations of  the  reviewers,  and  this  way  has  been  a  laborious  one. 
Few  poets  have  aimed  at  perfection  so  persistently,  so  devotedly, 
as  Mr.  Tennyson.  Unquestionably  fine  as  his  genius  is,  it  is  not 
inspiration  alone,  but  a  spirit  of  unrelaxing  effort  which  has 
assisted  in  raising  him  to  the  high  position  he  occupies  amongst 
English  singers. 

Most  valuable,  perhaps,  of  all  these  gleanings  of  a  personal 
character  is  the  address  on  Wedgwood,  originally  spoken  at 
Burslem,  Staffordshire,  on  the  occasion  of  laying  the  foundation- 
stone  of  the  Wedgwood  Institute.  We  not  only  meet  here  with 
many  true  and  beautiful  things  about  art,  but  with  much  sound 
advice  calculated  to  be  of  profit  to  all  classes  of  British  workmen. 
Considering  the  products  of  industry  with  reference  to  their 
utility,  their  cheapness,  their  influence  upon  the  condition  of 
those  who  produce  them,  and  their  beauty,  Mr.  Gladstone  con- 
ceives it  to  be  in  the  last-named  department  that  we  are  to  look  for 
the  peculiar  pre-eminence,  he  does  not  scruple  to  say  the  peculiar 
greatness,  of  Wedgwood.  The  association  of  beauty  with  con- 
venience is  not  a  matter  light  and  fanciful ;  beauty  is  not  an 
accident  of  things,  it  pertains  to  their  essence ;  it  pervades  the 
wide  range  of  creation  ;  and  wherever  it  is  impaired  or  banished 
we  perceive  proofs  of  the  moral  disorder  which  disturbs  the  world. 
God  hath  made  everything  '  beautiful  in  his  time.'  '  Among  all 
the  devices  of  creation,  there  is  not  one  more  wonderful,  whether 
it  be  the  movement  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  or  the  succession  of 
the  seasons  and  the  years,  or  the  adaptation  of  the;  world  and  its 
phenomena  to  the  conditions  of  human  life,  or  the  structure  of 
the  eye,  or  hand,  or  any  other  part  of  the  frame  of  man — not 
one  of  all  these  is  more  wonderful  than  the  prot'useness  with 
which  the  Mighty  Maker  has  been  pleased  to  shed  over  the  works 
of  his  hands  an  endless  and  boundless  beauty.'  England  has 
long  taken  a  lead  among  the  nations  of  Europe  for  the  cheapness 
of  her  manufactures ;  and  Mr.  Gladstone  believes  that  if  the  day 
is  ever  to  come  when  she  -hull  be  as  eminent  in  tine  taste  and 
beauty  as  she  is  now  in  economy  of  production,  that  result  will 
probably  be  due  to  no  other  single  man  in  so  great  a  degree  as  to 
Wedgwood.  In  the  words  of  his  epitaph,  he  'converted  a  rude 
and  inconsiderable  manufacture  into  an  elegant  art  and  an 
important  branch  of  national  commerce.'  Unaided  by  the  natimial 


sec  WILLIAM  EWAET  GLADSTONE. 

or  the  royal  gifts  which  were  found  necessary  to  uphold  the 
glories  of  Svres,  of  Chelsea,  and  of  Dresden,  he  produced  works 
truer,  perhaps,  to  the  inexorable  laws  of  art,  than  the  fine  fabrics 
that  proceeded  from  those  establishments.  The  lessons  to  be 
deduced  from  a  career  of  toil,  and  one  devoted  to  the  highest 
ends,  like  Wedgwood's,  are  admirably  pointed  out  and  enforced, 
Mr.  Gladstone's  address  especially  deserves  praise  for  its  insist- 
ence upon  the  great  truth  that  the  mean  and  the  lowly  are  not 
divorced  from  the  beautiful.  '  Down  to  the  humblest  condition 
of  life,  down  to  the  lowest  and  most  backward  grade  of  civilisa- 
tion, the  nature  of  man  craves,  and  seems  even  as  it  were  to  cry 
aloud,  for  something,  some  sign  or  token  at  the  least,  of  what  is 
beautiful,  in  some  of  the  many  spheres  of  mind  or  sense.' 

In  an  address  delivered  at  Chester,*  Mr.  Gladstone  once  more 
spoke  concerning  art  in  its  relations  to  English  manufactures.  He 
denied  that  the  promotion  of  excellence  for  its  own  sake  was  a 
visionary  idea ;  for  every  excellence  that  was  real,  whether  it  related 
in  the  first  instance  to  utility  or  beauty,  had  got  its  price,  its 
value  in  the  market.  It  was  an  element  of  strength.  In  France, 
the  standard  of  taste,  taken  as  a  whole,  was  very  much  higher  than 
in  England.  This  was  a  great  national  want — a  want  that  had 
been  felt  at  all  times,  and  a  national  want  that  was  now  specially 
felt  because  of  the  depression  of  British  commerce,  and  the 
increased  difficulties  in  finding  a  way  into  the  markets  of  many 
foreign  countries.  Yet  it  was  a  very  significant  thing  that  this 
want  should  exist,  because  it  was  admitted  that  England  is  a 
country  which,  in  the  production  of  beauty  in  its  highest  form, 
showed  no  deficiency  at  all.  The  very  highest  form  in  which  the 
beautiful  could  be  produced  was  that  of  poetry,  and  the  English 
poetry  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  been  at  the  head  of  the  poetry 
of  the  worla.  With  the  English  people  there  was  some  deficiency 
in  that  quality  or  habit  which  connects  the  sense  of  beauty  with 
the  production  of  works  of  utility.  4  With  the  English  those  two 
things  are  quite  distinct ;  but  in  the  oldest  times  of  human  indus- 
try— that  is  to  say,  amongst  the  Greeks — there  was  no  separation 
whatever,  no  gap  at  all,  between  the  idea  of  beauty  and  the  idea 
of  utility.  Whatever  the  ancient  Greek  produced  he  made  as 
useful  as  he  could ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  cardinal  law  with  him 
was  to  make  it  as  beautiful  as  he  could.'  In  the  industrial  pro- 
ductions of  America  there  was  very  little  idea  of  beauty ;  an 
American's  axe,  for  example,  was  not  intended  to  cut  away  a  tree 
neatly,  but  quickly.  The  object  was  to  clear  the  ground,  and  that 
is  the  history  of  American  industry  up  to  the  present  time.  In 
England,  schools  of  art  were  producing  an  excellent  effect  upon 

*  Opening  of  an  Art  Loan  Exhibition,  August  11, 1879. 


MR.    GLADSTONE'S    MISCELLANEOUS    WRITINGS.  561 

almost  every  branch  of  industry.  '  We  want  a  workman  to  under- 
stand that  if  he  can  learn  to  appreciate  beauty  in  industrial  pro- 
ductions, he  is  thereby  doing  good  to  himself,  first  of  all  in  the 
improvement  of  his  mind,  and  in  the  pleasure  he  derives  from  his 
work,  and  likewise  that  literally  he  is  increasing  his  own  capital, 
which  is  his  labour.'  He  looked  to  the  union  of  beauty  and  utility 
in  industrial  production  as  the  true  way  to  ensure  success  in  our 
national  enterprise  and  commerce. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  third  series  of  essays,  which  are  of  an  historical 
and  speculative  character,  opens  with  '  The  Theses  of  Erastus  and 
the  Scottish  Church  Establishment,  1844.'  The  writer  strongly 
condemns  Erastianism,  and  though  his  subject  is  one  which  does 
not  profoundly  concern  the  great  body  of  the  people,  it  has  a 
special  interest  for  those  who  have  followed  the  deep  ecclesiastical 
upheaval  in  Scotland.  The  articles  on  Ecce  Homo  take  a  wider 
range,  and  are  written  with  considerable  eloquence  and  power, 
That  remarkable  work  is  closely  examined,  with  the  object  of 
showing  that  the  method  and  order  of  religious  teaching  may 
vary,  as  between  the  period  of  first  introduction,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  of  established  possession  and  hereditary  transmission  on  the 
other  ;  that  there  were  seasons  in  the  state  of  the  world,  at  the 
period  of  the  Advent,  for  a  careful  and  delicate  regulation  of  the 
approaches  for  the  new  religion  to  the  mind  of  man :  and  that 
in  the  matter  and  succession  of  the  Gospels  we  may  find  a  suc- 
cinct testimony  to  this  system  of  providential  adjustment.  He 
next  discusses  what  was  the  order  or  economy  observed  by  the 
Saviour  in  making  known  to  the  world  the  religion  he  had  come 
on  earth  to  found.  On  the  great  question  whether  the  world  has 
gained  on  the  whole  in  Christian  ages  as  compared  with  those  of 
heathenism,  Mr.  Gladstone  cites  social  changes  of  a  vast  and  wide 
range,  which  decisively  settle  the  problem  in  favour  of  Christi- 
anity. He  concludes  his  survey  by  expressing  a  hope  '  that  the 
present  tendency  to  treat  the  old  belief  of  man  with  a  precipitate, 
shallow,  and  unexamining  disparagement,  is  simply  a  distemper 
that  infects  for  a  time  the  moral  atmosphere ;  that  is  due,  like 
plagues  and  fevers,  to  our  own  previous  folly  and  neglect :  and 
that,  when  it  has  served  its  work  of  admonition  and  reform,  will 
be  allowed  to  pass  away-  Towards  this  result  the  author  of  Ecce 
Homo,  if  I  read  him  right,  will  have  the  consolation  and  the 
praise  of  having  furnished  an  earnest,  powerful,  and  original  con- 
tribution.' Seldom  has  the  work  to  be  effected  in  man  by  the 
Christian  religion  been  so  felicitously  expressed  as  in  the  following 
passage : — 

'  No  more  in  the  inner  than  the  outer  sphere  did  Christ  come  among  us  as  a  con. 
queror,  making  His  appeal  to  force.    We  were  neither  to  bo  consumed  liv  the 

oo 


562  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

of  the  Divine  presence,  nor  were  we  to  be  ch/zled  by  its  brightness ;  God  was  not  in 
the  storm,  nor  in  the  fire,  nor  in  the  flood,  but  He  was  in  the  still  small  voice.  This 
v:ist  treasure  was  not  only  to  be  conveyed  to  us,  and  to  be  set  down  as  it  were  at 
our  doors ;  it  was  to  enter  into  us,  to  become  part  of  us,  and  to  become  that  part 
which  should  rule  the  rest ;  it  was  to  assimilate  alike  the  mind  and  heart  of  every 
class  and  description  of  men.  While,  as  a  moral  system,  it  aimed  at  an  entire 
dominion  in  the  heart,  this  dominion  was  to  be  founded  upon  an  essential  con- 
formity to  the  whole  of  our  original  and  true  essence.  It,  therefore,  recognised 
the  freedom  of  man,  and  respected  his  understanding,  even  while  it  absolutely  re- 
quired him  both  to  lea  rn  and  to  unlearn  so  largely ;  the  whole  of  the  new  lessons  were 
founded  upon  principles  that  were  based  in  the  deepest  and  best  regions  of  his 
nature,  and  that  had  the  sanction  of  his  highest  faculties  in  their  moments  of  calm, 
and  in  circumstances  of  impartiality.  The  work  was  one  of  restoration,  of  return, 
and  of  enlargement,  not  of  innovation.  A  space  was  to  be  bridged  over,  and  it  was 
vast :  but  a  space  where  all  the  piers,  and  every  foundation-stone  of  the  connecting 
structure,  were  to  be  laid  in  the  reason  and  common  sense,  in  the  history  and 
experience  of  man.  This  movement  was  to  be  a  revolutionary  movement,  but  only 
in  the  sense  of  a  return  from  anarchy  to  order.' 

The  remaining  essays  of  an  historical  and  ecclesiastical  type 
are  '  The  Courses  of  Religious  Thought,' '  The  Sixteenth  Century 
and  the  Nineteenth,'  and  '  The  Influence  of  Authority  in  Matters 
of  Opinion ' — the  main  argument  of  the  last-named  paper  being 
suggested  by  Sir  Gr.  C.  Lewis's  well-known  essay  upon  the  same 
subject. 

In  the  Foreign  essays  are  to  be  found  the  letters  to  Lord 
Aberdeen  on  the  Neapolitan  prisons,  which  have  been  already 
referred  to  at  length  in  another  part  of  this  work.  In  an  article 
upon  '  Germany,  France,  and  England,'  contributed  to  the  Edin- 
burgh Review,  in  1870,  Mr.  Gladstone  pleads  for  the  time  when 
nations  shall  do  to  each  other  as  they  would  wish  to  be  done  by. 
*  The  greatest  triumph  of  our  time,  a  triumph  in  a  region  loftier 
than  that  of  electricity  and  steam,  will  be  the  enthronement  of  the 
idea  of  Public  Right,  as  the  governing  idea  of  European  policy  ; 
as  the  common  and  precious  inheritance  of  all  lands,  but  superior 
to  the  passing  opinion  of  any.  The  foremost  among  the  nations 
will  be  that  one  which  by  its  conduct  shall  gradually  engender 
in  the  mind  of  the  others  a  fixed  belief  that  it  is  just.  In  the 
competition  for  this  prize,  the  bounty  of  Providence  has  given 
us  a  place  of  vantage  ;  and  nothing  save  our  own  fault  or  folly  can 
wrest  it  from  our  grasp.'  Dealing  with  '  The  Hellenic  Factor  in 
the  Eastern  Problem,'  Mr.  Gladstone  traces  the  course  of  British 
policy  with  respect  to  Greece,  and  redeems  the  memory  of  Lord 
Palmerston  from  the  wrong  done  it  by  those  who  believe  or  argue 
that,  if  now  alive,  he  would  have  been  found  to  plead  the  obliga- 
tion of  maintaining  the  integrity  of  the  Ottoman  Power  as 
paramount  to  the  duty  of  granting  to  her  afflicted  subjects  simple, 
broad,  and  effective  guarantees  for  their  personal  and  civil 
liberties.  In  no  spirit  of  unfriendliness  to  the  Porte,  Earl  Russell 
and  Lord  Palmerston  wished  for  the  assignment  of  Thessaly 
and  Epirus  to  Greece,  subject  to  the  conditions  of  suzerain 


ME.    GLADSTONE'S    MISCELLANEOUS    WRITINGS.  563 

and  tribute.  Mr.  Gladstone  shows  that  there  is  an  opportunity 
for  England  to  acquire  the  lasting  gratitude  of  Greece.  '  Of  that 
people  who  still  fondle  in  their  memories  the  names  of  Canning 
and  Byron,  there  are  in  the  Levant,  we  may  safely  say,  four 
millions,  on  whose  affections  we  may  take  a  standing  hold,  by 
giving  a  little  friendly  care  at  this  juncture  to  the  case  of  the 
Hellenic  provinces.  They  want  not  Kussian  institutions,  but 
such  a  freedom  as  we  enjoy.  They  want  for  their  cause  an 
advocate  who  is  not  likely  to  turn  into  an  adversary,  one  whose 
temptations  lie  in  other  quarters ;  who  cannot  (as  they  fondly 
trust)  ask  anything  from  them  ;  or,  in  any  possible  contingency, 
through  durable  opposition  of  sympathies  or  interests,  inflict 
anything  upon  them.'  Such  a  thorough  and  steadfast  friend 
England  has  not  yet  proved  herself.  Mr.  Gladstone  relates,  in 
another  article,  the  long  struggle  of  the  noble  and  heroic  people 
of  Montenegro  against  their  hereditary  oppressors;  and  he  has 
further  something  to  say  anent  *  Aggression  in  Egypt,  and  Free- 
dom in  the  East.'  *  He  does  not  hide  the  difficulties  besetting 
British  encroachments  in  the  East.  Enlargements  of  the  empire 
are  for  us  an  evil  fraught  with  serious  if  not  with  immediate 
danger.  We  have  left  many  old  tasks  undone ;  *  our  currency, 
our  local  government,  our  liquor  laws,  portions  even  of  our  taxa- 
tion, remain  in  a  state  either  positively  discreditable  or  at  the 
least  inviting  and  demanding  great  improvements  ;  but,  for  want 
of  time  and  strength,  we  cannot  handle  them.  For  the  romance 
of  political  travel  we  are  ready  to  scour  the  world,  and  yet  of 
capital  defect  in  duties  lying  at  our  door  we  are  not  ashamed.' 
By  way  of  reply  to  the  fears  and  arguments  of  those  who  advocate 
the  strengthening  of  our  position  in  the  East,  Mr.  Gladstone 
does  not  believe  that  Kussian  power  on  the  Bosphorus  is  a 
practical  possibility.  But  if  the  worst  came  to  the  worst,  and 
Russia  accomplished  the  designs  attributed  to  her,  and  stopped 
also  the  Suez  Canal,  she  would  have  done  nothing  more  than 
introduce  an  average  delay  of  about  three  weeks  into  our  military 
communications  with  Bombay,  and  less  with  Calcutta.  In  time 
of  war,  this  would  not  make  the  difference  to  us  between  life  and 
death  in  the  maintenance  of  our  Indian  Empire. 

*  Egypt  may  yet  prove  a  source  of  serious  difficulty  to  England.  It  was  stated 
in  a  communication  to  the  Times  from  Alexandria,  dated  August  24,  1879, 
that  when  Ismail  Pasha  was  still  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  and  was  being  pressed  to  sign 
his  abdication,  he  used  these  words: — '  You  English  have  made  a  mistake;  what- 
ever I  have  been  or  done,  I  made  English  interests  in  Egypt  paramount.  You 
have  the  railways,  the  customs,  the  post-office,  the  telegraphs,  and  the  porty 
(utirely  under  English  Administration.  To  gain  more  you  have  called  in  the 
l-'rcnch.  You  then  hesitated,  and  Bismarck,  who  looks  far  ahead,  pushed  you  on  till 
you  have  come  to  direct  intervention.  Mark  my  words,  Bismarck  sees  what  I  see, 
that  Egypt  will  become  the  Schleswig-Holstein  of  England  and  France.' 

002 


504  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  position  on  Eitualism,  and  his  answer  to  the 
question  whether  the  Church  of  England  is  worth  preserving, 
have  already  been  defined  in  a  previous  chapter.  He  has  reprinted 
the  essays  in  which  he  expounded  his  views  on  these  questions  in 
two  volumes,  which  also  contain  papers  entitled  '  Eemarks  on  the 
Koyal  Supremacy,'  *  Present  Aspect  of  the  Church,  1843,'  *  Ward's 
Ideal  of  a  Christian  Church,'  '  On  the  Functions  of  Laymen 
in  the  Church,' 4  The  Bill  for  Divorce,'  and  '  Italy  and  her  Church.' 
These  essays  are  undoubtedly  valuable  as  affording  materials  to 
add  to  the  general  stock  *  from  which  the  religious  history  of  a 
critical  period  will  have  finally  to  be  written.'  They  do  not,  how- 
ever, possess  the  same  general  interest  as  the  volume  of  miscel- 
laneous essays  which  succeeds  them.  This  volume  includes  the 
admirable  Inaugural  Address  delivered  to  the  students  of  Edin- 
burgh University  in  1860;  the  address  on  the  Place  of  Ancient 
Greece  in  the  Providential  Order ;  a  Chapter  of  Autobiography ; 
Probability  as  a  Guide  of  Conduct,  and  the  very  entertaining 
narrative  of  the  parentage,  progress,  and  issue  of  the  Evangelical 
movement  in  England.*  Mr.  Gladstone's  strength  does  not  lie  in 
discovering  and  exposing  the  deep  roots  of  those  great  principles 
which  have  governed  the  growth  of  nations  in  the  various  ages  of 
the  world  ;  he  rather,  by  graphic  and  picturesque  antithesis,  illus- 
trates the  outer  effects  and  manifestations  of  those  principles  in 
national  life.  Take,  for  example,  this  comparison  between  Greece 
and  Palestine,  extracted  from  the  essay  on  the  Place  of  Ancient 
Greece : — 

'  For  the  exercises  of  strength  and  skill,  for  the  achievements  and  for  the 
enchantments  of  wit,  of  eloquence,  of  art,  of  genius,  for  the  imperial  games  of 
politics  and  war — let  us  seek  them  on  the  shores  of  Greece.  But  if  the  first  among 
the  problems  of  life  be  how  to  establish  the  peace  and  restore  the  balance  of  our 
inward  being ;  if  the  highest  of  all  conditions  in  the  existence  of  the  creature  be 
his  aspect  towards  the  God  to  whom  he  owes  his  being,  and  in  whose  great  hand 
he  stands;  then  let  us  make  our  search  elsewhere.  All  the  wonders  of  the  Greek 
civilisation  heaped  together  are  less  wonderful  than  is  the  single  Book  of  Psalms. 
Palestine  was  weak  and  despised,  always  obscure,  oftentimes  and  long  trodden 
down  beneath  the  feet  of  imperious  masters. '  On  the  other  hand,  Greece  for  a 
thousand  years, 

"  Confident  from  foreign  purposes," 

repelled  every  invader  from  her  shores.  Fostering  her  strength  in  the  keen  air  of 
freedom,  she  defied,  and  at  length  overthrew,  the  mightiest  of  existing  empires ;  and 
when  finally  she  felt  the  resistless  grasp  of  the  masters  of  all  the  world,  them,  too, 
at  the  very  moment  of  their  subjugation,  she  herself  subdued  to  her  literature, 
language,  arts,  and  manners.  Palestine,  in  a  word,  had  no  share  of  the  glories  of  our 
race ;  while  they  blaze  on  every  page  of  the  history  of  Greece  with  an  overpower- 
ing splendour.  Greece  had  valour,  policy,  reason,  genius,  wisdom,  wit ;  she  had 
all,  in  a  word,  that  this  world  could  give  her ;  but  the  flowers  of  Paradise,  which 
blossom  at  the  best  but  thinly,  blossomed  in  Palestine  alone.' 

One  article  by  Mr.  Gladstone — which  does  not  appear  in  the 

*  This  article  on  the  Evangelical  movement  in  England  originally  appeared  in  the 
British  (Quarterly  Review. 


MB.    GLADSTONE'S    MISCELLANEOUS    WRITINGS.  565 

collected  edition  of  his  essays,  on  account  of  its  political  and 
controversial  character — still  claims  attention.  It  does  so  on  the 
ground  of  its  exposition  of  the  writer's  views  as  to  the  dangers 
attendant  upon  an  Imperial  policy.  This  article  is  entitled 
'  England's  Mission.'*  The  writer  is  alarmed  by  recent  develop- 
ments of  English  statesmanship.  He  maintains  that '  not  peace, 
not  humanity,  not  reverence  for  the  traditions  established  by  the 
thought  and  care  of  the  mighty  dead,  not  anxiety  to  secure  the 
equal  rights  of  nations,  not  the  golden  rule  to  do  to  others  as  we 
would  fain  have  them  do  to  us,  not  far-seeing  provision  for  the 
future,  have  been  the  sources  from  which  the  present  Ministers 
have  drawn  their  strength.'  On  the  contrary,  'they  are  the  men, 
and  the  political  heirs  of  the  men,  who  passed  the  Six  Acts  and 
the  Corn  Laws ;  who  impoverished  the  population,  who  fettered 
enterprise  by  legislative  restraint,  who  withheld  those  franchises 
that  have  given  voice  and  vent  to  the  public  wishes,  whose  policy, 
in  a  word,  kept  the  Throne  insecure  and  the  empire  weak ;  and 
•would,  unless  happily  arrested  in  1832,  and  again  in  184S,  have 
plunged  the  country  into  revolution.'  They  have  abandoned 
all  idea,  such  as  inspired  Sir  Kobert  Peel,  that  Government  should 
live  by  great  measures  of  legislation  framed  for  the  national 
benefit,  and  have  substituted  a  careful  regard  to  interest  and  class, 
from  bishops  down  to  beer-houses.  This  inglorious  existence 
being  unable  to  bear  the  concentrated  force  of  criticism,  however, 
they  sought  out  a  vigorous  foreign  policy.  The  first  care  of  the 
Liberal  party  has  been  held  to  be  the  care  of  her  own  children 
within  her  own  shores,  the  redress  of  wrongs,  the  supply  of  needs, 
the  improvements  of  laws  and  institutions ;  but  against  this 
doctrine,  *  the  present  Government  appears  to  set  up  territorial 
aggrandisement,  large  establishments,  and  the  accumulation  of  a 
multitude  of  fictitious  interests  abroad,  as  if  our  real  interests 
were  not  enough.  Mr.  Gladstone  deprecates  the  multiplication 
of  British  possessions  beyond  the  sea,  and  especially  condemns  such 
acquisitions  as  that  of  Cyprus,  which  can  never  become  truly 
British  in  character.  As  every  possible  road  to  India  threatens 
to  become  a  British  interest,  he  observes  that  there  is  no  saying 
what  preposterous  guarantees  may  be  proposed  for  Khiva,  or 
Bokhara,  or  Badakshan.  Nay,  as  China  is  a  possible  road  to  India, 
why  should  it  not  also  have  a  guarantee  ?  All  the  old  doctrines 
of  statesmanship  which  should  have  been  jealously  guarded  by 
Ministers  have  been  left  to  the  advocacy  of  unofficial  persons. 
The  writer  maintains  that  the  Government  have,  on  the  whole, 
opened  up  and  relied  on  an  illegitimate  source  of  power :  and 
that  one  of  the  damning  signs  of  the  politics  of  the  school  is  their 
*  See  the  Nineteenth  Century  for  Se.'tombor,  1878. 


566  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

total  blindness  to  the  fact  that  the  central  strength  of  England 
lies  in  England.  He  further  complains  that '  we  have  undertaken 
in  the  matter  of  Governments  far  more  than  ever  in  the  history 
of  the  world  has  been  previously  attempted  by  the  children  of  men. 
None  of  the  great  continuous  empires  of  ancient  or  modern  times 
ever  grappled  with  such  a  task.'  Meanwhile,  during  the  preva- 
lence of  this  lust  of  empire,  what  has  become  of  domestic  legisla- 
tion ?  Mr.  Gladstone  supplies  the  following  list  of  questions 
not  (so  far)  grappled  with,  and  '  the  neglect  of  which  amounts, 
in  not  a  few  instances,  to  positive  scandal :  '  London  Municipal 
Keform  ;  County  Government ;  County  Franchise ;  Liquor  Laws  ; 
Irish  Borough  Franchise ;  Irish  University  Question ;  Opium 
Revenue ;  Criminal  Law  Procedure ;  Responsibility  of  Masters  for 
Injuries  to  Workmen  ;  Reduction  of  Public  Expenditure ;  Pro- 
bate Duty ;  Indian  Finance  ;  Working  of  the  Home  Government 
of  India ;  City  Companies  ;  Burial  Laws  ;  Valuation  of  Property ; 
Law  of  the  Medical  Profession ;  Law  of  Entail  and  Settlement ; 
Corrupt  Practices  at  Elections ;  Expenses  of  Election ;  Reorganisa- 
tion of  the  Revenue  Departments  ;  and  the  Currency.  In  a  later 
article,  entitled  *  The  Country  and  the  Government,'  Mr.  Glad- 
stone added  to  these  subjects  waiting  to  be  dealt  with,  the  Laws 
of  Bankruptcy,  of  .Banking,  of  Distress,  of  Charities,  and  Mort- 
main, Loans  for  Local  Purposes,  Game,  Distribution  as  well  as 
Redistribution  of  Seats,  Savings  Bank  Finance,  and  the  Bright 
Clauses  of  the  Irish  Land  Act.  Instead  of  dealing  with  these 
matters,  the  Government  of  Lord  Beaconsfield  had  raised  up  as 
from  a  virgin  soil  a  whole  forest  of  new  questions,  in  themselves 
enough  to  occupy  a  Parliament  and  a  State  which  had  nothing 
else  to  do.  Of  these  new  and  thorny  subjects,  he  gave  the 
following  enumeration,  which,  while  probably  incomplete,  might 
suffice  for  present  purposes : — 1.  Eastern  Roumelia ;  2.  The  Greek 
Frontier ;  3.  Crete  and  the  other  European  Provinces  of  Turkey ; 
4.  The  Armenians  ;  5.  Turkey  in  Asia  ;  6.  Cyprus  ;  7.  Suez  Canal 
Shares  and  Management ;  8.  Egyptian  Debt ;  9.  Egyptian  Suc- 
cession; 10.  North-west  Frontier  of  India;  11.  Supervision  of 
Afghanistan ;  12.  East  Indian  Finance  ;  13.  Arms  Act,  Press  Act, 
and  Taxing  Legislation  of  India ;  14.  Cape — Annexation  of  the 
Transvaal:  the  act  of  the  present  Administration  ;  and  15.  Cape 
— Zulu  War :  the  result  of  the  mission  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere.  Of 
these,  the  first  three  come  under  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  ;  the  fourth, 
fifth,  and  sixth  under  the  Anglo-Turkish  Convention ;  the  seventh, 
eighth,  and  ninth  are  assumed  to  result  from  the  purchase  of  shares 
in  the  Suez  Canal ;  while  the  tenth,  eleventh,  twelfth,  and  thir- 
teenth result  from  the  mission  of  Lord  Lytton.  After  reviewing 
the  home  and  foreign  policy  of  the  Government,  the  right  hon. 


MR.   GLADSTONE'S    MISCELLANEOUS    WETTINGS.  567 

gentleman  compared  its  claims  with  those  of  its  predecessor,  and 
said  that  though  there  had  been  tunes  when  men  of  ardent  minds 
had  complained  that  they  could  scarcely  distinguish  between  one 
party  and  another,  assuredly  no  such  complaint  could  now  be  made, 
and  the  nation  must  choose  between  them  in  the  light  afforded 
by  the  experience  of  the  last  six  years. 

Mr.  Gladstone  has  supplemented  this  indictment  by  other 
charges  in  a  speech  at  Chester.*  He  maintained,  as  he  had 
assured  the  electors,  of  Midlothian,  that  at  no  period  of  his  public 
life  had  the  issues  inviting  the  judgment  of  the  nation  been  of 
such  profound  importance — including  the  management  of  finance, 
the  scale  of  expenditure,  and  the  constantly  growing  arrears  of 
legislation— as  now.  i  I  hold,'  he  continued,  '  that  the  faith  and 
honour  of  the  country  have  been  gravely  compromised  by  the 
foreign  policy  of  the  Ministry ;  that  by  the  disturbance  of  con- 
fidence, and  lately  even  of  peace,  which  they  have  brought  about, 
they  have  prolonged  and  aggravated  public  distress ;  that  they 
have  augmented  the  power  and  interest  of  the  Russian  Empire, 
even  while  estranging  the  feelings  of  its  population  ;  that  they 
have  embarked  the  Crown  and  people  in  an  unjust  war;  that 
their  Afghan  war  is  full  of  mischief,  if  not  of  positive  danger,  to 
India ;  and  that  by  their  use  of  the  treaty-making  and  war- 
making  powers  of  the  Crown  they  have  abridged  the  just  rights 
of  Parliament,  and  have  presented  its  prerogatives  to  the  nation 
under  an  unconstitutional  aspect,  which  tends  to  make  it  inse- 
cure.' Mr.  Gladstone  added  that  these  were  the  characters  he 
had  inscribed  on  his  colours,  and  he  had  nailed  them  to  the  mast. 
He  again  reiterated  his  charge  that  the  Ministry  had  played  the 
game  of  Russia,  and  had  enabled  her  to  take  the  part  which  be- 
longed to  our  forefathers — and  which  ought  to  have  belonged  to  us 
— that  of  promoting  the  interests  of  liberty  and  justice.  Further, 
although  it  was  perfectly  well  known  that  we  had  invaded  the 
country  of  the  Zulus,  Lord  Salisbury,  the  Foreign  Secretary — who 
ought  to  be  among  the  best  informed  men — had  lately  announced 
that  we  had  engaged  in  a  war  in  South  Africa  which  was  brought 
upon  us  in  order  to  repel  an  attack  made  by  savages  upon  our  colo- 
nial dominions.  It  was  coolly  asserted  by  a  responsible  Minister  of 
the  Crown  that  the  people  of  the  country  which  we  invaded  invaded 
us.  The  Zulus,  denounced  as  savages  by  Lord  Salisbury,  showed 
us  an  evidence  of  the  right  feeling  which  was  rather  to  have  been 
expected  from  a  Christian  people,  and  refused  to  cross  the  little 
thread  of  a  stream  that  separated  their  land  from  ours,  being 
simply  contented  to  await  within  their  own  territories  a  renewal 
of  our  wanton,  unprovoked,  mischievous,  and  deplorable  attacks. 
*  Delivered  Aujrust  19, 1879. 


568  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Describing  our  latest  acquisition,  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  'You  know 
what  Cyprus  is.  It  is  a  small  island,  but  it  is  a  great  imposture.' 
In  that  great  and  wonderful  arsenal  which  was  to  contain  an  army 
that  would  frighten  Russia  out  of  its  wits,  there  were  now  three 
hundred  English  soldiers,  and  so  inadequate  were  they  even  to  the 
duty  of  keeping  the  people  in  order  that,  notwithstanding  the 
promise  given  that  Cyprus  should  not  cost  a  shilling  for  civil 
government,  one  of  the  last  acts  of  the  Administration  had  been 
to  carry  a  vote  through  Parliament  for  the  support  of  the  civil 
police  of  the  island.  With  regard  to  financial  matters,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone said  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  the  deficiency  stood 
at  six  millions  sterling,  and  there  would  be  a  deficiency  of  three 
and  a  half  millions  more  at  the  end  of  the  financial  year.  It 
would  be  a  great  stroke  for  the  Government  if  they  could  postpone 
the  presentation  of  the  bill  for  expenses  until  after  the  dissolution. 
From  the  Liberal  party  had  proceeded  all  the  measures  which  had 
made  the  country  so  great  and  so  strong,  that  had  led  to  the  pros- 
perity which  lasted  in  an  unbroken  term  for  such  a  number  of 
years  until  this  crisis  had  arrived — a  crisis  so  unhappily  prolonged 
and  aggravated  as  the  present  crisis  had  been  unhappily  prolonged 
and  aggravated  by  the  financial  extravagance  of  the  Government, 
and  by  that  want  of  confidence  which  they  had  introduced  into 
their  relations  with  the  different  countries  of  the  globe.  When 
the  dissolution  came,  if  they  did  their  duty,  there  was  no  fear  for 
the  Liberals. 

This  address  by  the  ex-Premier,  delivered  in  his  seventieth 
year,  exhibited  all  the  energy  and  vigour  usually  associated  with 
a  political  chief  of  fifty.  It  demonstrated  that,  though  he  had 
retired  from  the  leadership  of  his  party,  he  answered  the  call  to 
the  political  battle  as  the  war-horse  scents  the  conflict  from  afar. 

A  final  word  remains  to  be  said  upon  the  Anglo-Turkish 
Convention  and  the  Ministerial  policy  generally.  The  acquisi- 
tion of  Cyprus  was  Lord  Beaconsfi eld's  set-off  against  the 
territorial  cessions  to  Eussia  under  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.  It 
was  deemed  necessary  for  England  to  do  something  at  this 
juncture,  and,  to  obtain  Cyprus,  the  Premier  even  pledged 
England  to  that  immense  responsibility  (whose  results  no  man 
can  possibly  foresee),  the  Protectorate  over  the  Turkish  domi- 
nions in  Asia.  Lord  Beaconsfield  had  fixed  his  attention  upon 
Cyprus  some  time  before  its  cession  to  Great  Britain,  for  Lord 
Derby,  in  explaining  the  reasons  for  his  secession  from  the 
Cabinet,  said,  '  When  I  quitted  the  Cabinet  I  did  so  mainly 
because  it  was  said  that  it  was  necessary  to  secure  a  naval  station 
in  the  Eastern  part  of  the  Mediterranean ;  and  that,  for  that 
purpose,  it  was  necessary  to  seize  and  occupy  the  island  of 


ME.  GLADSTONE'S    MISCELLANEOUS    WRITINGS.  569 

Cyprus,  together  with  a  point  upon  the  Syrian  coast.  That  was 
to  be  done  by  means  of  a  Syrian  expedition  sent  out  from  India, 
with  or  without  the  consent  of  the  Sultan.'  The  Premier  has 
not  only  pursued  a  policy  now  widely  recognised  under  the  term 
4  Imperial,'  but  he  has  pursued  this  policy  in  secret,  and  has 
shown  so  great  a  contempt  for  Parliamentary  and  constitutional 
usage  as  to  take  little  thought  for  the  nation,  or  its  represen- 
tatives in  the  House  of  Commons.  For  some  time  back, 
however,  the  sinister  effects  of  this  policy  have  been  in 
process  of  demonstration,  and  the  country  is  beginning  to 
ask  whether  the  Vast  concerns  of  this  great  empire  should 
continue  practically  to  remain  at  the  will  and  disposal  of  one 
man.  We  have — as  all  must  have — a  genuine  admiration 
for  Lord  Beaconsfield's  talents  and  genius;  but  we  have 
arrived  at  so  grave  a  crisis  in  our  national  history  that  it  becomes 
the  duty  of  every  man  to  speak  out,  and  with  no  uncertain  voice. 
What  would  Pym,  Hampden,  and  their  compatriots  have  said  to 
the  system  of  government  which  now  prevails  in  England.  Yet 
the  Premier  is  not  wholly,  though  chiefly,  responsible  for  this. 
The  country  should  remember  that  he  would  have  been  powerless 
but  for  the  support  of  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Commons ;  and 
in  order  to  destroy  personal  government,  the  nation  must  change 
its  representatives.  The  results  of  recent  policy  have  been  thus 
described  by  Mr.  Gladstone  : — '  There  is  not  a  nation  upon  earth 
with  which  we  have  drawn  the  bonds  of  friendship  closer  by  the 
transactions  of  these  last  years,  but  we  have  played  perilous  tricks 
with  the  loyalty  of  India,  have  estranged  the  ninety  millions  who 
inhabit  Russia,  and  have  severed  ourselves  from  the  Christians  of 
Turkey,  Greek  and  Slav  alike,  without  gaining  the  respect  of  the 
Moslem.  And  all  this  we  have  done,  not  to  increase  our  power, 
but  only  our  engagements.'  A  statesman  who  neglects  every  home 
interest  to  boast  of  our  power  before  other  nations  ;  who  enters 
upon  engagements  lightly,  and  without  thinking  of  the  enormous 
responsibilities  they  must  devolve  upon  us  in  the  future;  who 
enacts  the  swashbuckler  in  foreign  politics,  and  endeavours  to 
flatter  us  by  a  sense  of  our  own  grandeur — such  a  statesman, 
whatever  may  be  his  claims  in  other  respects,  is  to  be  dreaded  as 
the  most  dangerous  foe  that  England  could  possess. 

We  have  now  reached  the  close  of  our  survey  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
literary  and  political  career.  In  both  aspects  the  average  reader 
seems  to  toil  after  him  in  vain,  so  great  is  his  fertility  in  resource, 
so  extraordinary  his  power  of  seizing  upon  and  comprehending  the 
facts  and  bearings  of  our  foreign  and  domestic  policy,  so  copious 
and  inexhaustible  the  eloquence  with  which  he  illustrates  and 
enforces  his  views — whether  those  views  relate  to  the  immortal 


570  WILLIAM    EWAET    GLADSTONE. 

works  of  Homer,  the  scandals  of  the  Neapolitan  prisons,  the 
questions  raised  by  Ecce  Homo,  the  details  of  the  last  budget, 
the  principles  which  should  pervade  industrial  art,  the  dogmas 
of  the  Romish  Church,  the  duty  of  man  in  relation  to  education 
and  religion,  or  the  policy  of  the  Beaconsfield  Administration. 
The  strength  and  vehemence  of  his  denunciations  of  the  Govern- 
ment— as  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  remark — have  been 
sometimes  severely  commented  upon ;  but,  without  defending 
his  addresses  in  every  particular,  it  may  be  observed  that  strong 
language  is  sometimes  called  for  in  English  politics,  provided 
it  be  just.  Moreover,  in  addition  to  the  force  which  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's addresses  have  always  derived  from  the  natural  ardour  of 
his  temperament,  they  owe  much  of  their  polemical  character  to 
the  firm  and  settled  conviction  of  the  ex-Premier — that  the  policy 
of  Lord  Beaconsfield's  Ministry  has  been  derogatory  to  the  honour 
and  interests  of  England,  at  home  and  abroad. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS— CONCLUSION. 

Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Movements  of  the  Time— Personal  Characteristics— His 
Religious  Feeling — His  Oratory — Its  Scope,  Variety,  and  Character — The 
ex-Premier's  Studious  Habits — Surprising  Intellectual  Labours — Nature  of  his 
PITS  i  its  at  Ha  warden — Miscellaneous  Traits — Relations  with  the  Sovereign — 
Pi  in  :ipal  Features  of  his  Public  Career — His  Strength  as  a  Statesman — Mr.  Glad- 
stone and  the  Future  of  the  Liberal  Party. 

A  BIOGRAPHY  of  the  greatest  Commoner  of  his  time  would  be 
incomplete  without  some  reference  to  his  personal  characteristics. 
We  have  had  English  statesmen  whose  claims  to  remembrance 
have  been  confined  to  their  eminent  political  services,  and  who, 
beyond  those  limits,  have  scarcely  possessed  a  personality  in  the 
eyes  of  their  countrymen.  With  Mr.  Gladstone  the  case  is  wholly 
different.  In  almost  every  movement  of  the  age  he  has  been  a 
participant,  whether  that  movement  be  social,  scientific,  philan- 
thropic, political,  or  religious  ;  while  at  some  point  or  other  his 
sentiments  and  sympathies  have  impinged  upon  those  of  every 
class  in  the  State.  His  life,  in  fact,  has  been  larger  and  fuller 
than  that  of  any  of  his  contemporaries ;  and  England  will  fail  to 
realise  in  how  great  a  degree  his  name  is  inextricably  interwoven 
with  the  history  of  the  past  forty  years,  until  his  eloquence  is 
silent,  and  his  presence  withdrawn  from  her  midst. 

The  ex-Premier  is  not  only  the  most  versatile  orator,  the  most 
brilliant  debater,  and  the  foremost  member  of  Parliament  of  his 
age,  but  is  pre-eminently  a  Christian  statesman.  The  golden 
thread  of  Christian  principle  runs  through  all  his  utterances. 
There  are  many  conscientious  men  who  would  have  us  believe 
that  they  have  sounded  the  heights  and  depths  of  Christianity, 
and  found  it  a  superstition  and  a  fable — men  by  whom  religion  is 
accounted  at  variance  with  scientific  and  intellectual  progress ; 
yet  its  power  is  the  deepest  and  greatest  over  the  individual  which 
the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  let  no  man  contemn  or  despise  its 
influence  upon  the  national  life.  Those  who  divorce  politics  from 
morality  doubtless  see  in  an  unswerving  religious  belief  a  hin- 
drance to  the  development  of  a  statesman  in  the  questionable 
paths  of  chicane  and  diplomacy  ;  and  there  is  another  class  who 


572  WILLIAM    EWABT    GLADSTONE. 

— while  not  going  so  far — still  look  askance  upon  a  too  rigid 
adherence  to  principle  in  political  matters.  But  Mr.  Gladstone 
has  invariably  '  worn  his  heart  upon  his  sleeve,'  and  disposed  for 
ever  of  the  idea  that  tortuousness  and  subterfuge  are  necessary  to 
the  successful  political  leader.  In  these  degenerate  days,  when 
we  may  almost  adopt,  politically,  the  language  of  the  Prince  of 
Denmark,  and  say,  *  virtue  itself  of  vice  must  pardon  beg,'  Mr. 
Gladstone  has  demonstated  that  simplicity  of  character,  frankness 
and  unreservedness  of  speech,  and  moral  sensibility  are  not  incom- 
patible with  true  political  greatness. 

Not  content  with  battling  against  forms  of  error,  and  insisting 
upon  the  supreme  importance  of  religious  truth,  the  ex-Premier 
is  amongst  those  who  believe  in  Christianity  as  a  living,  vitalising 
force  in  the  individual,  and  he  has  endeavoured  practically  to 
illustrate  its  influence.  Those  who  are  most  severed  from  him  in 
these  matters  will  at  least  do  deference  to  his  convictions.  His 
deep  and  unaffected  piety  has  won  for  him  the  esteem  of  all  the 
various  religious  bodies  with  whom  he  has  been  brought  into  con- 
tact ;  and  it  is  stated  that '  even  when  Prime  Minister  of  England 
he  has  been  found  in  the  humblest  houses,  reading  to  the  sick  or 
dying  consolatory  passages  of  Scripture  in  his  own  soft  melodious 
tones.'  His  earliest  friends,  Manning,  Bishop  Hamilton,  William 
Palmer,  Henry  Wilberforce,  and  others,  were  of  a  like  type  with 
himself ;  and  had  Fortune  so  willed  it,  it  is  not  impossible  that 
he  who  became  the  first  of  Liberal  statesmen  might  have  become 
equally  illustrious  as  a  divine.  Into  his  private  life  we  shall  not 
enter,  but  we  may  mention  an  incident  which  occurred  some  years 
ago  as  illustrative  of  this  side  of  his  character.  The  late  Bishop 
of  Winchester  was  under  a  promise  to  give  an  address  to  the 
divinity  students  of  King's  College,  but  failing  to  attend  on 
account  of  ill-health,  Mr.  Gladstone,  at  an  hour's  notice,  took  his 
place.  His  address  on  that  occasion  has  been  described  to  us  by 
one  who  heard  it  as  earnest  and  impassioned.  Though  not  an 
actual  sermon,  it  was  based  upon  the  phrase  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  '  The  Righteousness  which  is  by  faith.'  The  character 
of  that  address — to  adopt  the  language  of  another  listener,  and 
one  whom  it  touched  into  a  nobler  view  of  the  reality  of  life  and 
its  higher  aims — indicated  that  the  speaker  possessed  the  ele- 
ments of  a  great  preacher.  In  enumerating  the  factors  which  go 
to  make  up  Mr.  Gladstone's  influence  over  his  countrymen,  the 
moral  and  spiritual  element  must  not  be  forgotten,  superfluous 
as  it  may  appear  to  some  in  the  sphere  of  political  life. 

Of  his  oratory  we  have  already  spoken,  but  something  yet 
remains  to  be  said  of  its  character  and  variety.  Even  while  but 
a  youthful  speaker  at  the  Oxford  Union,  we  are  assured  that  the 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  573 

earnestness  and  intensity  of  his  language  and  bearing  were  some- 
times painful ;  '  conviction  was  stamped  on  every  word  he  uttered.' 
Yet  he  was  by  no  means  always  confident  in  his  own  powers. 
After  the  speech  which  virtually  turned  out  the  Derby-Disraeli 
Ministry  of  1852,  he  was  asked  by  Bunsen  why  he  did  not  speak 
oftener,  when  he  replied  that  he  was  withheld  by  mistrust  in  him- 
self, lest  he  should  find  too  much  difficulty  in  keeping  within 
Christian  bounds  of  moderation  in  endeavouring  to  utter  faith- 
fully the  truth,  and  yet  avoid  all  that  might  be  construed  into 
personality.  This  very  earnestness,  it  will  be  remembered,  at  a 
later  period  caused  Mr.  Disraeli  to  rejoice  that  there  was  a  good 
substantial  piece  of  furniture  between  himself  and  that  political 
Achilles,  his  opponent.  While  on  this  point,  we  may  brush  aside 
the  groundless  assertion  that  the  ex-Premier  has  of  late  years 
regarded  Lord  Beaconsfield  with  a  personal  antipathy.  Such  is 
not  the  case :  as  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  has  stated,  *  antipathy  is 
not  a  word  he  can  admit  or  recognise  as  describing  his  attitude 
at  any  time.'  A  fine  tribute  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  oratory  is  paid 
in  Bun  sen's  Memoirs.  After  describing  the  young  English  states- 
man as  the  first  man  in  England  as  regards  intellectual  power, 
and  one  who  has  heard  higher  tones  than  anyone  else  in  this  island, 
Bunsen  furnishes  this  reminiscence  of  his  friend,  who,  at  the  time 
referred  to,  was  but  thirty-two  years  of  age :  — '  At  a  dinner  at 
the  Star  and  Garter,  Eichmond,  Mr.  Gladstone  proposed  the  toast, 
"  Prosperity  to  the  Church  of  St.  James  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  her 
first  Bishop."  Never  was  heard  a  more  exquisite  speech — it  flowed 
like  a  gentle  and  translucent  stream.  As  in  the  second  portion 
he  addressed  Alexander  directly,  representing  the  greatness  and 
difficulty  of  the  charge  confided  to  him,  the  latter  at  first  covered 
his  face  from  emotion,  but  then  rose  and  returned  thanks  with 
dignity  as  well  as  feeling.'  Subsequently,  it  is  added,  *  we  drove 
back  to  town  in  the  clearest  starlight,  Gladstone  continuing  with 
unabated  animation  to  pour  forth  harmonious  thoughts  in  melo- 
dious tone.' 

Of  recent  years  the  ex-Premier's  oratory  has  been  almost 
unlimited  in  scope  and  variety.  In  addition  to  the  speeches  and 
addresses  already  specified  in  their  order  in  the  course  of  this 
work,  it  may  be  mentioned  as  illustrating  his  gifts  of  speech 
that  he  has  at  one  time  lectured  with  much  critical  acumen  upon 
Sir  Walter  Scott :  at  another  addressed  in  homely  language — yet 
withal  blending  the  useful  and  the  noble  in  its  sentiments  — flu  • 
aged  paupers  in  St.  Pancras  Workhouse ;  upon  a  third  occasion 
he  has  urged  the  claims  of  Eastern  research  and  exploration,  of 
which  he  is  a  warm  advocate ;  on  a  fourth  he  has  discoursed  use- 
fully  and  profitably  upon  garden  cultivation  to  the  Ha  warden 


574  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Horticultural  Society  ;  and  on  a  fifth  he  has  addressed  an  assembly 
of  Nonconformist  divines  at  the  City  Temple.  Nor  have  we 
even  yet  exhausted  the  list  of  his  addresses.  His  voice  is  of  itself 
a  great  gift,  being  rich,  full,  and  sonorous.  Speaking  generally 
of  his  oratory,  in  certain  individual  respects  he  is  inferior  to  Lord 
Beaconsfield  and  Mr.  Bright,  but  his  eloquence  altogether  has 
greater  breadth,  force,  and  versatility  than  that  of  any  of  his 
contemporaries.  The  memory  of  other  speeches  may  grow  faint, 
but  the  effect  of  many  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Parliamentary  orations 
must  remain  indelibly  stamped  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  heard 
them.  While  he  has  a  powerful  fund  of  sarcasm,  and  is  not  desti- 
tute of  a  certain  kind  of  humour,  who  can  equal  him  in  compre- 
hensiveness, in  mastery  of  detail,  in  moral  fervour,  and  intensity 
of  feeling  ?  He  has  captivated  alike  the  learned  and  the  illiterate, 
causing  both  to  thrill  beneath  the  spell  of  his  impassioned  and 
irresistible  periods.  While  the  mellifluous  flow  of  his  language 
has  charmed  the  intellect,  the  elevation  of  his  sentiments  has 
touched  the  spirit  of  his  auditors,  and  quickened  into  vitality  the 
higher  emotions  of  humanity. 

The  extent  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  daily  intellectual  labours  has 
been  matter  of  very  general  surprise.  That  which  he  has  accom- 
plished was,  indeed,  only  possible  under  strict  rule  and  method. 
From  his  earliest  years  of  study  each  day  has  seen  fulfilled  its 
due  share  of  work.  At  Oxford  he  was  an  exception  to  under- 
graduate life,  and  *  did  not  break  off  his  morning  studies  at  the 
regulation  luncheon  hour  of  one  o'clock.  It  mattered  not  where 
he  was,  in  college  rooms  or  in  country  mansion ;  from  10  a.m. 
to  2  p.m.  no  one  ever  saw  William  Ewart  Gladstone.  He  was 
locked  up  with  his  books.  From  the  age  of  eighteen  to  the  age 
of  twenty-one  he  never  missed  these  precious  four  hours  except 
when  he  was  travelling.  And  his  ordeal  in  the  evening  was  not 
less  severe.  Eight  o'clock  saw  him  once  more  engaged  in  a  stiff 
bout  with  Aristotle,  or  plunged  deep  in  the  text  of  Thucydides.' 
The  habit  of  assimilating  knowledge  has  been  constant  with  him, 
in  all  places  and  at  all  seasons,  from  the  first  day  of  his  college 
life  until  now.  He  has  always  been  an  early  man,  and — quoting 
now  from  an  interesting  article  which  appeared  shortly  after  Mr. 
Gladstone's  resignation  of  the  Liberal  leadership — 'since  his 
retirement  in  Flintshire,  he  is,  if  possible,  earlier  than  before. 
Shortly  after  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  walks  down  to 
prayers  in  the  village  church.  Early  devotion  and  breakfast 
over,  the  remainder  of  the  morning,  till  the  gong  sounds  at  two 
o'clock,  is  devoted  to  work — to  reading,  writing,  meditation,  or 
to  the  performance  of  arithmetical  feats  which  no  Cabinet  Minister 
has  ever  surpassed.'  Luncheon  over,  there  is  more  reading ;  or, 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  5?S 

*  if  there  be  visitors  in  the  house,  pleasant  gossip ;  or,  if  the  weather 
be  tempting,  long  walks  to  be  taken,  or  tough  oaks  to  be  hewn. 
Loving  air  and  exercise,  Mr.  Gladstone  is  a  singularly  temperate 
man  in  meat  and  drink.  Still,  he  is  only  abstemious,  not  ascetic. 
A  glass  or  two  of  claret  at  dinner,  and  sometimes  a  glass  of  port, 
that  nectar  of  orators,  satisfy  his  very  moderate  requirements  for 
stimulant.'  His  recreation  in  retirement  is  such  as  befits  a 
strong  and  muscular  frame.  Mr.  Gladstone  wields  the  axe  with 
the  skill  of  an  experienced  workman.  *  Sawing  wood  has  long 
been  known  as  an  excellent  exercise,  but  it  is  dull  work  compared 
with  the  pleasure  of  striking  at  a  huge  tree,  putting  out  of 
question  the  possibility  of  mentally  coupling  with  each  well-aimed 
blow  the  destruction  of  a  political  opponent.  In  wood-cutting 
deshabille,  so  little  does  the  lord  of  the  soil  look  like  himself  that 
he  has  often  been  accosted  by  "  practical "  hands,  and  received, 
meekly  as  is  his  wont,  a  lesson  from  them,  the  practical  man 
remaining  all  the  while  ignorant  of  the  manner  of  man  he  was 
addressing.  In  his  moments  of  mental  and  physical  relaxation, 
the  Napoleon  of  oratory  ( whose  heavy  artillery  is  always  brought 
up  at  the  right  moment)  and  the  champion  of  amateur  woodmen 
vanish  into  the  genial  host,  whose  high  spirits  break  out  at  every 
moment,  and  who  is  never  more  rejoiced  than  when  he  can  play 
a  comedy  part  on  his  own  or  his  son's  lawn.'  Further,  it  has  been 
observed  that  the  frank  and  free  manner  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  his 
liberality  in  throwing  open  Hawarden  Park  to  the  public,  and 
the  deep  interest  he  takes  in  all  local  improvements,  '  have  made 
him  one  of  the  best  beloved  of  English  celebrities.  On  Sunday 
morning,  as  the  bells  of  Hawarden  Church  ring  out  through  the 
heavy  autumn  air,  vigorous  pedestrians  may  be  observed  inarch- 
ing up  the  hill,  their  dusty  raiment  and  shiny  countenances 
proclaiming  that  their  walk  to  church  has  been  a  long  one.  This 
determination  towards  Hawarden  as  a  place  of  devotion  is  not 
owing  to  a  dearth  of  churches  in  the  neighbourhood.  There  are 
churches  at  Mold  and  elsewhere,  but  in  none  of  these  are  the 
lessons  read  in  the  sonorous  tones  of  the  ex-Premier  of  England.' 
There  are  yet  other  traits  to  be  mentioned.  Mr.  Gladstone's 
personal  charity  is  proverbial,  but  his  generosity  has  not  been 
bounded  by  pecuniary  limits.  When  oppressed  with  the  cares  of 
State  he  has  turned  aside  to  tender  counsel  and  advice  in  a 
thousand  ways  to  those  who  have  desired  it,  and  this  when  time  has 
been  nis  most  precious  possession.  Nor  has  he  served  the  State 
at  all  selfishly :  when  Prime  Minister  he  resisted  a  motion  for 
increase  of  salary  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  when  he  left 
office  he  sought  for  no  pension,  although  the  numerous  claims 
upon  him  were  understood  to  have  compelled  the  sale  of  his  very 


5^6  \VILLtAM    EWARt    GLADSTONE. 

remarkable  collection  of  valuable  china  and  articles  of  virtu. 
Those  who  know  him  best  can  best  speak  of  his  self-denial  and 
complete  unselfishness  ;  but  as  a  proof  of  his  independence  of 
spirit  we  may  mention  one  incident  which  is  worthy  of  record  in 
connection  with  this  servant  of  the  people.  We  have  reason  to 
believe  that  when  he  retired  from  office,  and  made  an  investiga- 
tion into  the  condition  of  his  affairs,  Mr.  Gladstone  discovered 
that  the  house  in  Carlton  House  Terrace,  which  he  had  inhabited 
for  eighteen  years,  was  beyond  his  means.  He  therefore  parted 
with  it,  and  obtained  a  smaller  house  in  Harley  Street.  This 
change  from  a  roomy  mansion  to  one  comparatively  humble 
entailed  almost  as  *a  necessary  consequence  parting  with  his 
collections,  though,  as  we  have  seen,  this  was  also  part  of  the 
prudential  plan.  The  loss  of  his  collections — the  gradual  accumu- 
lation of  years — must  to  the  ex-Premier  have  been  a  great  one, 
for  his  lively  appreciation  of  art  has  not  been  confined  to  public 
addresses  on  that  subject:  books,  china,  and  pictures  are  treasures 
which  he  has  ever  regarded  with  peculiar  affection,  and  which 
he  has  always  delighted  to  have  around  him  in  lavish  profusion. 
Severely  simple  in  his  tastes,  courteous  to  the  very  humblest  in 
the  social  scale,  ceaseless  in  his  intellectual  labours,  unswerving 
in  his  adherence  to  principle,  and  untiring  in  his  efforts  for  the 
public  welfare — such  is  the  character — not  drawn  by  the  pen  of 
flattery — of  the  Ulysses  of  the  Liberal  party. 

Touching  Mr.  Gladstone's  relations  with  the  Sovereign,  on 
every  occasion  when  he  has  had  the  honour  to  serve  the  Queen, 
and  to  be  thrown  into  personal  intercourse  with  her,  her  Majesty 
has  been  full  of  kindness  and  condescension  both  towards  himself 
and  the  members  of  his  family.  It  is,  perhaps,  unnecessary  to  state 
that  the  honours  and  rewards  which  in  England  follow  long  and 
distinguished  political  service  would  have  been  willingly  conferred 
upon  Mr.  Gladstone  by  his  gracious  Sovereign  and  Mistress  ;  he 
has  chosen,  however,  to  remain  one  of  the  people,  and  by  the 
people  he  continues  to  be  regarded  as  the  most  illustrious 
ornament  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

We  now  approach  the  conclusion  of  our  task.  In  Mr.  Gladstone's 
career  may  be  traced  a  natural  progression,  marked  and  definite, 
from  the  first  of  his  recorded  utterances  to  the  last.  With  a  mind 
plastic  as  the  age  itself,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  stand  still. 
Yet  every  great  accession  of  conviction  has  cost  him  public  and 
private  throes  of  which  those  who  charge  him  with  fickleness  and 
inconstancy  know  but  little.  The  selfish  and  the  unprincipled 
may  claim  the  merit  due  to  a  rigid  adherence  to  principle,  but 
it  is  the  principle  of  self.  The  man  who  labours  for  others — be 
it  in  the  political  or  any  other  sphere — must  prepare  for  the 


PEESONAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  577 

changing  tides  of  circumstance — must  *  know  the  seasons  when  to 
take  occasion  by  the  hand.'  In  finance  as  in  general  legislation,  Mr. 
Gladstone's  policy  has  been  far-seeing  and  adapted  to  the  expand- 
ing needs  of  the  •time.  Amongst  all  the  great  financial  and 
legislative  reforms  which  owe  their  initiation  to  him,  and  which 
are  now  accomplished  facts,  his  bitterest  enemies  cannot  lay  their 
finger  upon  one  conspicuous  failure ;  while  he  has  done  more  for 
the  internal  prosperity  of  the  Empire  than  any  statesman  since 
Sir  Kobert  Peel.  More  than  this  ;  he  has  been  the  leader  of  the 
people  in  the  highest  and  truest  sense.  The  welfare  of  the  nation 
—both  in  its  material  and  moral  aspect — has  been  his  paramount 
consideration  and  desire ;  and  we  witness  in  the  self-denying 
efforts  of  his  life  not  so  much 

'  The  struggle  of  the  instinct  that  enjoys,* 

but 

'The  more  noble  instinct  that  aspires.' 

We  care  not  what  their  party  designation  be  ;  but  it  is  such  men 
who  raise  the  science  of  politics  above  the  level  of  the  huckster 
and  the  charlatan,  and  invest  it  with  grandeur  and  dignity. 

When  Mr.  Gladstone  resigned  the  Liberal  leadership,  the  Con- 
servative organs  in  the  press  predicted  that  either  the  Liberal 
party  would  break  up,  and  its  more  moderate  section  join  the 
moderate  section  of  the  Conservatives,  or  that  it  would  be  once 
more  welded  together  by  considerable  questions  being  mooted  on 
which  all  sections  of  the  party  could  agree.  Neither  of  the  alter- 
natives of  this  prophecy  has  yet  been  completely  realised ;  but  the 
second  prediction  is  in  course  of  fulfilment.  It  is  yet  in  Mr. 
Gladstone's  power  to  do  more  towards  accomplishing  this  end 
than  any  other  Liberal  statesman.  But  the  party  and  its  leaders 
must  speak  with  certain  and  united  voice,  and  promulgate  a  defi- 
nite policy.  We  have  described  the  ex-Premier  as  the  Ulysses  of 
the  Liberal  party.  Shall  we  hear  him  yet  again  address  those 
whom  he  has  so  often  led  to  victory,  in  the  stirring  language  which 
a  modern  poet  has  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  King  of  Ithaca  ? — 

'  Souls  that  have  toil'd,  and  wrought,  and  thought  with  me — 
That  ever  with  a  frolic  welcome  took 
The  thunder  and  the  sunshine,  and  opposed 
Free  hearts,  free  foreheads — you  and  I  are  old ; 
Old  age  hath  yet  his  honour  and  his  toil ; 
Death  closes  all :  but,  something  ere  the  end, 
Some  work  of  noble  note,  may  yet  be  done, 
Not  unbecoming  men  that  strove  with  Gods. 
•Come,  my  friends, 
T.'ifl  not  too  late  to  seek  a  newer  world.'  * 

*  Tennyson's  Ulysses. 

PP 


578  WILLIAM    EWART    GLADSTONE. 

Mr.  Gladstone  has  attacked  the  foreign  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment with  a  copiousness  of  eloquence  almost  unparalleled.  This 
he  has  a  perfect  right  to  do ;  and  he  might  naturally  protest 
against  the  newly-invented  doctrine  that  in. times  of  crisis  all 
criticism  of  the  action  of  the  Executive  must  be  suppressed.  It 
is  the  duty  of  an  Opposition — be  it  Liberal  or  Conservative  —to 
censure  and  expose  the  policy  of  any  government,  when  it  believes 
such  policy  is  fraught  with  danger  to  the  highest  interests  of 
England.  Lord  Beaconsfield  did  this — and  with  perfect  justice 
so  far  as  the  act  is  concerned  — during  the  Crimean  War  and  at 
other  momentous  periods.  Mr.  Gladstone's  indictment  is  before 
the  country  in  all  its  fulness  ;  let  the  Liberal  leaders,  while  not 
neglecting  our  true  interests  abroad,  now  turn  to  that  which  is 
their  greatest  strength,  viz.,  domestic  legislation.  When  the 
public  expenditure  has  risen  from  £71,000,000,  or  thereabouts, 
and  a  surplus  in  the  late  Premier's  time,  to  £85,000,000  and  a 
deficit  in  that  of  his  successors,  the  Liberals  have  a  most  potent 
argument  with  the  electors.  For  good  or  for  evil  the  wars  so 
vigorously  condemned  hava  been  waged ;  the  question  now  is,  will 
the  country  endorse  these  wars  and  the  enormous  additions  they 
involve  to  the  public  burdens,  by  renewing  its  confidence  in  the 
Government,  or  will  it  again  turn  to  that  party  which  is  chiefly 
associated  with  the  peace,  the  progress,  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
Empire  ? 

Notwithstanding  the  step  of  1874,  and  Mr.  Gladstone's  subse- 
quent retirement,  and  notwithstanding  the  errors  charged  upon 
the  ex-Premier  by  his  opponents,  it  is  the  feeling  of  thousands  of 
Liberals  throughout  the  country  that,  whenever  the  Liberal  party 
becomes  once  more  thoroughly  united — with  a  programme  before 
it  worthy  of  its  achievements  in  the  past — there  is  but  one  possible 
statesman  who  must  be  largely  responsible  for  conducting  its 
enterprises  to  a  successful  issue.  Legislation  never  stands  still ; 
and  when  disastrous  wars — still  disastrous  even  when  most  suc- 
cessful— have  once  more  ceased  to  mark  the  course  of  British 
policy,  great  questions  will  press  forward  for  settlement.  Would 
it  be  surprising  when  this  period  shall  have  arrived — and  a  states- 
man is  demanded  who  shall  be  able  to  carry  through  Parliament, 
in  obedience  to  the  popular  will,  those  great  measures  of  domestic 
reform  which  cannot  be  much  longer  delayed — that  there  should 
arise  unbidden  to  the  lips  of  the  people  the  name  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone ?  It  may,  of  course,  be  possible  that  his  great  legislative 
achievements  have  already  reached  their  end,  'that  he  may  not 
again  take  the  chief  control  of  affairs,  or  that  the  country  may 
continue  to  support  the  Conservative  Administration  ;  but  if  there 
should  be  a  revival  of  political  power  for  the  Opposition,  accom- 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS.  570 

panied  by  a  demand  for  such  legislation  as  we  have  indicated, 
the  Liberal  party — interpreting  now,  as  we  have  said,  the  senti- 
ments of  the  bulk  of  that  party — must  inevitably  turn  for  its  real, 
though  not,  possibly,  for  its  nominal,  chief  to  the  statesman  who 
lias  rendered  his  past  Administration  and  its  acts  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  the  country.  When  the  bow  of  Ulysses  requires  to 
be  bent,  only  Ulysses  can  bend  it. 


rp2 


INDEX. 


Aberdeen.Lord,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Letters 
to,  120, 124;  Statement  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  141 ;  Adverse  to  War,  154 ; 
Policy  in  1856,  154 ;  Dissensions  in 
the  Ministry  of,  169-171 ;  Collapse  of 
the  Ministry  of,  179;  Resignation, 
179;  Mr.  Roebuck's  Censure  on  the 
Ministry  of,  190. 

Aberdeen,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  at, 
416,  417. 

Abyssinian  Expedition,  356,  357;  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  357, 358. 

Act,  Canadian  Indemnity,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone on,  105. 

Acts  passed  in  the  Session  of  1872, 437, 
438. 

Address,  Mr.  Gladstone's  First  Election, 
35 ;  on  withdrawing  from  Newark, 
89,  90;  to  the  Oxford  Electors,  92, 
93 ;  of  1874,  Debate  on,  466. 

Adullamites,  Mr.  Bright  and  the,  338. 

Advent,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Times 
preceding  the,  234. 

.SSneid,  Virgil's,  quo  30. 

Afghan  War,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the,  544, 
545,  547. 

Afghanistan  and  Lord  Beaconsfield's 
Government,  540,  541. 

Age,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  and  the  Move- 
ments of  his,  571. 

Agricultural  Depression,  107 ;  Interest 
Alluded  to,  8 ;  Distress,  Mr.  Disraeli's 
Motion  on,  134. 

Alabama  Claims,  435 ;  Indirect  Claims, 
435,  436  ;  Amount  of  the  Award,  437; 
Sir  A.  Cockburn  on,  437. 

Allies,  Declaration  of  War  by,  160. 

Althorp,  Lord,  47 ;  Church  Temporali- 
ties (Ireland)  Bill,  46. 

America  and  England,  Relations  be- 
tween in  1856,  203,  204 ;  Debate  on, 
204,  205 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Con- 
federate States  of,  298,  299;  Lord 
Russell  on,  298 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on 
the  Future  of,  557. 

Andrassy  Note,  The,  513. 

Anglo-Turkish  Convention,  566-568. 

Anglo-Turkish  Treaty,  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  535,  536. 

Annual  Register,  quo  79. 

Apis  Matina,  The  Eton,  18. 

Aristocracy,  The  English,  1. 

Armistice,  Turkey  agrees  to  an,  518. 

Arrow,  The  Case  of  the,  212. 


Art    and    English    Manufactures,  Mr. 

Gladstone  on,  560. 

Asiatic  Turkey,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  Eng- 
land's Responsibilities  in,  538. 
AthetuBum  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  style,  555, 

5o6. 

Australian  Colonies  Bill,  109, 110. 
Austria  and  the  Eastern  Question,  168  ; 

Mr.  Disraeli  on  Alliance  with,  173  ;  Mr. 

Gladstone  on,  252. 
Austro-Prussian  War,  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 

335,  336. 
Autobiography,  A  Chapter  of,  73;  Preface, 

73;    Motives    for  Writing,   73,   74; 

Opinion  of   Church  and  State,    74 

Church  of  Ireland,  74. 


Baines,  Mr.,  Borough  Franchise  Bill,  314. 

"  Bag  and  Baggage  "  Policy,  516. 

Balaclava,  State  of  the  Hospital  at,  175. 

Ball,  Dr.,  on  the  Irish  Church  Disesta- 
blishment Bill,  382. 

Ballot  Bill,  412,  413 ;  Debate  on,  433  ; 
Sir  W.  Harcourt's  Amendment,  434 ; 
Lords'  Amendments,  Mr.  Disraeli  on, 
434 ;  Mr.  Glad^fono  on,  434. 

Bank  Indemnity  B  11,  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
314,  315. 

Barttelot,  Colonel,  Motion  on  the  Malt- 
tax,  313. 

Batak,  Massacre  at,  513,  515. 

Beaconsfield,  Lord,  Speech  at  Aylesbury, 
517;  at  Guildford,  318,  542;  Attack 
on  Mr.  Gladstone,  530,  Note  530  :  and 
Peace  with  Honour,  533;  Imperial 
Policy,  540;  and  Gladstone's  Admini- 
stration contrasted,  553  ;  Effects  of 
the  Imperial  Policy  of,  556,  559.  See 
Disraeli. 

"  Bedford  Plenipo,"  the  Parody  of,  191. 

Beer  and  Bible  Cry,  454 

Belgium  and  the  Triple  Treaty.  398. 

Bentinck,  Mr.,  Attack  on  Mr.  Gladstone, 
283. 

Berlin,  Conference  of  Emperors  at,  513 ; 
Memorandum  and  England,  513 ; 
Treaty,  533. 

Bermondscy,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  at, 
535,  536. 

Bernal  Osborne,  Description  of  the 
Gladstone  Cabinet,  405. 


582 


INDEX. 


Besika  Bay,  BritLh  Fleet  ordered  to, 
513,  515. 

Bills:— Passing  of  the  Great  Reform,  32 ; 
Altborp's  Church  Temporalities  (Ire- 
land), 48;  Hume's  University  Ad- 
mission, 47  ;  Lord  Russell's  Irish 
Church,  49,  50 ;  Jamaica,  59 ;  Tariffs, 
80 ;  Machinery,  83 ;  Dissenters'  Cha- 
pel, 84 ;  Dissenters'  Endowment,  84, 
85;  Extension  of  Academical  Educa- 
tion in  Ireland,  87, 88 ;  Irish  Outrage, 
92  ;  Lord  Russell's  Jews  Bill,  93,  94 ; 
Repeal  of  Navigation  Laws,  97 ;  Par- 
liamentary Oaths,  99,  100  ;  Canadian 
Indemnity,  105  ;  Marriage  with  a  De- 
ceased Wife's  Sister,  107  ;  Australian 
Colonies,  109,  110 ;  Ecclesiastical 
Titles,  135, 136  ;  Militia,  136  ;  Excise 
Duties,  163,  164 ;  for  the  Enh'stment 
of  Foreigners,  173 ;  Divorce,  211 ; 
Bank  Indemnity,  314 ;  Conspiracy  to 
Murder,  215;  Church  Rates  Aboli- 
tion, 218;  India,  218,  220;  Reform, 
of  1859,  245,  247;  Roman  Catholic 
Relief  Act  Amendment,  253;  Paper 
Duty  Repeal,  265 ;  Reform,  of  1860, 
270,  271 ;  Post  Office  Savings  Bank, 
274;  Church  Rates  Abolition,  274; 
Inland  Revenue,  295,  296 ;  Dissenters' 
Burials,  307;  Government  Annuities 
and  Life  Insurance,  314;  Borough 
Franchise,  314;  Habeas  Corpus  Act 
(Ireland)  Suspension,  334;  Abolition 
of  Church  Rates,  335;  Reform,  of 
1866,  336  ;  Redistribution  of  Seats, 
346,  347;  Franchise,  of  1866, 346,  348 ; 
Reform,  of  1867,  353;  Scotch  and 
Irish  Reform,  358 ;  Corrupt  Practices 
Prevention,  358 ;  Registration  of 
Voters,  358;  Compulsory  Church 
Rates  Abolition,  359;  Irish  Church 
Suspensory,  369;  Irish  Church  Dis- 
establishment, 375 ;  Irish  Land,  388 ; 
Elementary  Education,  395;  Army 
Regulation,  406;  Ballot,  412,  413; 
University  Tests,  413  ;  Parliamentary 
Female  Franchise,  413;  Licensing, 
415 ;  Parks  Regulation,  430 ;  Ballot, 
433,434;  Irish  University  Education, 
438,450;  Judicature,  School  Board 
Fees,  and  Dublin  University,  452; 
Church  Patronage  of  Scotland, 
467,469;  Public  Worship  Regulation, 
469,472 ;  Endowed  School  Act  Amend- 
ment, 473, 476 ;  Burials,  487,  488. 

Birmingham,  Reform  Agitation  at,  351 ; 
Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Eastern  Question 
at,  533. 

Black  Sea  Treaty,  Abrogation  of,  400, 
401 ;  Mr.  Disraeli  on,  402 ;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone on,  402. 

Blaekheath,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  at, 
419,  423;  Description  of  the  Scene, 
Note,  419 ;  Second  Speech  at,  460  ; 


Speech  on  the  Bulgarian  Horrors  at, 
516,  517. 

Blue  Book,  Definition  of  a,  96. 

Boroughs,  Disfranchisement  of,  398, 
399.'  . 

Bourke,  Mr.,  Amendment  on  the  Irish 
Church  Disestablishment  Bill,  444. 

Bowring,  Sir  J.,  and  the  Chinese  Policy, 
212,  214 

Bowyer,  Sir  G.,  on  the  Affairs  of  Italy, 
276,  296;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Reply  to, 
276-278,  296-298. 

Bradford,  Mr.  Forster's  Speech  at,  485, 
486. 

Bribery  Election,  38 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
50. 

Brigands,  Greek,  Massacre  of  English 
Travellers  by,  395,  396 ;  Action  of  the 
English  Government,  396,  397. 

Bright,  Mr.,  on  India,  220 ;  Agitates  for 
Extension  of  Franchise,  244 ;  on  the 
Rights  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
268  ;  and  the  Adullamites,  338 ;  Let- 
ter on  the  Reform  Bill  of  1866,  339  ; 
Speech  on  the  Reform  Bill  of  1866, 
341 ;  Eulogy  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  354  ; 
Attack  on  Mr.  Disraeli,  368 ;  President 
of  the  Board  of  Trade,  372 ;  on  the 
Irish  Church  Disestablishment  Bill, 
382,  383 ;  on  Mr.  Gladstone  and  the 
Leadership,  485. 

Brougham,  Lord,  on  Ca  ming's  Election, 
6 ;  on  Negro  Apprenticeship,  55 ; 
Tribute  to  Sir  R.  Peel,  118  ;  on  the 
Repeal  of  the  Paper  Duty,  Note,  270. 

Brown,  C.,  History  of  Newark,  quo  34 

Bruce,  Mr.,  Licensing  Bill,  415. 

Budget  for  1842,  79 ;  for  1851,  134. 

Budget,  Mr.  Disraeli's,  for  1852,  138; 
Mr.  Gladstone's  expose  of,  139. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's  First,  1853, 
142  ;  Income  and  Expenditure,  1853- 
4,  143 ;  New  Taxes  and  the  Income- 
tax,  143, 146  ;  Reduction  of  Taxation, 
143,  144 ;  Close  of  the,  147 ;  Debate 
on,  148;  Molesworth  on,  148,  149; 
General  Satisfaction  with,  149. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's  War,  1854, 157; 
Income  and  Expenditure,  158 ;  In- 
come-tax, 159, 160 ;  Home  and  Foreign 
Drawn  Bills,  159;  Exchequer  Bills, 
159  ;  Additional  Proposals,  161-163 ; 
Sir  S.  Northcote  on  the  Character  of, 
504. 
Budget,  Sir.  G.  C.  Lewis's,  for  1856,  202, 

203  ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  203. 
Budget,  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis's,  for  1857,  207  ; 
Mr.  Disraeli  on,  207  ;  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  208,  209. 
Budget,  Mr  Disraeli's,  for  1858, 222 ;  Mr. 

Gladstone  on,  223. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  for  1859,  249 ; 
Revenue  and  Expenditure,  249 ;  Pro- 
posed Increase  of  the  Income-tax, 


INDEX. 


58S 


250;  Mr.  Disraeli's  Criticism  on,  250; 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Reply,  251. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  for  1860, 
255 ;  Scene  in  the  House,  255 ; 
Details  of  Proposals,  255;  Relief 
of  Trade  and  Commerce,  255;  Fi- 
nancial Results  of  the  Year,  256, 
257 ;  Increase  of  Revenue,  257, 
258 ;  The  Commercial  Treaty  with 
France,  258;  and  Free  Trade,  259, 
260:  Tribute  to  Mr.  Cobden,  260; 
Scheme  of  Customs  Reform,  261 ; 
Proposed  Abolition  of  Paper  Duty, 
261 ;  Alterations  in  the  Tariff,  Con- 
clusion of  the,  262,  263 ;  Character  cf 
the,  263 ;  Financial  Statement  of  1860, 
263;  Opponents  of,  264;  Mr.  Disraeli's 
Resolution  on,  264 ;  Character  of  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Reply,  264,  265 ;  Mr.  Du 
Cane's  Motion  and  Defeat,  265 ;  At- 
tack on  the  Abolition  of  Paper  Duty, 
265;  The  Lords  and  the  Repeal  of 
Paper  Duty,  267- 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  for  1861,  278 ; 
Financial  Statement,  279,  280;  Ef- 
fects of  the  French  Treaty,  280,  281 ; 
Estimated  Expenditure,  281;  Income- 
tax,  281  ;  Proposed  Repeal  of  the 
Paper  Duty,  282 ;  Close  of  the,  282 ; 
Debate  on,  283,  285 ;  Passed,  285. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  for  1862,  289; 
Financial  Measures,  290,  292 ;  Review 
of  the  Financial  Results  of  the  Past 
Three  Years,  292, 293 ;  Debate  on,  294, 
296. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  for  1863,  300 ; 
Increase  of  Expenditure,  300,  301; 
Condition  of  Lancashire,  301  ;  Dis- 
tress in  Ireland,  301 ;  Estimates  for 
the  year,  302;  Rectifying  Anomalies 
in  Taxation,  302 ;  Disposal  of  the 
Surplus,  302,  303;  Review  of  Four 
Years'  Expenditure,  303;  Closing 
Statement,  303,  304. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  for  1864,  310 ; 
Expenditure  and  Revenue,  310;  Sur- 
plus and  Decrease  in  the  National 
Debt,  310,  311;  Imports  and  Ex- 
ports, 311 ;  Effects  of  the  Paper  Duty 
Repeal,  311;  Estimates  for  1864-5,  312; 
Application  of  the  Surplus,  312 ;  Pro- 
posed Reduction  of  Income-tax,  312 ; 
Close  of  the,  312,  313. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  for  1865,  318 ; 
Opening  Remarks,  318;  Expenditure 
and  Revenue,  319  ;  Reduction  of  the 
Nationnl  Debt,  319;  Imports  ;md  Ex- 
ports, 319  ;  Surplus,  319  ;  Malt-t:ix, 
320;  Reduction  of  Duty  on  Ten 
aad  the  Income-tax  320;  Amount  of 
Reduction  in  THXC.I  ion,  321 ;  General 
acceptance  of  the,  321. 

Budget,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  for  1866,  330; 
Expenditure  and  Revenue,  330 ;  Com- 


mercial Treaties,  330;  Proposed  Re- 
duction in  Taxation,  331;  Scheme  for 
Reducing  the  National  Debt,  331,  332. 

Budget,  Mr.  Lowe's,  for  1870,  415. 

Budget,  SirS.Northcote's,  for  1875,  448; 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Attack  on,  488,  489. 

Buckley  Institute,  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Speech  at,  478,  480. 

Bucks,  Mr.  Disraeli's  Address  to  the 
Electors  of,  458,  460. 

Bulgaria,  Massacres  in,  513 ;  Mr.  Dis- 
raeli on,  514:  Mr.  Baring's  Account 
of,  515. 

Bulgarian  Horrors,  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Pamphlet  on,  516;  Speech  at  Black- 
heath  on,  516,  517. 

Bunsen's  Memoirs,  quo  573. 

Buxton,  Fowell,  on  Negro  Apprentice- 
ship, 50. 

0 

Cabinet,  Mr.  Leatham  on  the  Beacons- 
ficld,  545. 

Camoy,  Lord,  on  the  Vatican  Decrees, 
498 

Canada,  Rioting  in,  1849, 104. 

Canadian  Affairs,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  51; 
Troubles  of  1838,  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
54, 105 ;  Mr.  Roebuck  on,  54, 104,  105. 

Canadian  Corn  Laws,  83. 

Canadian  Indemnity  Act,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone on,  105. 

Canning  Contests  Liverpool,  6;  in 
Office,  13;  and  the  Eton  Microcosm, 
18  •  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Death  of, 
21,  22. 

Cards,  Halfpenny  Postage,  Mentioned, 
399. 

Cardwell,  Mr.,  Army  Regulation  Bill, 
406;  Mr.  Glndstone  on, 420. 

Can-er,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Public,  576. 

Carlyle,  Mr.,  Letter  on  the  Eastern  Ques- 
tion, 519,  520. 

Catholics,  Roman,  and  Ritualism,  491. 

favour,  Count,  and  the  Independence 
of  Italy,  226,227. 

Chandos,  Marquis  of,  Contests  Oxford 
University,  2-48,  249. 

Chaplin,  Mr.,  Attack  on  Mr.  Gladstone, 
521 ;  Mr.  Gladstone's  reply  to,  522, 
623. 

Characteristics,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Per- 
sonal, 571. 

( 7i<n-li.iin,  Mr.  Carlyle's,  quo  49. 

Chartists,  (Meat  Meeting  of,  95. 

Charities  and  the  Income-tax,  304;  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  304-:i7<>.; 

Chester,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speeches  at, 
560,  567. 

Children.  Mr.  (iliidstone's,  (53,  64. 

China,  War  with.  Debute  on,  01,  62, 

Chinese  Policy,  Debute  on  Lord  Palmor- 
ston's,  211,  212;  Mr.  Gladstone  on. 


5§4 


ItfDEX. 


312,  314;  Lord  Palmerston's  Reply, 
214. 

Christ  Church,  Oxford,  23. 

Church  and  State,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  65  ; 
Inscribed  to  the  Oxford  University, 
66  ;  Preface  to  the  4th  Edition,  66 ; 
Analysis,  67 ;  Irish  Church,  68 ;  Main- 
tenance of  Church  Establishment,  69 ; 
Lord  Macaulay  on,  69,  71 ;  Quarterly 
Review  on,  70 ;  Line  of  Reasoning,  70 ; 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Account  of,  73. 

Church  Doctrines,  72. 

Church  of  England,  M  r.  Miall's  Motion  for 
the  Disestablishment  of,  413,  414,  452. 

Church  of  England,  Is  it  worth  Preserv- 
ing? Mr.  Gladstone's  Article,  492,  493. 

Church  Patronage  (Scotland)  Bill,  467  ; 
Mr.  Baxter's  Amendment,  467;  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Opposition  to,  467-469; 
Mr.  Disraeli  on,  469. 

Church  Principles  in  their  Results,  71; 
Analysis  of,  72,  73. 

Church  Rates  Abolition  Bill,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone on,  218,  335. 

Church  Rates,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  51, 
100,  274,  275;  Mr.  Bright  on,  275. 

Civil  Allegiance  and  the  Vatican  Decrees, 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Pamphlet,  493,  497; 
Papal  Claims  to,  495,  496,  498. 

Civil  Departments  open  for  Competition, 
398. 

Civil  List,  Sir  C.  Dilke's  Motion  for  Re- 
turns of,  430,  433 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
431 ;  Scene  in  the  House,  432,  433. 

Civis  Romanus  sum,  113 :  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  115, 116. 

Clarendon,  Lord,  on  Lord  Russell,  180  ; 
Mr.  Disraeli's  Attack  on  the  Policy  of, 
347. 

Class,  Characteristics  of  the  English 
Middle,  1. 

Classes,  Lower  English,  1. 

Classical  Studies,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Plea 
for,  227. 

Clergy  Disabilities  Act,  399. 

Clergy,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Tribute  to,  470, 
471. 

Clovis,  Baptism  of,  Note,  352. 

Clubs  and  Licence  Duty,  302,  304. 

Cockburn,  Sir  A.,  on  the  Alabama 
Award,  437. 

Cceur  de  Lion,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Poems  of, 
19,  20. 

Cobden,  Mr.,  on  Lord  Palmerston's 
Chinese  Policy,  212  ;  and  the  French 
Commercial  Treaty,  254,  255;  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Tribute  to,  260. 

Coleridge,  Sir  J.  T.,  Circular  to  the 
Oxford  Electors,  323. 

Collier,  Sir  R.,  Appointed  Judge,  423, 
424 ;  Debate  on,  428,  429. 

Colonial  Reform.  Debate  on,  106 

Colonies,  Mr.  Gladstone  Under  Secre- 
tary for,  49. 


Colonies,  Negro  Apprenticeship  in,  50; 
Mr.  O'Connell  on,  50 ;  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  51. 

Commander-in-Chief  under  the  War 
Minister,  378. 

Commerce,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  2 ;  State  of 
at  the  Beginning  of  the  Century,  5. 

Committee,  Crimean,  Mr.  Roebuck's 
Motion  for,  174,  179;  Opposition  to, 
182 ;  Report  of,  192. 

Compulsory  Church  Rates  Abolition  Bill, 
Mr.  Gladstone  on,  359. 

Conservatism,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Separa- 
tion from,  229,  230 ;  Oxford,  22. 

Conservative  and  Liberal  Expenditure, 
508,  509. 

Conservatives,  John  Stuart  Mill  and  the, 
347 ;  Educated  by  Mr.  Disraeli,  356. 

Consort,  Prince,  on  the  Aim  of  the 
Crimean  War,  151 ;  on  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Scheme  to  Pay  War  Expenses,  157  ;  on 
the  Policy  of  Prussia,  168, 169 ;  on  the 
Management  of  the  Crimean  War,  172; 
to  Lord  Aberdeen,  187, 188. 

Conspiracy  to  Murder  Bill,  215 ;  Milner 
Gibson's  Amendment  on,  215;  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  216,  217  ;  Lord  Palmer- 
ston  on,  217  ;  Defeat,  of,  217,  218. 

Constantinople,  Conference  at,  518 ; 
Failure  of,  520. 

Constitution  Question,  Discusion  on  a, 
268-270 

Controversy,  Religious,  Partial  Effects 
of,  501 

Convocation,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Valedic- 
tory Address  to  the  Oxford,  326, 
327. 

Corn  Law  Question  mentioned,  63. 

Corn  Law  Duties,  Sir  R.  Peel's  Sliding 
Scale  of,  78. 

Corn  Laws,  Lord  Russell's  Amendment 
on,  78 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  78,  79 ; 
Debate  on,  78,  79 ;  Villiers's  Motion  for 
Repeal  of,  79;  Question  of  Repeal,  81, 
82 ;  Abolition  of  alluded  to,  84 ;  Times 
on,  89;  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Repeal 
of,  89 ;  Repeal  of,  90,  91. 

Country  and  the  Government,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Article  on,  501. 

Country,  Condition  of,  in  1842,  78 ;  Pros- 
peri  ty  of  1864,  309,  310. 

Cranborne,  Lord,  on  Mr.  Disraeli's 
Reform  Bill,  80,  81. 

Credit,  Vote  of,  287  ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
530. 

Crimea,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Defence  of  the 
Expedition  to,  186, 187  ;  Cost  of,  202. 

Crimean  War,  Aim  of,  151:  Hostilities 
commenced,  161 ;  Management  of,  171; 
Debate  on,  172-174  ;  Progress  of,  191, 
192 ;  Cost  of,  202;  and  Finance,  504. 

Culture,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Higher, 
481. 

Cyprus,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  568. 


INDEX. 


535 


Daily  News  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  283;  on 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Oxford  Defeat,  325; 
on  Mr.  Gladstone  at  Blackheath,  Note, 
419,  quo  457, 514. 

Daily  Telegraph  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  Note, 
381,  quo  458. 

Danubian  Principalities,  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  220-222. 

Dean  of  Christ  Church  Nominates  Mr. 
Gladstone  for  Oxford,  248. 

Debt,  National,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Scheme 
to  Reduce  the,  141,  142,  331,  332  ;  De- 
crease in,  310,  319;  Sir  S.  Northcote's 
Proposals  on,  488. 

Decrees,  Napoleon  I.'s,  against  British 
Trade,  5. 

Decrees,  The  British  Government's,  5, 6. 

Demerara,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Slaves 
of,  43-45. 

Deptford,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  at,  461. 

Deputation,  An  Influential,  to  Lord 
Derby,  267  ;  see  Note,  267. 

Deputies,  Imprisonment  of  Neapolitan, 
122. 

Derby  Ministry  of  1857, 218, 219 ;  Reform 
Bill  of,  245,  247;  Defeat  of,  247  ;  Resig- 
nation, 248  ;  Ministry  of,  1866,  349. 

Derby,  Lord,  and  the  Repeal  of  the 
Paper  Duty,  267,  268 ;  on  the  Question 
of  Reform,  350  ;  on  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Irish  Church  Resolutions,  367 ;  opposed 
to  Irish  Church  Disestablishment,  386 ; 
Resignation  of,  332. 

Despotism,  Neapolitan,  120,  123 ;  Dis- 
cussed in  Parliament,  125  ;  Lord  Pal- 
merston  on,  125, 126. 

Dilke,  Sir  C.,  mentioned,  423;  Civil  List 
Motion,  430-433. 

Dillwyn,  Mr.,  Motion  on  the  Irish 
Church,  317. 

Disraeli,  Mr.  B.,  on  Protection,  91 ;  on 
Sir  R.  Peel's  Policy,  96 ;  Definition  of  a 
Blue  Book,  96;  on  the  Repeal  of  Navi- 
gation Laws,  103 ;  and  the  Poor  Laws, 
107,  109;  on  Free  Trade,  137,  Note 
138 ;  Mr  Herbert's  Invective  on,  138 ; 
Budget  for  1852,  138  ;  and  Lord  Rus- 
sell, 148  ;  Scheme  to  Pay  War  Expenses, 
157 ;  on  the  Policy  of  the  Aberdeen 
Ministry,  160, 164,165,172, 173;  on  the 
Vienna  Conference,  186;  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer,  1857,  218;  Budget  for 

1858,  222;  and  the  Reform  Bill   of 

1859,  245 ;  Criticism  on  the  Budget  of 
1859,  250;  Resolution  on  the  Budget 
of  1860,  264  ;   on  the  Budget  of  1862, 
294;  "  No-confidence"  Motion,  315;  on 
the  Reform  Bill  of  1866,  342 ;  Reform 
Resolutions  of  1867,  353;  Educates  his 
Party,  356  ;  made  Premier,  356,  Note 
356,  357 ;  Attack  on  Lord  Salisbury, 
365;  Attack  on  Mr.  Lowe,  366;  Minis- 


terial Explanations,  368 ;  Resignation 
of  the  Ministry  of,  372;  on  the  Irish 
Church  Disestablishment  Bill,  381,382; 
on  the  Irish  Land  Bill,  393 ;  on  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Foreign  Policy,  401, 402 ;  on 
the  Condition  of  Ireland,  404 ;  on  the 
English  Church,  413;  on  the  Treaty  of 
Washington,426,427  ;  on  the  Gladstone 
Policy  of  1872,  426 ;  on  the  Irish  Uni- 
versity Education  Bill,  447,  448 ;  de- 
clines to  take  Office,  451 ;  Reasons  for 
Declining  to  take  Office,  451,452;  on 
the  Gladstone  Policy,  454;  Election 
Address  of  1874,  458,  460 ;  Financial 
Policy,  507,  508;  and  the  Bulgarian 
Massacres,  514,  515;  Created  a  Peer, 
515.  See  Beaconsfield. 

Dissenters'  Chapel  Bill  mentioned,  84; 
Endowment  Bill,  84,  85. 

Dissenters' Burials  BilLMr.  Gladstone  on, 
307. 

Dissenters  Preaching  in  Churches,  453. 

Disturbances  of  1848,  94,  95. 

Divorce  Bill,  The,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  211. 

Dollinger,  Dr.  von,  and  the  Vatican 
Decrees,  498,  see  Note  498. 

Du  Cane,  Mr.,  Motion  on  the  Budget  of, 
1860,  265. 

Duff,  Grant,  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  351,  352. 

Dunkellin,  Lord,  Amendment  on  the 
Franchise  Bill  of  1866,  348. 

Durham,  Letter,  Lord  Russell's,  alluded 
to,  133. 

E 

East,  Doctrine  of  British  Interest  in,  158 ; 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Theory  of.  150, 151. 

East  India  Company  Monopoly  Abo- 
lished, 43 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the 
Company,  218 ;  Debate  on  the  Bills, 
218,  220. 

Eastern  Affairs,  Great  Debate  on,  536 ; 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  on,  537,  539.  ' 

Eastern  Question  in  1856  and  1875-76, 
194;  Duke  of  Argyll  on,  194,  195;  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Views  of,  512  ;  Pa  rlia- 
mentary  Debate  on,  521 ;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Five  Resolutions  on,  524, 525 ; 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  on,  525,  528. 

Ecce  Homo,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Articles 
on,  561. 

Ecclesiastical  Titles  Bill,  135 ;  Debate  on, 
135,  136 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  135,  136. 
Echo,  The,  quo  458. 

Economist  on  Conservative  Finance.The. 
509. 

Edinburgh,  Duke  of,  Proposed  Grant 
to,  453 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  Lord  Rector  of 
the  University  of,  270,  271. 

Edinlruryh  Review,  quo  14. 

Education,  Defects  of  Eton  System, 
14-16 ;  National,  Debate  on,  60  ;  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  60,  61,  83,  201,  202; 


586 


INDEX. 


l>rd  H  ussell's  Resolution  on,  201  ; 
Homer's  Place  in, 229  ;  Mr.  Gladstone 
on  the  Act,  420. 

Egypt,  and  Homer,  242 ;  Mr.  Gladstone 

on  Aggresssion  in,  563 ;  see  Note,  563. 

Elcho,  Lord,  on  the  Peace  Conference  of 

1859,  251 

Election  Address,  Mr.  Gladstone's  First, 

35;    Manchester    of    1837,    54;    of 

1841,  62 ;  General,  of  1868,  371,  372  ; 

of  1874  ,  461,  462. 

Elections,  Character  of,  before  the  Great 

Reform,  38. 
Elementary  Education  BUI,  395 ;  Debate 

on,  395. 

Elgin,  Lord,  Mobbing  of,  104. 
Eloquence,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  21. 
Endowed  Schools  Act  Amendment  Bill, 
473;  Mr.  Forster  on,  473  ;  Mi.  Glad- 
stone on,  473-475,  476;  Vote  on,  475; 
Receives  the  Royal  Assent,  476. 

England  and  America,  Relations  be- 
tween, 1856,  203, 204 ;  Debate  on,  204, 
205;  Foreign  Relations  in  1861,  273, 
274;  Condition  of,  in  1833,  33;  in 
1860,  254  ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the 
Future  of,  422,  423  ;  Necessity  for 
Co-operation  with  Russia,  517  ;  For- 
eign Relations  in  1861,  273,  274. 

English  Church,  Miall's  Motion  for  the 
Disestablishment  of,  413,  414,  452; 
Mr.  Disraeli  on,  413;  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  413,  414,  452 

English,  The,  Middle  Class,  1. 

English  Mission,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Article 
on,  565. 

Epic  of  the  Queen  of  Hearts,  Canning's, 
18. 

Epping  Forest  and  the  Government,  415. 

Erastianism,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  561. 

Essays,  Characteristics  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's, 555,  556 ;  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Miscellaneous,  464. 

Etna,  Description  of,  28 ;  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Ascent,  29-31. 

Eton,  Mr.  Gladstone  enters,  14 ;  Educa- 
tional System  and  Arrangements,  14- 
17 ;  Social  Advantages  of,  17;  Periodi- 
cals, 18  ;  Miscellany,  18, 19. 

Eton  Thirty  Years  Ayo,  quo  16. 

Etonian,  The,  18. 

Ewelme  Scandal,  The,  429 ;  Debate  on, 
429,  430. 

Examiner,  quo  459. 

Exchequer  Bonds  and  Bill,  162  ;  Debate 
on,  164, 165. 

Expenditure,  Liberal  and  Conservative, 
508,  509;  Incresise  of  National,  509, 
511 ;  Review  of  Four  Years,  303. 


Fagging,  Evils  of  School,  15. 
Farini's  Roman  State  from  1815  to  1850, 
131 ;  Letter  to  Mr!  Gladstone.  131. 


F;  wcett,  Mr,  on  the  Irish  University 
Education  Bill,  445;  University 
(Dublin)  Bill,  452;  at  St.  James's 
Hall,  518. 

Female  Franchise  Bill,  The  Parliamen- 
tary, 413. 

Fenian  Conspiracy  alluded  to,  335; 
Prisoners,  Amnesty  to,  399. 

Ferdinand  II.,  M.  Gondon  on,  126, 127  ; 
in  Adversity,  132 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
277. 

Finance,  an  Exposition  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's, 505;  the  Economist  on,  509; 
of  the  Present  Government,  507,  508 ; 
Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Present  Govern- 
ment's, 552,  553;  Mr  Gladstone  on 
the  Present  State  of,  568. 

Financial  Plan  of  1842, 79 ;  Measures  for 
1848,  95;  Legislation,  the  Beneficial 
Effects  of  Mr.  Gladstone's,  503- 
505. 

Financiers,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Place  among, 
505-507. 

Foreign  Enlistment  Act  passed,  398. 

Foreign  Paper,  Reduction  of  Duty  on, 
carried,  269,  270. 

Foreign  Policy  of  the  Government  in 
1850;  Debate  on,  112-117 ;  Mr.  Disraeli 
and  the  Gladstone,  401,  402. 

Foreign  Questions,  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Essays,  562. 

Foreign  Relations,  1861,  England's,  273, 
274. 

Foreigners,  Bill  for  Enlistment  of,  173,174. 

Forgery,  Petition  on  the  Increase  of,  7. 

Forster,  Mr.,  Elementary  Education  Bill, 
395;  School  Board  Fees  Bill,  452; 
on  the  Endowed  School  Acts  Amend- 
ment Bill,  473;  on  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Retirement  from  the  Leadership,  485, 
486. 

Fortniyhtly  Review,  quo  505. 

France,  Commercial  Treaty  with,  1860, 
254,  255;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  258; 
Effects  of,  280,  281. 

Franchise,  Mr.  Bright  agitates  for  an 
Extension  of,  244. 

Franchise  Bill,  1866,  Debate  on,  346; 
Captain  Hayter's  Resolution  on,  346- 
348;  Lord  Dunkellin's  Amendment, 
348 ;  Government  Defeat  on,  348 ; 
County  and  Borough,  Mr.  King's 
Motion  on,  134;  County,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Articles  on,  556. 

Franco-Prussian  War,  397;  Position  of 
England  during,  397,  398. 

Franco-Prussian  Treaty,  The  Proposed, 
397. 

Free  Trade,  and  Mr.  Hume,  80 ;  Villiers's 
Motion  on,  137  ;  Mr.  Disraeli  on,  137  ; 
in  France,  254,  255  ;  and  French  Com- 
mercial Treaty,  258,  259 ;  Results  of, 
273  ;  Beneficial  Effects  of,  309, 310. 

Freedom,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  501. 


INDEX. 


587 


Freeman,  Mr.,  Historical  E?say$,  quo  227, 
228  ;  at  St.  James's  Hall,  518. 

French  Revolution  of  1848,  94,  95. 

Frontier,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Scientific, 
541;  see  Note,  548. 

G 

Garibaldi,  Success  of,  132,  514. 

Geneva  Arbitration  on  the  Alabama 
Claims,  435;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  436; 
Members  of  the,  436 ;  the  Award,  437 ; 
Sir  A.  Cockburn's  Protest  Against,  437. 

Germany,  France,  and  England,  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  562. 

Giffcn,  Mr.,  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  Finance, 
505-507. 

Gladstone,  Sir  John,  1 ;  Motto  of,  3 ;  as  a 
Man  of  Business,  3,  4;  Chairman  of  the 
West  Indian  Association,  5;  as  a  Poli- 
tician^; Interest  in  Liverpool,  7;  Peti- 
tion on  the  Increase  of  Forgery,  7 ;  on 
Navigation  between  Liverpool  and 
Dublin,  7 ;  Advocate  of  Greek  Indepen- 
dence, 7 ;  and  Canning,  8 ;  on  the  Reform 
Question,  8;  Presentation  to,  8;  Member 
for  Woodstock  and  Lancaster,  9; 
Writings,  9. 

Gladstone,  Thomas,  3. 

Gladstone,  W.  E.  — Pedigree,  2,  3 ; 
Father  1-9 ;  Mother  and  Family, 
9;  of  Royal  Descent,  10;  Birth,  10; 
Wonderful  Powers,  11;  Enters  Eton, 
14;  Success  at  Eton,  18;  and  the 
Eton  Miscellany,  18 ;  Tribute  to 
Bishop  Selwyn,  19;  Poem  of  Cceur 
de  Lion,  19,  20  ;  View  of  Lethe,  20;  on 
Eloquence,21;  on  the  Death  of  Canning, 
21,  22;  Enters  Oxford,  22;  Position 
at  Oxford,  25 ;  Connection  with  the 
Oxford  Union,  25,26 ;  Results  of  Oxford 
Life,  27  ;  Tour  through  Sicily,  27-30 ; 
Stands  for  Newark,  33 ;  Personal  Ap- 
pearance, 34;  First  Election  Address, 
35;  Returned  for  Newark,  39;  A 
Prophecy  Concerning,  39 ;  Maiden 
Speeches,  43-45;  Junior  Lord  of  the 
Treasury,  48;  Re-elected  for  Newark, 
48 ;  Under-Secretary  for  the  Colonies, 
49 ;  Introduces  his  First  Bill,  49  ;  in 
Opposition,  50 ;  Third  Election  for 
Newark,  52:  and  the  Manchester 
Election,  52-54;  Personal  Sketch  of, 
58 ;  Style  and  Oratory,  59 ;  Returned 
for  Newark,  1841,  62,  63 ;  Vice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  Master 
of  the  Mint,  63;  Marriage,  03;  Cliildiv,,, 
63,64:  Chifrchand  State,  65-73;  Church 
Principles,  &c.,  71-73;  A  Chapter  of 
Autobiography,  73, 74 ;  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  83;  Machinery  Bill, 
83;  Resignation  of  Office,  85;  Pamphlet 
on  Recent  Commercial  Legislation, 
88 ;  Colonial  Secretary,  89  ;  Re- 


tires  from  Newark,  89;  and  Mr. 
Disraeli,  103  ;  Visit  to  Naples,  120 ; 
Neapolitan  Prisons  and  Prisoners, 
128-130 ;  Translates  Farini's  "  Roman 
State,"  131 ;  Chancellor  of  the  Exche- 
quer, 140 ;  Stands  for  Oxford  Univer- 
sity, 140,  141 ;  Scheme  to  Reduce  the 
National  Debt,  141;  Introduces  his 
First  Budget,  142 ;  Unveils  a  Statue  to 
Sir  R.Peel,  152 ;  and  the  Crimean  War, 
155;  War  Budget,  157,161;  Resignation 
of  Office,  182;  Returned  for  Ox- 
ford University,  1857, 314 ;  Appointed 
Commissioner  to  the  Ionian  Isle, 
223  ;  Homeric  Studies,  225 ;  Homer  and 
the  Homeric  Aye,  225-237 ;  Various 
Homeric  Writings,  238 ;  JuventusMundi, 
239 ;  Homeric  Synchronism,  240-243  ; 
Returned  for  Oxford  University,  1859, 
247 ;  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  248 ; 
Re-election  Opposed,  248;  Power  of 
Speech  Possessed  by,  263;  and  Mr. 
Disraeli,  264;  Lord  Rector  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  271 ;  Descrip- 
tion of  by  the  IllustratedLondon  News, 
283 ;  and  the  Confederate  States  of 
America,  298, 299;  Career  reviewed,  308- 
Letter  to  Dr.  Hannah,  318;  Defeated 
at  Oxford,  322-324;  Stands  for  South 
Lancashire,  327-329 ;  On  Lord  Palmer 
ston  333;  Defeat  and  Resignation,  348; 
Resolutions  for  the  Disestablishment  ot 
the  Irish  Church,  361 ;  Charges  against, 
367;  Defeated  in  South  Lancashire, 
370,  371 ;  Elected  for  Greenwich,  371 ; 
Premier,  372;  and  his  Religion,  416 ; 
Receives  the  Freedom  of  the  City  of 
Aberdeen,  416 ,  Letter  to  the  New  York 
World,  435 ;  Resignation  and  Resump- 
tion of  Office,  450;  Premier  and 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  452; 
Election  Manifesto,  1873,  455 ;  Resig- 
nation, 462;  Review  of  the  Adminis- 
tration of,  463 ;  and  the  Liberal 
Leadership,  465-483 ;  Article  onRituil- 
ism,  490;  the  Church  of  England, 
492;  Vatican  Decree,  493  ;  Vaticanism, 
498 ;  on  PiusIX.'s  Speeches,  501;  Views 
of  the  Eastern  Question,  512;  and  tlio 
Bulgarian  Massacres, 516;  Lord  Rector 
of  Glasgow  University,  529 ;  Farewell 
visit  to  Greenwich,  543  ;Characterist  irs 
of  his  Essays,  555,  556;  Gleanings  of  the 
Past,  556-566;  and  the  Movement  "f 
his  Age,  571;  Literary  and  Political 
Career,  569  ;  Personal  Characteristics, 
571;  Religious  Sentiment,  571,  .r>72; 
Oratory,  572-574;  Studious  Habits, 
574;  Pursuits  at  Ha  warden,  575; 
Personal  Traits,  475;  Relations  with 
his  Sovereign,  576;  Public  Career,  576; 
and  the  Future  of  the  Liberal  Party 
577-579. 
Gladstone,  W.  E.,  Speeches  of — On  Com- 


R88 


INDEX. 


merce,  2;  on  Liberty,  27  ;  on  Slavery, 
43,  45 ;  on  Bribery,  45  ;  on  the  Irish 
Church,  46,50;  on  Hume's  University 
Admission  Bill,  47  ;  on  Lord  Russell's 
Irish  Church  Bill,  49 ;  on  Colonial  Ap- 
prenticeship, 51;  on  Canadian  Affairs, 
51 ;  on  Church  Rates,  51 ;  on  Negro 
Apprenticeship,  55 ;  on  the  Jamaica 
Bill,  59 ;  on  National  Education,  60 ; 
on  War  with  China,  61 ;  on  the  Corn 
Laws,  78 ;  on  the  Tariffs  Bill  of  1842, 
80;  on  the  Distress  of  1842-3,81;  on 
the  Repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws,  81,  89 ; 
on  Education  in  Liverpool,  83  ;  on  the 
Maynooth  College  Endowment,  85,  86 ; 
on  Graham's  Irish  Educational  Bill, 
88 ;  on  the  Admission  of  Jews  to 
Parliament,  93,94;  on  Sir  R.  Peel's 
Policy,  96 ;  on  Navigation  Laws,  97 ; 
on  Vancouver's  Island,  98  ;  on  Diplo- 
matic Relations  with  Rome,  98,  99; 
on  Church  Rates,  100 ;  on  the  Repeal 
of  Navigation  Laws,  100,  103 ;  on 
Colonial  Reform,  106;  on  the  Poor 
Laws,  107  ;  on  the  Australian  Colo- 
nies Bill,  109 ;  on  Slavery,  111 ;  on  the 
English  and  Irish  Universities,  111 ; 
on  the  Foreign  Policy  of  1850, 113 ; 
on  the  Death  of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  118 ; 
on  the  Ecclesiastical  Titles  Bill,  135 ; 
on  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  136 ;  on  Mr. 
Disraeli's  Budget  for  1852, 139 ;  on  In- 
troducing his  First  Budget,  142;  on 
Russia  and  Turkey,  153 ;  Introduces 
his  War  Budget  of  1854,  157;  on 
the  Management  of  the  Crimean  War, 
176 ;  on  the  Impending  War,  152 ;  on 
the  Turkish  Government,  152;  on 
Loans,  163 ;  Defence  of  the  Aberdeen 
Ministry,  176;  Defence  of  the  Crimean 
Expedition,  186, 187 ;  on  the  Failure 
of  the  Vienna  Conference,  189,  190; 
Condemning  the  Continuance  of  the 
War,  190 ;  on  the  Conclusion  of  Peace, 
1856, 196-200 ;  on  Lord  Russell  s  Plan 
of  National  Education,  201-2;  on  Sir 
G.  C.  Lewis's  Budget,  203;  on  the 
Differences  between  England  and 
America,  204,  205;  on  the  Policy  of 
Lord  Palmerston's  Government,  206, 
207 ;  on  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis's  Budget  for 
1857,  208,  209 ;  on  Tea  Duty,  210 ;  on 
Increased  Taxation,  210,  211;  on  the 
Income-tax  Bill,  210,  211;  on  the 
Divorce  Bill,  211 ;  on  Lord  Palmer- 
ston's Chinese  Policy,  212-214;  on 
the  Bank  Indemnity  Bill,  214,  215 ;  on 
the  Conspiracy  to  Murder  Bill,  216-217; 
on  the  Abolition  of  Church  Rates,  218 ; 
on  the  East  India  Company,  218 ;  on 
the  Danubian  Principalities,  220; 
on  the  Budget  of  1858,  223 ;  on  the 
Derby  Reform  Bill  of  1859,  246-247 ; 
on  the  Budget  of  1859, 249, 251 ;  on  the 


Peace  Conference,  1859,  251,  252 ;  on 
the  Roman  Catholic  Relief  Act  Amend- 
ment Bill,  253,  254;  on  the  Budget  of 
1860,  255-265 ;  on  the  House  of  Lords 
rejecting  the  Paper  Bill,  269;  on; 
Lord  Russell's  Reform  Bill  of  1860,  270 ; 
at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  271 ; 
on  the  Affairs  of  Italy,  276-278  ;  on 
the  Budget  of  1861,  278-282,  284.  285 ; 
in  Vindication  of  his  Financial  Policy, 
287,  288 ;  on  the  Ionian  Islands,  289  ; 
Budget  of  1862,  289-293;  Reply  to 
Mr  Disraeli's  Strictures  on  the  Bud- 
get of  1862,  294,  295  ;  Reply  to  Sir  S. 
Northcote,  295  ;  Second  on 'the  Affairs 
of  Italy,  296-298 ;  on  the  Presentation 
to  Charles  Kean,  299  ;  on  the  Budget 
of  1863,300,304  ;  in  Vindication  of  his 
Proposal  to  subject  Charities  to  the 
Income-tax,  304-306;  on  the  Dissen- 
ters' Burial  Bill,  307  ;  on  the  Inter- 
national Exhibition  Building,307;  Bud- 
get, 1864,  310  ;  on  Reform  (Parliamen- 
tary, 314, 315 ;  Reply  to  Mr.  Disraeli's 
"No  confidence  "  Motion,  316 ;  on  the 
Irish  Church,  318  ;  on  the  Budget  of 
1865,  318-321;  in  Manchester  Free 
Trade  Hall,  327,  328;  Speech  at  Liver- 
pool, 328,  329;  Budget  of  1866, 
330-332 ;  on  Church  Rates,  335 ;  on 
the  Austro-Prussian  War,  335,  336 ;  on 
Introducing  the  Reform  Bill  of  1866, 
336 ;  on  the  Second  Reading  of  the 
Reform  Bill  of  1866,  339;  at  the 
close  of  the  Debate  of  the  Reform 
Bill  of  1866,  342,  343  ;  on  Conserva- 
tive and  Liberal  Finance,  359,  360 ; 
on  Justice  to  Ireland,  360,  361  ; 
on  the  Disestablishment  of  the  Irish 
Church,  362-364,  366  ;  Election  Speech 
at  St.  Helen's,  369 ;  at  Greenwich, 
1868,  372,  373 ;  on  the  Irish  Church 
Disestablishment  Bill,  375-380,  384; 
on  the  Irish  Land  Bill,  383,  392,  393, 
394  ;  Reply  to  Mr.  MiaU,  395  ;  De- 
fence of  his  Foreign  Policy,  401-402 ; 
on  the  Princess  Louise's  Marriage 
Grant,  403 ;  on  the  Disturbed  Condi- 
tion of  Ireland,  404,  405 ;  on  the  Abo- 
lition of  Purchase  in  the  Army  by 
Royal  Warrant,  410,  411, 412  ;  on  the 
English  Church,  413,  414 ;  on  Home 
Rule,  416,  417 ;  at  Whit  by,  417-418; 
at  Blackheath,  419-423  ;  Reply  to  Mr. 
Disraeli  in  Defence  of  his  Policy,  1872, 

427,  428  ;  on  Sir  R.  Collier's  Appoint- 
ment, 428 ;  on  the  Ewelme  Scandal, 

428,  429  ;  Retort  on  Mr.  Disraeli  and 
Colonel  Gilpin,  430 ;  on  Sir  C.  Dilke's 
Motion  for  Return  of  the  Civil  List, 
431 ;  on  the  Ballot  Bill,  434 ;  on  Nego- 
tiations on  the  Washington   Treaty, 
436 ;  on  introducing  the  Irish  Univer- 
sity Education  Bill,  438-439  ;  in  Clos- 


INDEX. 


589 


ing  the  Debate  on  the  Irish  University 
Education  Bill,  448-450 :  on  the  Duties 
of  the  Opposition,  451  ;  Election, 
1874,  461-462  ;  on  the  Church  Patron- 
age of  Scotland  Bill,  467-469  ;  Public 
Worship  Bill,  469-471  ;  on  the  En- 
dowed School  Acts  Amendment  Bill, 
473-476;  on  Education,  477-481; 
Attack  on  Sir  S.  Northcote's  Budget, 
488,  489;  at  St.  James's  Hall,  518,  519 ; 
on  Turkey,  520  ;  on  Treaty  Obliga- 
tions, 521;  Reply  to  Mr.  Chaplin,  522, 
523 ;  Resolutions  and  Speech  on  the 
Eastern  Question,  524-528 ;  Speech  at 
Birmingham  on  the  Eastern  Question, 
528 ;  at  the  Palmerston  Club  529 ;  on 
the  Vote  of  Credit,  530 ;  on  Despatch- 
ing the  Indian  ^Troops  to  Malta,  533, 
534;  at  Bermondsey,  535,  536;  on 
Eastern  Affairs,  537-539;  at  Rhyl, 
541 ;  on  the  Scientific  Frontier,  541 ; 
at  Plumstead,  543;  on  the  Afghan 
War,  544-547 ;  on  the  Greek  Question, 
548,  550 ;  on  the  Prerogat  ive,  550  ;  on 
the  Zulu  War,  550 ;  on  the  Finance  of 
the  Beaconsfield  Government,  552, 
553 ;  Speech  at  Chester,  567 ;  Address 
to  the  Students  of  King's  College,  572. 

Gleaninyt  of  Past  Years,  Mr.  Gladstone's, 
556. 

Gledstanes,  Etymology  of,  2. 

Globe,  quo  258. 

Glynne,  Miss  Catherine,  63. 

Gondon,  M.,  on  Ferdinand  II.,  126, 127- 

Government  Annuities  and  Life  Insu- 
rances Bill,  314  ;  Opposition  to,  and 
Passing  of,  314 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on  Per- 
sonal, 544 ;  the  End  of,  69 ;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Charges  against  the  Beacons- 
field,  565-568. 

Graham,  Sir  J.,  on  War  with  China,  61, 
62 ;  Irish  Education  Bill,  87 ;  Charac- 
ter and  Abilities,  119;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Vindication  of,  139 ;  Resigna- 
tion of  Office  by,  182. 

Granville,  Lord,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Letter 
to,  465,  466 ;  Second  Letter  to,  483  ; 
Reply  of,  484. 

Greatness,  Prophecy  of  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Future,  39. 

Greece,  Affairs  of,  in  1850,  111 ;  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  113,  116  ;  the  Ionian 
Isles  incorporated  with,  224  ;  Infancy 
of,  242,  243 ;  and  Palestine,  Compari- 
son between,  564. 

Greek  Brigands,  Murder  of  English 
Travellers  by,  395,  396;  Action  ofthe 
English  Government,  396, 397. 

Greek  Question,  Debate  on,  548,  549; 
Mr.  Gladstone  on,  548,  550. 

Greek  Races,  232. 

Greenwich,  Mr.  Gladstone  Elected  for, 
371;  Speech  at  in  1868,  372,  373; 
Desired  to  Relinquish  his  Seat  for, 


418 ;   Manifesto  to    the    Electors  of, 

455-457  ;  Farewell  to,  543. 
Gresley,  Rev.  R.,  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  248. 
Grosvcnor,  Lord,  Amendment  on   the 

Reform  Bill  of  1866,  338, 340. 


Habeas  Corpus  Act  (Ireland)  Suspen- 
sion Bill,  334,  335. 

Habits,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Studious,  574. 

Hannah,  Dr.,  Mr.  Gladsone's  Letter  to, 
on  the  Irish  Church,  318. 

Hardcastle.  Mr.,  Abolition  of  Church 
Rates  Bill,  335. 

Hardy,  Mr.  G.j  Contests  Oxford,  1864, 
322-324-  on  the  Irish  Church  Dis- 
establishment Bill,  383-384. 

Hartington,  Marquis,  chosen  Liberal 
Leader,  486, 487. 

Harvey,  Kev.  R.  W.,  and  the  Ewelme 
Scandal,  429,  430. 

Hawarden,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Pursuits  at, 
575. 

"  Heckling,"  the  Practice  of,  37. 

Hellenic  Factor,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the, 
562 

Hennessy,  Mr.  Pope,  on  the  Affairs  of 
Italy,  275. 

Herbert,  Mr.,  Invective  on  Mr.  Disraeli, 
138. 

Herzegovina,  the  Rising  in,  513. 

History  and  Homer,  229, 230. 

History  of  England,  Molesworth's,  quo 
148,  149  ;  Walpole's,  quo  32,  33. 

Holy  Places,  Lord  Russell's  Despatch  to, 
151. 

Holyhead,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Eastern 
Question  at,  528. 

Home  Rule  Agitation,  416;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone on,  416,  417. 

Homer  and  the  Homeric  Age,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's, 226 ;  Contents  of,  226, 227  ;  Mr. 
Freeman  on,  227, 228 ;  Sections  of  the 
Third  Volume,  235;  Specimens  of,  235- 
237 

Homer  and  the  Sacred  Writings,  228; 
Place  among  the  Poets,  229 ;  Place  in 
Education,  229 ;  as  an  Historical  Au- 
thority, 229-231, 232 ;  Date,  231 ;  on  the 
Text  of,  232  ;  and  the  Scriptures,  233, 
234-  Politics  of,  235,236;  Poetry  of , 
236 ;  Results,  237, 238 ;  Time  and  Place 
of,  240,  241. 

Homer  on  Slavery,  501. 

Homeric  Age,  Religions  and  Morals  of, 
232,  233. 

Homeric  Poems,  Character  of,  225 ;  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Knowledge  of,  226. 

Homeric  Studies,Mr.  Gladstone's  Lessons 
from,  243. 

Homeric  Writings,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Vari- 
ous, 238,  Note,  238-239. 


590 


INDEX. 


Homeric  Si/nchronism,  Character  and 
Value  of ,'240 ;  Contents  of,  240 ;  Speci- 
men of,  242, 243. 

Hope,  Mr.  Beresford,  on  Mr.  Disraeli,  354 

Horsman,  Mr.,  Mr.  Bright's  Attack  on, 
338 ;  Mr.  Disraeli  on,  393 ;  on  the  Irish 
University  Education  Bill,  445;  Mr. 
Lowe  on,  446,  447. 

House  Duty,  138;  Vote  on,  140. 

House  of  Commons,  First  Reformed,  53. 

House  of  Lords,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  421, 
422. 

Hubbard,  Mr.,  Resolution  on  the  Income- 
tax,  306;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Reply  to, 
306,307. 

Hume's  University  Admission  Bill,  47. 

Hunt,  Mr.  Ward,  and  Conservative 
Finance,  359,  360. 

Hustings,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Newark, 
37. 

Button's  Sketches  in  Parliament,  quo  11. 

Howick,  Lord,  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  45 ; 
and  the  Corn  Laws,  81. 

Hyde  Park,  Reform  Demonstration  at, 
350,  351. 


Illustrated  London  News  on  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Oratory,  283. 

Imperial  Policy,  Lord  Beaconsfield's, 
540 ;  Note,  540. 

Impulse,  Acting  on,  59. 

Income-tax  of  1842,  79,  80 ;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone on,  143-146,  210, 211 ;  Sir  E.  B. 
Lytton's  Amendment  on,  148 ;  of  1854, 
159-161;  Proposed  Increase  of  in  1859, 
250 ;  of  1861, 281 ;  Proposed  Reduction 
of,  302 ;  Mr.  Hubbard's  Resolution  on, 
306,  307 ;  Proposed  Reduction  in  1864, 
312,  320;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Analysis  of, 
504. 

Independent  M.P.,  Definition  of  an,  180. 

Industry,  Effects  of  War  on  British,  156. 

Infallibility,  Papal,  494,  500 ;  Effects  of, 
494,  495. 

Inland  Revenue  Bill,  Debate  on,  295, 
296. 

Ireland,  Church  of  .Reasons  for  Assailing, 
75;  Bill  for  Extension  of  Academical 
Education  in,  87,  88;  Distress  in,  301; 
Habeas  Corpus  Act  Suspended  in, 
334,  335;  Mr.  Gladstone  on  Justice  to, 
360,  361;  Debate  on  the  Condition  of, 
403-406;  Lord  Hartington  on,  404; 
Mr.  Disraeli  on,  404  ;  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  404,  405;  Bernal  Osborne  on, 
405;  Solicitor-General  on,  405, 406. 

Ionian  Islands,  Mr.  Gladstone  appointed 
Commissioner  to,  223  ;  Incorporated 
with  Greece,  224  ;  Debate  on,  289 ; 
Mr.  Gladstone  on,  289. 

Irish  Church,  1833;  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
46;  in  1835,  50;  Mr.  Dillwyn's  Motion 


on,  317;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  317,  318, 
Letter  to  Dr.  Hannah  on,  318. 
Irish  Church  Disestablishment  Bill,  375; 
Details  of,  376-380;  Provision  for 
Incumbents,  377  ;  Compensation  to 
Curates,  377  ;  Churches,  378  ;  Glebe 
Houses,  378  ;  Regium  Donum  and 
Maynooth  Grant,  378  ;  Financial 
Result  of  the  Various  Proposals,  379 ; 
Uses  for  the  Surplus  Fund,  379 ; 
Peroration,  380;  Debate  on,  381;  Mr. 
Disraeli  on,  381,  382;  Dr.  Ball  on, 
382 ;  Mr.  Bright  on,  382 ;  Sir  R.  Palmer 
and  Mr.  Lowe  on,  383;  Mr.  G.  Hardy 
on,  383,  384;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Reply, 
384;  Division,  385,  386;  Analysis  of 
Votes,  385;  Third  Reading,  385; 
Passage  through  the  Lords,  385,  387; 
Votes  of  the  Lords,  387;  Greatness  of 
the  Measure,  387. 

Irish  Church,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Resolu- 
tions for  the  Disestablishment  of, 
361;  Lord  Stanley's  Amendment, 
361,  362;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  in 
Support  of,  362-364  ;  Lord  Stanley's 
Speech,  364;  Mr.  Lowe's  Speech,  364, 
365;  Mr.  Disraeli's  Speech,  365,366; 
Mr.  Gladstone's  Reply,  366 ;  Division 
and  Government  Defeat,  366;  Analysis 
of  Votes,  366,  367;  First  Resolution 
carried,  367;  Second  and  Third 
carried,  368;  Fourth  carried,  369. 
Irish  Church  Suspensory  Bill,  369; 

Rejected  by  the  Lords,  369. 
Irish  Land  Bill,  388 ;  Opening  Remarks, 
388,389;  Insecurity  of  Tenure,  389; 
Acquisition  of  Land,  389 ;  Occupation 
of  Land,  390 ;  Four  Descriptions 
of  Holdings.  390,  391;  The  Irish 
Labourer,  391,  392  ;  Concluding 
Remarks,  392  ;  Debate  on,  393  ;  Mr. 
Disraeli  on,  393 ;  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Reply,  393, 394;  Division,  394;  Amend- 
ments, 394;  Passage  through  the 
Lords,  394. 

Irish  University  Education  Bill,  438 ; 
Opening  Remarks,  438 ;  Roman  Catho- 
lic Element,  439 ;  the  Religious  Griev- 
ance, 439 ;  Number  of  University 
Students,  440 ;  University  of  Dublin 
and  Trinity  College,  440;  Proposed 
Abolition  of  Tests,  440, 441 ;  Governing 
Clauses,  441,442;  Financial  Scheme, 
442;  Concluding  Remarks,  443;  Oppo- 
nents to  the,  443 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on 
moving  for  the  Second  Reading,  444; 
Mr.  Burke's  Amendment,  444;  Mr. 
Fawcett  on,  445;  Mr.  Horsman  on, 445; 
Mr.  Lowe  on,  446,  Note  446,  447;  Mr. 
Disraeli  on,  447,  448;  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Reply,  448-450;  Defeat  of  the  Govern- 
ment, 450. 

Irish  Outrage  Bill,  156. 
Italy,  'Desire  of,  for  Independence,  133 ; 


INDEX. 


591 


SI  niggle  for,  132;  Debate  on  the  Affairs 
of,  275-278;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  276-278, 
296-298;  Renewed  Debate  on,  296-298. 

Intellectual  Improvement,  Mr.  Gladstone 
on  the  Facilities  for,  479,  480. 

International  Exhibition  Building,  De- 
bate on,  307. 

Interregnum,  a  Ministerial,  450-452. 

Invasion  of  the  Crimea,  quo  155. 


Jamaica  Bill  of  1839,  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  59. 

Jews,  Education  of,  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
60,  61 ;  in  Parliament,  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  93,  94. 

Jones,  Archdeacon,  mentioned,  13. 

Judicature  Bill,  Lord  Selborne  men- 
tioned, 452. 

Juventus  Mundi,  Character  and  Value  of, 
239;  Contents  of,  240. 

K 

Kean,  C.,  Presentation  to,  299. 
Kennington,  Chartist  Meeting  at,  95. 
Kin  Beyond    the  Sea,  Mr.  Gladstone's 

Article,  557. 
Knightsbridge,     Lord      Beaconsfield's 

Speech  at,  530. 

Kinglake,  Mr.,  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  155. 
King's  College,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Address 

at,  572. 
King's  Scholars,  Eton,  14. 


Lancashire,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Tribute  to, 

301 ;  Material  Condition  of  1863, 301. 
Layard,  Mr.,  on  Lord  Palmerston's  Go- 
vernment, 181, 182 ;  on  the  Affairs  of 

Italy,  296. 

Leadership,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Resignation 
.  of  the  Liberal,  483-485;  Claimants  for, 

486 ;  Lord  Hartington chosen,  486,  48?. 
League,  The  Reform,  350,  351. 
Leatham,    Mr.,    on    the   Beaconsfield 

Cabinet,  445. 
Legislation,   Beneficial  Effects  of   Mr. 

Gladstone's  Financial,  503-505 
Legislative    Enactments  of  1869-70-71, 

424. 

Lewis,  J.  D.,  quo  16. 
Lewis,  Sir  G.  C.,  Budget  for  1856,  202  ; 

Mr.  Gladstone  on,  202-203;    Budget 

for  1857,  207  ;  Mr.  Disraeli  on,  207. 

Mr.  Gladstone  on,  208,  209  . 
Liberal  and  Conservative  Expenditure 

508,509. 
Liberal  Party  and  the  Roman  Catholics, 

496  ;  Mr.  Gladstone  and  the  Future 

of  the,  577-579. 
Liberty,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  27 


Liberty  and  Papacy,  493, 494. 

Licensing  Bill,  Mr.  Brace's,  415. 

Life  of  Prince  Consort,  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Article  on,  quo  168  ;  Mr.  Gladstone'? 
Articles  on,  556. 

Literary  and  Political  Career,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's, 569,  570. 

Liverpool  College,  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Speeches  at,  140,  473,  477. 

Liverpool,  Depression  in  the  Commerce 
of,  5  ;  Canning's  Election  for,  6,  7  ; 
and  Dublin  Navigation,  7  ;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Speech  at,  1866,  328,  329,  330; 
Reform  Demonstrations  in,  339. 

Loans,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  163. 

Local  Taxation  Bills,  415. 

Lords,  House  of,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  421, 
422  ;  Rejects  the  Paper  Duty  Bill,  268. 

Louise,  Princess,  Marriage  Grant  to,  403. 

Lowe,  Mr.,  on  the  Reform  Bill  of  1866, 
337,  341,  347  ;  on  Mr.  Disraeli's  Re- 
form Bill,  356 ;  Mr.  Disraeli's  Attack 
on,  366  ;  on  the  Irish  Church  Dis- 
establishment Bill,  383 ;  on  the  Irish 
University  Education  Bill,  446,  Note 
446,  447. 

Lower  Canada,  Debate  on  the  Troubles 
of  1838,  54. 

Lytton,  Sir  E.  B.,  on  the  Income-tax, 
148 ;  Motion  on  the  Vienna  Confer- 
ence, 188, 189 ;  on  the  Reform  Bill  of 
1866,  340. 

M 

Macaulay,  Lord,  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  61, 

67,  71 ;   Mr.  Gladstone's  Estimate  of, 

558. 

Machinery  Bill,  83. 
Magnum  Opus,  Mr.  Gladstone,  226. 
Malacca  Straits,  459-461. 
Malt-tax,  Increase  of,  162 ;  Lord  Russell 

on,  164 ;  Mr.  Disraeli  on,  164 ;  Colonel 

Barttelot's  Motion  on,  313 ;  Mr.  Mor- 

ritt's  Motion  on,  313 ;  of  1864,  320. 
Malta,  Indian  Troops  despatched  to,  333 ; 

Mr.  Gladstone  on,  334. 
Manchester  Guardian,  quo  52. 
Manchester,    Mr.  Gladstone's  Election 

for,  52-54 ;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  at, 

1866,  327,  328. 
Manifesto,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Election,  for 

1874, 455-457;  Opinions  of  the  Press  on, 

Note,  457-459. 
Manning,  Cardinal,   and   the    Vatican 

Decrees,  500,  Note  498. 
Mansell,  Rev.  H.  L.,  on  Mr.  Gladstone's 

Liberalism,  248. 
Marriage,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  63. 
Marriage  with  a  Deceased  Wife's  Sister, 

106. 

Martineau,  Harriet,  quo  80,  81. 
Martin's  Life  of  the  Prince  Consort,  quo 

169,  170. 


592 


INDEX. 


Match-tax,  Mr.  Lowe's,  415. 

Maynooth  College,  Endowment  of,  85-87; 
Debate  on  the  Grant,  368. 

MelbourneMinistry.Dismissal  of  ,1834, 47; 

Melbourne,  Lord,  Premier  for  1835,  50 ; 
Defeat  of,  62. 

Member,  Chairing  the,  48. 

Memoirs,  Lord  Brougham's,  quo  8. 

Memorandum,  The  Berlin,  and  England, 
513. 

Miall,  Mr.,  on  Mr  Gladstone,  395 ;  Motion 
for  the  Disestablishment  of  the  English 
Church,  413,  414,  452. 

Microcosm,  the  Eton,  17;  Contributors,  18. 

Militia  Bill,  The,  136. 

Mill  Hill  School,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Address 
at,  480,  481. 

Mill,  J.  Stuart,  and  the  Conservatives, 
347. 

Ministry,  Causes  for  the  Waning  Popu- 
larity of  the  Gladstone,  418 ;  Unpopu- 
larity in  1872, 423;  Changes  in  1873,453. 

Ministry,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Policy  of 
the  Beaconsfield,  565. 

Molesworth,  Rev.  W.  N.,  on  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's First  Budget,  148, 149 ;  SirW., 
on  Colonial  Administration,  106. 

Montenegro  Declares  War,  514. 

Morgan,  Osborne,  Burials  Bill,  487. 

Morley,  Lord,  on  Eton  Boys,  16, 17. 

Morning  Chronicle,  quo  140. 

Morning  Post,  quo  458. 

Morpeth,  Lord,  on  NationalEducation,  60. 

N 

Napoleon  I.'g  Decrees  against  British 
Trade,  5. 

Napoleon III.'s  coup  d'etat,  136;  Letter  to 
the  Czar,  153, 154 ;  and  Liberty,  216 ; 
and  the  French  Commercial  Treaty, 
260. 

National  Burdens,  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Share  in  the  Reduction  of,  506. 

National  Debt,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Scheme 
to  Reduce,  141, 142. 

Navigation  Laws,  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
97, 100-103, 104;  Mr.  Disraeli  on,  103. 

Neapolitan  Government,  Mr  Gladstone's 
Charges  against,  120-122;  Deputies 
Imprisoned,  122;  Arbitrary  Procedure 
of,  122;  Replies  to  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Charges,  126;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Rejoin- 
der, 127, 130;  Exposure  of  the  Govern- 
ment Apology,  130  ;  Results,  130. 

Negro  Apprenticeship,  Lord  Brougham 
on,  55;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  55,  56. 

Neutrality  and  the  Russo-Turkish  War, 
524. 

New  York  World,Mr.  Gladstone's  Letter 
to  the  Editor  of,  435. 

Newark,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Contest  for,  33; 
on  the  Hustings  at,  37;  Elected  Member 
for,  39;  Re-election  and  Popularity,  48; 


Third  Election,  52;  Election  for  1841, 

62, 63;  Withdrawal  from,  89,  90. 
Newcastle,  Duke,  Famous  Saying  of,  33; 

Minister  of  War,  69,  72. 
Newman,  Dr.,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  498; 

Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  499,  500. 
Newspapers,  Halfpenny  Postage  for,  399 
Nicholas,  Czar,  and  the  Eastern  Question, 

150 ;  Napoleon  III.'s  Letter  to,  153, 154 ; 

Responsible  for  the  Crimean  War,156; 

Death  of,  183. 

Nightingale,  Miss,  and  her  Nurses,  171. 
Nonconformists    and  the    Elementary 

Education  Bill,  395. 
Norfolk,  Duke  of,  Dr.  Newman's  Letter 

to,  499,  500. 
Northcote    Sir    S.,    Twenty     Years   of 

Financial  Policy,   503,    505 ;   on  the 

Necessity  for  Retrenchment,  505 ;  on 

the  Financial  Condition  of  the  Country, 

Note,  The  Andrassy,  513. 
Nottingham  Journal,  quo  39. 

O 

Oaths,  On  Parliamentary,  99, 100. 

O'Donoghue  on  the  Dissatisfaction  of 
Ireland,  334;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Reply  to, 
334. 

Old  Belief  and  the  New,  Strauss's,  Mr. 
Gladstone's  Reply  to,  474. 

Old  England  on  Mr.  Gladstone,  37. 

Oppidans,  Eton,  14. 

Opposition,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Views  on  the 
Duties  of  an,  451. 

Orangemen  and  the  Disestablishment  of 
the  Irish  Church,  375. 

Oratory,  Scope  and  Variety  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's, 572,  574. 

Osborne,  Bernal,  on  Lord  Palmerston's 
Ministry,  316,  317. 

Oxford,  Mr.  Gladstone  Enters  Christ 
Church,  22 ;  Conservatism,  22 ;  Study 
at,  23;  Union  of,  23,  25. 

Oxford,  Palmerston  Club  at,  Mr.  Glad-  . 
stone's  Speech,  27. 

Oxford  University,  Mr.  Gladstone  s  Con- 
test for,  140, 141 ;  Returned,  1859,  248 ; 
Contest  for  1864,  322, 323  ;  Defeat  of, 
324;  Analysis  of  Votes,  324;  Illus- 
trious Voters,  Note  324 ;  Effects  of 
the  Defeat,  324  ;  Valedictory  Address, 
326,  327 ;  as  a  Student  at,  574. 


Pacifico,  The  Case  of,  114. 

Pall  Matt  Gazette  on  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Oxford  Defeat,  357 ;  on  Mr.  Gladstone 
and  Mr  Disraeli,  357,  quo  458. 

Palmer,  Sir  R.,  on  the  Irish  Church  Dis- 
establishment Bill,  383. 

Palmerston,  Lord,  and  the  French 
Government,  112;  Defends  his  Foreign 


INDEX. 


59* 


Policy  of  1850, 113  ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 
113-116 ;  on  Neapolitan  Prisons  and 
Prisoners,  125,  126;  Dismissal  from 
Office,  136;  Ministry  of,  180,  181; 
Resignation  from,  182 ;  Mr.  Disraeli's 
Attack  on,  189 ;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Stric- 
tures on  the  Policy  of,  206,  207  ; 
Chinese  Policy  attacked,  211-214; 
Reply  and  Defeat,  214;  Appeal  to 
the  Country  and  return  to  Power, 
214 ;  Conspiracy  to  Murder  Bill,  215 ; 
Resolutions  on  the  Lords  Rejecting 
the  Paper  Duty  Bill,  268,269;  Debate 
on  the  Foreign  Policy  of ,  315,  317; 
Dissolution  of  the  Government  of, 
322 ;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Tribute  to  the 
Memory  of,  333. 

Palmerston's  Club,  Oxford,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Speech  at,  27. 

Papal  Aggression  of  1851,  The,  133, 134. 

Papal  Infallibility,  494,  500 ;  Effects  of, 
494, 495. 

Paper  Duty,  Proposed  Abolition  of, 
261;  Views  of  the  Protectionist  Paper- 
makers,  266,  284 ;  Note,  266. 

Paper  Duty  Repeal  Bill,  265 ;  and  Lord 
Derby,  267,  268;  Rejected  by  the 
Lords,  268 ;  Debate  on,  284-287  ; 
Passed,  288  ;  Effects  of,  311. 

Panmure,  Lord,  as  War  Minister,  181. 

Parker,  Admiral,  Blockades  Piraeus,  112. 

Parks  Regulation  Bill,  Debate  on,  430. 

Parliament,  First  Reformed,  41 ;  Dis- 
solution of  1874,  455 :  the  Speaker  and 
the  Privileges  of,  551 ;  Reasons  for, 

455,  456;  Record  of  the  Work  done  by, 

456,  457. 

Parliamentary  History  of  1871,  The,  423. 

Partnership,  Law  of,  alluded  to,  84. 

Patriotic  Fund,  The,  171. 

Peace  Society  and  the  Crimean  War, 
154, 157. 

Peace,  Treaty  of,  1856, 196  ;  Debate  on, 
197. 

Peace,  Conference  of,  1859,  251,  253;  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  251,  252. 

Pedigree,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  23. 

Peel,  Sir  R.,  Ministry  of  1834,  47 ;  Ad- 
dress to  Tamworth  Electors,  49 ; 
Defeats  the  Melbourne  Ministry,  62  ; 
Premier  in  1841,  63  ;  Policy,  77 ;  Slid- 
ing Scale  of  Corn  Duties,  78  ;  Burnt 
in  Effigy,  79;  Budget  of  1842,  79; 
Financial  Plan  of  1842,  79;  Tribute  to 
Mr.  Gladstone,  86  ;  Resignation,  86  ; 
Disraeli  on  the  Policy  of,  96  ;  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  96  ;  Last  Speech  of, 
113  ;  Accident  and  Death,  117  ;  Lord 
Brougham's  Tribute  to,  118;  Mr. 
Gladstone's,  118 ;  Defence  of,  by  Mr. 
Herbert,  138 ;  Statue  unveiled  to, 
152;  Disraeli's  Eulogy  on,  462  ;  and 
Mr.  Gladstone  as  Financiers,  506. 

Peel,  Sir  R.,  on  Venice,  276. 


Peelites,  Mr.  Martin's  Tribute  to,  179 
Difficulties  of,  193, 194. 

Perceval,  Mr.,  contests  Oxford  Univer- 
sity, 140 ;  Times  on,  140 . 

Personal  Appearance  and  Oratory  of  Mr. 
Gladstone,  58,  59. 

Petp,  Sir  M.,  Dissenters'  Burial  Bill,  307. 

Philip  Van  Artvelde,  quo  Note  499. 

Piraeus,  Admiral  Parker  Blockades,  112. 

Pius  IX.,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  theSpeeches 
of,  501. 

Planters,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Defence  of  the 
West  Indian,  56,  57;  Protection  for, 
110. 

Plumstead,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  at, 
543. 

Poerio,  Carlo,  The  Case  of,  123. 

Politics,  Varying  Character  of,  195 ;  State 
of,  in  1859,  244. 

Politics  of  Homer,  The,  235,  236. 

Poor  Laws,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  107, 108. 

Policy,  Mr.  Disraeli's  Attack  on  the 
Gladstone  of  1872,  426;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Reply,  427-428';  Results  of  the 
Beaconsfield  Foreign,  553,554;  Effects 
of  Imperial,  465,  469. 

Post  Office  Savings  Bank  Bill,  274; 
Character  and  Scope  of,  274. 

Precocity,  the  Dangers  of,  13. 

Praed,  Mackworth,  18 . 

Preface  to  Fourth  Edition  of  Church  and 
State,  66. 

Prerogative,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Royal, 
550, 

Press  opinions  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Green- 
wich Manifesto,  457,  459 . 

Prince  of  Wales,  Recovery  of,  423 ;  Public 
Thanksgiving  for,  426. 

Prisons  and  Prisoners,  Neapolitan,  122. 

Protection,  Mr.  Disraeli  on,  91;  for 
West  Indian  Planters,  110. 

Prussia  and  the  Eastern  Question, 
168, 169. 

Public  Worship  Regulations  Bill,  469; 
Mr.  Gladstone  on,  469-470 ;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Resolution  on,  471 ;  Debate  on, 
471,  472. 

Punishment,  Eton  School,  15. 

Purchase,  Abolition  of,  in  the  Army,  400 ; 
Opposition  to,  407-410;  Abolished  by 
Royal  Warrant,  410. 

Pusey,  Dr.,  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  Oxford 
Defeat,  326. 

Q 

Quarterly  Review  on  Church  and  State 
70. 

Queen,  First  Parliament  of,  64 ;  Sympa- 
thy with  Lord  Aberdeen,  169,  174; 
Letter  to  Lord  Raglan,  172;  Desires 
Lord  Russell  to  form  a  Ministry,  180. 

Questions,  Home,  awaiting  Settlement* 
553. 

QQ 


594 


INDEX. 


Radical  Candidate,  Description  of  a,  54 . 

Raglan,  Lord,  The  Queen's  Letter  to.  172. 

Railways,  Committee  of  Inquiry  into,  84 ; 
Nature  of  the  Bill,  84. 

Rates,  Church,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  100, 
274,  275 ;  Mr.  Bright  on,  275. 

Rationalism,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  72. 

Reflector  on  Mr.  Gladstone's  Return 
for  Newark,  41. 

Red  Club,  The  Newark,  35,  37. 

Reform  Agitations  for,  350,  351. 

Demonstration  in  Hyde  Park,  350,  351. 

Reform  Bill,  Passing  of  the  Great,  32. 

Reform  Bill  of  the  Derby  Ministry,  245 ; 
Nature  of,  245;  Lord  Russell's  Amend- 
ment, 245;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  246, 
247 ;  Vote  on,  247. 

Reform  Bill  of  1860,  Lord  Russell's,  270, 
271. 

Reform  Bill,  Mr.  Disraeli's,  of  1867,  353 ; 
Debate  on,  353,  354;  Changes  in,  350, 
356. 

Reform,  Parliamentary,  and  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, 309. 

Reform,  Resolutions,  Mr.  Disraeli's,  352; 
Debate  on,  353. 

Regulation  of  the  Parks  Bill,  Debate  on, 
430. 

Religion,  Mr.  Gladstone  and,  416,  471, 
472. 

Remarks  on  Recent  Commercial  Legislation, 
88  ;  Analysis  of,  88. 

Reserves,  calling  out  the,  533. 

Resolutions,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  on  the 
Eastern  Question,  524,  525 ;  Speech  in 
Support,  525-528. 

Retrenchment,  the  Necessity  for,  505. 

Revenue,  continued  Increase  of,  257,  258. 

Rhyl,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Speech  at,  541. 

Richard,  Mr.,  on  Mr.  Forster,  395. 

Richmond,  Mr.  Gladstone  at,  573. 

Ritualism,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Article  on, 
490, 492 ;  and  the  Roman  Catholics,  491. 

Robertson,  Miss  Ann,  9, 10. 

Roebuck,  Mr.,  mentioned,  54 ;  Motion  on 
the  Crimean  War,  174,  175, 179 ;  Cen- 
sure on  the  Aberdeen  Ministry,  190. 

Roman  Catholicism,  Progress  of,  496, 
Note  496. 

Roman  Catholic  Relief  Act  Amendment 
Bill,  253 ;  Exciting  Debate  on,  247. 

Roman  Catholics  and  the  Liberal  Party, 
446;  Duty  of  to  the  State,  497. 

Roman  State  from  1815  to  1850,  Mr.  Glad- 
stone translates,  131. 

Rome,  England's  Reconversion  to,  72; 
and  England's  Comparison  between, 
52 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on  Diplomatic  Re- 
lations between,  98,  99. 

Round,  Mr.,  contests  Oxford,  92,  93. 

Rothschild,  Baron,  returned  for  the  City, 
93. 


Russell,  Lord,  Irish  Church  Bill  of,  49, 

50  ;.  Resolution  on  Canadian  Affairs, 

51  ;  Motion  on  the  Corn  Laws,  83  ; 
Jews'  Bill,  93,  94 ;  and  Parliamentary 
Oaths,  99, 100  ;  Ministry  of,  Defeated, 
134  ;  Ecclesiastical  Titles  Bill,  135  ;  on 
Mr.  Gladstone,  148  ;  Despatch  on  Holy 
Places,   151  ;  Resignation    from    the 
Aberdeen  Ministry,  174  ;  Mr.  Gladstone 
on,  176  ;  Mr.  Disraeli  on,  178 ;  Desired 
to  Form  a  Ministry,  180  ;   at  Vienna 
184  ;  Defends  his  Vienna  Policy,  188  ; 
Mr.  Disraeli's  Attack  on,  189  ;  Reform 
Bill  of  1860,  270,  271 ;  Amendment  on 
the  Derby  Reform  Bill,  245  ;  and  the 
Confederate  States   of  America,  298, 
299  ;  Ministry  of  1866,  329  ;  Defeat 
and  Resignation  of,  348-349. 

Russia,  Declaration  of  War  by,  524. 

Russia,  War  Declared  against  by  Turkey, 
153  ;  by  England,  153 ;  Mr.  Bright  on, 
167,  Note  167  ;  Attitude  at  the  Vi- 
enna Conference,  184, 185. 

Russo-TurMsh  War,  Course  of,  529. 

3 

Salisbury,  Mr.  Gladstone  at,  351. 
Salisbury,  Marquis,  Mr.  Disraeli's  Attack 

on,  365;  Circular  of  to  Foreign  Courts, 

532. 
San  Stefano  Treaty,  531 ;    objected  to 

by  England,  531. 
Sandon,  Lord,  Endowed  School  Acts  Bill, 

473. 

Sardinia  and  the  Crimean  War,  184. 
Saturday  Review,  quo  458. 
Schools,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  Great  Public, 

480. 

Scriptures,  Homer  and  the,  233,  234. 
Scotch  and  Irish  Reform  Bills,  558. 
Seats,  Measure  for  the  Redistribution 

of,  346;  Debate  on,  346,  347. 
Selwyn,  Bishop,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Tribute 

to,  19. 

Servia,  Declaration  of  War  by,  514. 
Session,  Parliamentary,  of  1842,  80,  81 ; 

of  1851, 133  ;  of  1872,  Acts  passed  in, 

437,  438  ;  Work  of  1873,  452,  453. 
Settembrini,  Case  of,  123. 
Shakespeare  and  Homer,  237,  quo  465. 
Shelley    v.  Byron,  Debate  on,  at    the 

Oxford  Union,  26. 
Shere  Ali,  War  with,  543. 
Sicilians,  Struggle  of,  for  Liberty,  132. 
Sicily,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Tour  in,  27. 
Sketch,  Personal,  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  58. 
Slavery,  Homer  on,  501. 
Smith,  Sydney,  on  Foreign  Interference, 

197. 
Soldiers,  Sufferings  of,  in  the  Crimea 

171. 
South  Kensington  Exhibition  Building, 

Debate  on,  307. 


INDEX. 


595 


South  Lancashire,  Mr.  Gladstone  Nomi- 
nated for,  327 ;  Address  to  the  Elec- 
tors, 327  ;  Speech  at  Manchester,  327, 
328 ;  Speech  at  Liverpool,  328,  329 ; 
Elected  for,  329 ;  Defeat  at,  370,  371. 

Sovereign,  Mr.  Gadstone's  Relations  with 
his,  576. 

Spectator,  quo  458,  539. 

Speech,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Liberty  of, 
537. 

Spirits,  Scotch  and  Irish,  Increase  of 
Duty  on,  162. 

St.  David,  Bishop  of,  on  the  Irish  Church 
Bill,  386. 

St.  Helens,  Mr.  Gladstone  s  Speech  at, 
369,  370. 

St.  James's  Hall,  Meeting  on  the  Eastern 
Question  at,  518 ;  Mr.  Gladstone's 
Speech  at,  518,  519. 

Standard,  quo  457. 

Stanley,Lord,  on  National  Education,  60. 

Statesman,  Qualities  and  Faculties  of  a, 
11. 

Stock  Exchange,  Panic  on,  531. 

Stockman,  Baron,  Prince  Consort  to,  157. 

Strauss's  Old  Belief  and  the  New,  Mr. 
Gladstone  on,  477,  478. 

Students,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Advice  to,  480, 
481. 

Studies,  Eton,  16. 

Style,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  59,  555,  556 ;  of 
Church  and  State,  70. 

Sugar,  Duty  on  Foreign,  Motion  to 
Reduce,  83  ;  Duties,  84,  85;  Mr.Milner 
Gibson  on  Foreign  and  Colonial,  85. 

Sultan,  Deposition  of,  513. 

Sussex,  Duke  of,  Copy  of  Church  and 
State,  Note  66. 


Tamworth,  Sir  R.  Peel's  Address  to  the 
Electors  of,  49. 

Tariff,  Alterations  in,  for  1860,  255. 

Tariffs  Bill,  1842,  80. 

Taxation,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  211 

Tea  Duty,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  284;  Partial 
Remission  of,  303 ;  Reduction  of, 
320 ;  Amended  Scale  of  Duty  on,  209, 
211  ;  Mr.  Gladstone's  Opposition  to, 
210. 

Temples,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Description  of 
the  Sicily.  28. 

Tennyson,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Estimate  of, 
558,  quo  577. 

Times,  quo  89,  457;  on  Lord  Palmerston'a 
Foreign  Policy,  215 ;  on  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Election  for  Oxford  University 
93  ;  on  Mr.  Perceval,  140 ;  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's Oxford  Defeat,  325. 

Trade  and  Commerce,  Proposed  Relief 
of,  255. 

Trades  Unions,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  478, 
479. 


Treaties,  Commercial,  330. 

Treasury,  Mr.  Gladstone  Junior  Lord  of, 

48. 
Treaty,  Commercial,  with  France,  254, 

255 ;  Mr  Gladstone  on,  258. 
Treaty  Obligations,  Mr.  Gladstone  on, 

503,  505. 
Treaty  of  Washington,  414 ;  Mr.  Disraeli 

on,  426,  427 ;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  427. 
Triple  Treaty  and  Belgium,  399. 
Turkey,  Declaration  of  War  by,    152; 

Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Government  of, 

152, 153;  Mr.  Cobden  on,  167. 
Twenty  Years  of   Financial  Policy,  quo 

503-505. 


Union,  The  Oxford,  23;  President  of,  25; 

Reorganized,  25. 
Universities,  English  and  Irish,  Debate 

on,  111-112. 
Universities,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  work 

of,  270,  271. 

Universities  Tests  Bill,  413. 
University,  Oxford,  Mr.  Gladstone  enters, 

22. 


Vancouver's  Island,  Mr.  Gladstone  on* 

98. 
Vatican  Claims,  General  Conclusion  on, 

501. 
Vatican  Decrees,  Mr.  Gladstone's,   493- 

497;  Replies  to,  497,  498;  Note,  497. 
Vaticanism,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  498. 
Venice,  Sir  Robert  Peel  on,  276. 
Vienna  Note,  Rejection  of,  by  Turkey, 

153 ;  Conference,  184 
Vieio  of  Lethe,  Mr.  Gladstone's,  quo  20. 
Villiers,  Mr.,    Motion  to  Repeal   Corn 

Laws,  79. 
Virgil,  quo  30. 
Voters,  Illustrious,  Note  324. 


w 

Walpole,  Mr.,  and  the  Reform  League, 

351. 

Walpole's  History  of  England,  quo  32,  33. 
War,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  Impending 

Crimean,  152;  Evils  of,  156. 
War  Policy,  Results  of,  511. 
Warrant,  Royal,  Abolition  of  Purchase  by, 

410;  Mr.  Disraeli's  Strictures  on,  411; 

Vote  of  Censure  passed  in  the  Lords, 

411;  Debate  on  in  the  Commons,  411, 

412;  Sir  Roundcll  Pulnii-r  on,  412. 
Washington,  Treaty  of,  411;  Mr.  Disnifli 

on,   \-i>,  427;  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  427; 


59(5 


INDEX. 


Letter  to  the  New  York  World  on,  435. 
Wedgwood  and  his  Work,  Mr.  Gladstone 

on,  559. 
Wellington,  Duke,  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the 

death  of,  136,  137. 

Whalley,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Letter  to,  416. 
Whig  Government,  Causes  for  the  Fall 

of,  1841,  62. 
Whitby,   Mr.    Gladstone's    Speech    at, 

417,  418. 
Wilde,   Sergeant,  Presentation    to,  34; 

Contests  Newark,  35,  36. 


William  IV.,  Death  of,  52. 

Women,  Married  Property  Bill,  399. 

Work,  Aim  of  the  Present,  12.  See  Pre- 
face. 

Working  Classes,  Mr  Gladstone's  Address 
to,  478,  480. 

z 

Zulu  War,  Mr.  Gladstone  on,  550. 


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might  in  his  day,  and  will  not  pass  out  of  literature  or  history." — E.  C. 
STEDMAN. 

' '  The  great  men  of  the  post-Revolutionary  age  were  not,  as  a  rule,  versatile. 
Their  development  was  largely  in  one  direction — statesmanship.  Jefferson,  it 
is  true,  shone  both,  as  a  statesman  and  a  philosopher  ;  so  did  Franklin  :  but  it 
would  be  difficult  to  carry  the  parallel  further.  There  was  one,  however, 
among  this  group  of  worthies  who  excelled  in  at  least  three  great  departments 
of  human  effort — in  statesmanship,  letters,  and  philosophy, — and  whose  practical 
talents  were  perhaps  greater  than  those  of  any  of  his  contemporaries.  That 
man  was  Joel  Barlow,  the  subject  of  these  pages.  His  verse  first  gave  Ameri- 
can poetry  a  standing  abroad.  His  prose  writing  contributed  largely  to  the 
triumph  of  Republicanism  in  1800.  He  was  the  first  American  cosmopolite, 
and  twice  made  use  of  his  position  to  avert  from  his  country  a  threatened 
foreign  war.  He  was  the  godfather  of  the  steamboat  and  canal,  and  sponsor 
with  Jefferson  of  our  national  system  of  internal  improvements." — Extract 
from  Preface. 

"  The  '  Life  of  Joel  Barlow  '  is  a  welcome  addition  to  our  historical  literature 
.  .  .  A  very  real  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  Mr.  Todd  for  a  spirited  biography 
and  for  chosen  selections  from  the  interesting  material  at  his  disposal." — 
Atlantic  Monthly. 

"  Mr.  Todd's  elaborate  work  is  full  of  interest  at  all  points,  and  to  most 
readers  it  will  prove  as  instructive  as  it  is  interesting. " — Hartford  Times. 

"  Mr.  Todd  has  made  the  most  of  a  career  which  was  marked  by  a  good 
deal  of  vicissitude,  and  was  by  no  means  lacking  in  romantic  incident." — Book- 
Bvyer. 


FRANCE  UNDER  RICHELIEU  AND  MAZARIN. 
A  History  of  France  under  Mazarin,  with  a  Review  of  the 
Administration  of  Richelieu.  By  James  Breck  Perkins. 
2  vols.,  octavo,  with  four  portraits  .  .  .  $5  oo 

"It  is  refreshing  to  find  an  historic  work  which  appears  to  be  written  in 
a  calm,  judicial  spirit,  in  which  there  is  no  disposition,  on  the  one  hand,  tu 
glorify,  or,  on  the  other,  to  damn  Richelieu,  or  anybody  else,  merely  be- 
cause he  did  not  subscribe  to  the  same  creed  to  which  the  historian  adheres. 
It  is  scarcely,  if  at  all,  possible  to  tell  whether  Mr.  Perkins  is  a  Romanist, 
Protestant,  or  Agnostic,  audit  is  immensely  to  his  credit,  as  an  historian,  that 
such  is  the  case.  It  is  possible  that  time  may  show  the  estimate  of  this  work 
to  be  too  high  ;  but  it  certainly  seems  to  rank  with  the  best  work  of  Motley, 
or  Lecky,  or  Macaulay  in  the  field  of  history.  It  is  superior  to  either  in  its 
absolute  impartiality,  and  in  evidence  of  close,  unsparing  research  ;  and 
equal  to  either  in  a  certain  sustained  dignity  and  manly  directness  of  style, 
qualities  which  seem  peculiarly  apt  in  the  historian.  .  .  .  This  notice  has 
already  extended  beyond  reasonable  limits.  The  excuse  therefor  must  be 
found  in  the  admirable  character  of  Mr.  Perkins'  work,  its  comprehensive 
scope,  the  industry  which  has  gone  to  sources  of  information  scarcely  known 
to  the  historians  who  have  treated  the  period, — or,  if  known,  practically  dis- 
regarded,— the  fairness  of  its  spirit,  the  easy  dignity  of  its  style,  and  the  perfect 
confidence  with  which  it  threads  its  way  among  the  tortuous  intrigues  and 
cabals  of  the  period." — Chicago  Times. 

"  His  book  defines  more  lucidly  and  precisely  than  any  other  English 
work  with  which  we  are  acquainted  how  much  the  Minister  of  Louis  XIII. 
found  already  done  and  how  much  he  left  undone.  Mr.  Perkins'  account  of 
France  under  the  Cardinals  is  a  vigorous  and  cogent  rehabilitation  of 
Mazarin.  .  .  .  Here  we  touch  the  novel  and  most  instructive  results  of 
Mr.  Perkins'  researches,  and  he  was  well  counselled  in  assigning  much  the 
larger  part  of  his  two  volumes  to  this  section  of  his  theme.  .  .  .  Fortunate 
indeed  would  Germany  and  the  House  of  Hohenzollern  be,  if  Bismarck 
might  count  on  a  successor  such  as  Mr.  Perkins,  first  among  English  students 
of  the  epoch,  has  disclosed  to  us  in  Mazarin." — N.  Y.  Sun. 

"  The  genuine  student  of  history  will  hail  these  volumes  with  delight.  It 
is  safe  to  say  that  English  readers  for  the  first  time  have  a  luminous,  im- 
partial, exceedingly  well-written  history  of  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century  in  France.  .  .  .  The  history  of  the  administration  of  the  adroit 
Jules  Mazarin  is  told  in  a  way  to  excite  an  interest  which  one  feels  while 
reading  Macaulay.  Mr.  Perkins  has  the  gift  of  stating  what  in  other  hands 
would  be  dry  details  in  a  most  interesting  manner.  The  chapter  on  "  Social 
Life  and  Customs"  has  all  the  interest  of  a  romance." — St.  Paul  Pioneer 
Press. 

"  Summarizing  thus  some  of  the  principal  features  of  Mr.  Perkins'  brilliant 
work,  it  will  be  discovered  that  his  labors  have  been  conducted  with  a  degree 
of  patience,  intelligence,  and  thought  fulness  which  will  make  his  history 
successful.  The  work  of  Mr.  Perkins  has  an  intrinsic  value  seldom  acquired 
by  historians  of  the  French." — St.  Louis  Republican. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS, 

NEW  YORK  :  LONDON  : 

27  AND  29  WEST  23D  STREET.  27  KING  WILLIAM  STREET,  STRAND. 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS. 

ENGLISH  HISTORY  FROM  CONTEMPORARY 
WRITERS. 

Edited  by  F.  YORK  POWELL,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  Christ's  Church, 
Deputy  Professor  of  Modern  History  in  the  University  of 
Oxford.  Clearly  printed  volumes,  of  from  160  to  200  pages, 
i6mo,  with  illustrations,  cloth  extra,  each  .  .  60  cents. 

I.— The  Misrule  of  Henry  III.,  1236-1248.     Edited  by  the  Rev.  W. 

H.  HUTTON. 
II. — Edward    III.   and    his    Wars,  1327-1360.     Edited    by  W.   J. 

ASHLEY. 
III. — Simon  de  Montfort  and  his  Cause,  1249-1265.     Edited  by  Rev. 

W.  H.  HUTTON. 
IV. — Strongbow's  Conquest  of  Ireland  in  the  Reign  of  Henry  II. 

Edited  by  F.  P.  BARNARD. 
In  preparation  : 

The  Crusade  of  Richard  I.,  1187-1189.    By  J.  ARCHER. 

The  Troublesome   Days  of  Richard   II.     By  Miss  L.  TOULMIN 

SMITH. 
Alfred  and  the  Danes,  870-901.     By  F.  York  POWELL. 

"  The  plan  of  the  series  is  excellent.  These  little  books  filled  with  ex- 
tracts from  contemporary  writers  will  do  far  more  to  enliven  and  make 
valuable  the  study  of  English  history  than  the  best  of  text-books." — Prof. 
WM.  P.  HOLCOMB,  Swarthmore  College. 

"  I  think  the  idea  an  admirable  one,  enabling  the  general  student  to 
study  history  in  the  only  scientific  way  from  original  sources." — Prof. 
CHARLES  WOODWARD  HUTSON,  Mississippi  University.' 

"  The  idea  is  one  which  all  teachers  of  history  will  welcome,  and  the 
execution  is  satisfactory." — Prof.  CHAS.  F.  RICHARDSON,  Dartmouth 
College. 

"Charmingly  printed,  excellently  edited,  the  form  and  print  of  these 
books  are  delightful." — Prof.  JAS.  A.  HARRISON,  Washington  and  Lee 
University. 

"  The  idea  of  the  series  is  most  admirable,  inspiring,  as  it  can  hardly 
fail  to  do,  a  keener  interest  in  English  History,  from  the  vividness  of  its 
pictures,  which  for  various  reasons  are  impossible  of  access  in  the  original." 
—  Yale  Literary  Magazine. 

"  Both  plan  and  execution  seem  to  me  excellent." — Prof.  A.  D.  MORSE, 
Amherst  College. 

"  The  aim  of  the  series  seems  to  have  been  admirably  carried  out  in 
these  first  volumes,  which  amply  prove  the  value  and  interest  of  such  a 
method  as  an  adjunct  to  historical  study." — Providence  Journal. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK. 


A  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


THIRTY   YEARS'  IV A R. 


BY  ANTON  GINDELY, 

PROFESSOR   OF    GERMAN    HISTORY    IN    THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   PRAGUE. 

TRANSLATED  BY  ANDREW  TEN  BROOK, 

RECENTLY    PROFESSOR   OF   MENTAL    PHILOSOPHY     IN    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF   MICHIGAN. 

SECOND    EDITION.      TWO    VOLUMES,    OCTAVO,   WITH    MAPS    AND 
ILLUSTRATIONS.      $4.00. 


This  mort  important  period  of  European  History,  a  right  understanding  of  which 
is  essential  to  the  proper  comprehension  of  Europe  to-day,  has  long  waited  for  an  his- 
torian. The  work  of  Schiller,  while  thoroughly  readable,  was  written  without  any  special 
historical  preparation,  and  at  a  time  when  the  collections  of  government  archives  were 
not  accessible.  The  little  handbook  of  Gardiner  is  a  most  admirable  summary,  but  is 
too  condensed  for  general  reading.  It  is  believed  that  the  present  work,  which  has  been 
prepared  by  an  historian  of  the  highest  position  and  authority,  and  while  thoroughly 
trustworthy  for  the  purposes  of  the  scholar,  is  full  of  interest  for  the  general  reader, 
will  meet  all  the  requirements,  and  will  remain  the  authority  on  the  subject. 

"  His  portraitures  are  vividly  drawn,  and  his  battle  scenes  are  pictured  with  great 
realistic  power." — Zion's  Herald. 

"  The  clear  style  of  the  translation  makes  the  reading  of  the  book  not  only  easy 
but  delightful." — Bulletin,  Philadelphia. 

"  The  translator  has  not  only  performed  his  task  in  a  masterly  manner,  but  by  his 
presentation  of  this  admirable  work  to  English  readers,  has  placed  them  under  a  debt 
of  obligation." — Portland  Press. 

"  Prof.  Gindely  has  achieved  true  success  in  the  historical  line  ;  he  lias  u  real  genius 
for  such  labors." — Post,  Hartford. 

"  Wonderfully  well  drawn." — Advocate,  Cincinnati. 

"  It  will  doubtless  take  its  place  at  once  as  the  work  of  standard  authority  on  the 
subject." — Critic — "  Good  Literature." 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 


A  COMPANION  TO    GINDELY'S   THIRTY  YEARS'  WAR. 

LIFE  AND  TIMES 

OF 

GUSTAVUS  ADOLPHUS. 

BY  THE   HON.   JOHN   L.   STEVENS,   LL.D., 

RECENTLY   UNITED    STATES   MINISTER   TO   STOCKHOLM. 

8VO,    WITH    NEW    PORTRAIT    ENGRAVED    ON    STEEL,    $2    50. 

"  Mr.  Stevens'  work  shows  great  research,  and  is  composed  in  that  broader  method 
in  keeping  with  the  later  demands  of  historical  writing.  The  style  is  excellent,  and 
the  author  is  singularly  free  from  partisanship.  As  the  period  Mr.  Stevens  describes 
was  full  of  heroic  devotion,  'The  History  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,'  is  not  alone 
singularly  interesting,  but  may  be  trusted  as  explaining  the  consolidation  of  Protestant- 
ism in  the  Nonh  of  Europe." — N.  Y.  Times. 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  speak  too  kindly  of  Mr.  John  L.  Stevens'  admirable 
'  History  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,'  which  is  published  simultaneously  in  London  and 
New  York  by  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.  *  *  *  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Mr. 
Stevens'  book  is  at  once  more  artistic  in  its  conception  and  will  most  likely  prove 
more  acceptable  to  the  average  modern  English  and  American  reader  than  any  previous 
works  on  this  subject." — Philadelphia  Times. 

"It  is  a  well-constructed  historical  biography,  a  useful  apparatus  for  the  easy 
study  of  European  events  of  the  seventeenth  century.  We  find  in  Mr.  Stevens'  pages 
a  clear  conception  of  Gustavus'  character,  strongly  and  impressively  represented. 
*  *  *  His  book  is  fresh,  vivid,  and  interesting.  Mr.  Stevens'  style  is  generally 
careful,  neat,  and  forcible.  We  do  not  know  of  any  English  life  of  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus which  approaches  this  in  fulness  ;  and  it  is  picturesque  and  readable,  while 
always  dignified." — Boston  Literary  World. 

"The  story  of  the  life  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  has  been  often  told,  but  so  romantic 
is  it  in  its  elements,  so  thrilling  in  action,  and  so  admirable  in  lofty  qualities,  that  it 
will  bear  retelling  almost  without  end.  A  new  version  of  marked  ability  and  attrac- 
tiveness comes  to  us  from  the  pen  of  Hon.  John  L.  Stevens,  late  United  States 
Minister  at  Stockholm.  It  fills  an  octavo  volume  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
pages,  but  it  seems  not  a  page  too  long,  thanks  to  the  varied  interest  of  incident  and 
the  charm  of  style." — N.  Y.  Home  Joitrnal. 

"  Mr.  Stevens  is  possessed  of  unusual  abilities  for  the  preparation  of  such  a  work 
as  this.  An  able  writer,  with  a  mind  trained  in  the  school  of  practical,  political,  and 
diplomatic  affairs,  and  enriched  and  strengthened  by  close  study  of  books  and  keen 
observation  of  men,  having  had  six  years'  service  at  the  Swedish  Court  as  United 
States  Minister,  the  very  theatre  on  which  the  memorable  deeds  of  Gustavus  Adolphus 
were  wrought,  his  work  shows  the  master-hand  in  every  page." — Kennebec  Journal. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 


